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Graduation Requirements
Students must choose one of the below exit requirements to complete the degree. All students must have a minimum of 30 credit hours in the program to graduate.
- Capstone Option: The capstone project option is geared toward the working professional. The student would propose a policy, procedure, or program development that would benefit his/her home agency, while incorporating the knowledge learned in the program. This proposal must be approved by a committee composed of three faculty members. Once the capstone project is completed, the student would record and upload a presentation to Blackboard collaborate or similar software, and then the presentation would be placed on a streaming server. The committee of three faculty members would then be able to view the presentation in the capstone course shell via the link housed on the streaming server. The capstone project option may be taken for 3 hours or 6 hours. If the student selects the 3 hour option, they will take 27 hours of other programs courses. If they select the 6 hour option, they will take 24 hours of other program courses.
- Thesis Option: The thesis project option is envisioned to be a traditional research paper. The topic of the thesis must be approved by a committee of three faculty members. The final thesis will be uploaded and defended to the committee of three faculty members online via Skype, Zoom, or other appropriate technology. The thesis must be uploaded to ProQuest and have formatting approved by the Graduate School by the posted deadlines. The thesis option may be taken for 3 hours or 6 hours. If the student selects the 3 hour option, they will take 27 hours of other program courses. If they select the 6 hour option, they will take 24 hours of other program courses.
- General Exit Exam Option: To complete the program using the exit exam option, students must receive a passing grade on a comprehensive exit examination. Students must submit two papers written during their course work as evidence of their writing skills and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the criminal justice policy core courses in order to qualify to take the final comprehensive examination. If the student chooses to take the general exam, the student may do so with 30 credit hours of other program courses.
- Directed Exit Exam Option: To complete the program using the exit exam option, students must receive a passing grade on a comprehensive exit examination. Students must submit two papers written during their course work as evidence of their writing skills and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the criminal justice policy core courses in order to qualify to take the final comprehensive examination. If the student selects the directed exit exam option, they will take 3 hours of CJ 596, Readings in Criminal Justice, and 27 hours of other program courses. The exam topics will be directed by working with a Criminal Justice faculty member.
Review the graduation policy for more information.
