The MA degree in at University of Texas Arlington is designed for:

• Pre-professional students who wish to pursue a career in some aspect of criminal justice, or in a related field, and to develop the perspectives and knowledge appropriate to doing so;
• In-service professionals who wish to enhance and broaden their knowledge in this and related areas of study;
• Students pre-professional or in-service who wish to pursue further relevant post-graduate studies, whether academic or professional.

To meet these objectives, and to develop a broadly educated student, the program offers both thesis and non-thesis options.  Both options require the student to complete 18 hours of core courses within the department.

The coursework (non-thesis) option is generally recommended for students who do not intend to pursue doctoral-level studies. It does not require applicants to have prior criminal justice employment and is designed to provide a base of knowledge and skills necessary to enter and/or administer criminal justice related programs.

The non-thesis option requires students to research, analyze, and present recommendations on a criminal justice related policy. Students must be enrolled in the semester in which they complete and present their policy research and recommendations. Student presentations to the faculty are scheduled once each long semester, typically in mid November and again in mid April.  

The thesis option is generally recommended for students wishing to pursue further education in professional schools or doctoral level studies. It is designed to prepare students to conduct research in criminology and criminal justice and actively participate in the development of knowledge. Students choosing the thesis option are required to take a six-hour thesis course during the semester in which the thesis is defended. Non-thesis students take two additional courses constituting six credit hours. Students are required to defend their thesis proposal at least one semester prior to defending their final thesis and before submission of materials to IRB.

With the approval of the Graduate Advisor, students may also use their elective hours to concentrate on a particular field of study, such as sociology, political science, corrections, policing, or a multidisciplinary approach to a particular focus, such as administration-or research. Thesis students take 12 hours of elective courses and non-thesis students take 18 hours.