Graduate Programs
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M.A. in Criminal Justice
The Master of Arts (M.A.) in Criminal Justice degree at Loyola University Chicago offers professional education in critical thought, analysis research, administration and operations in the discipline of criminal justice. The program aims to create highly motivated, well-educated and thoroughly trained professionals and scholars ready to respond to the demands of today's criminal justice challenges.
Courses for the M.A. in criminal justice are offered in the late afternoon or evening at Loyola's Water Tower Campus in the heart of downtown Chicago. Both scheduling options and convenient class locations attract many working in the criminal justice field to complete their graduate degree at Loyola University Chicago.
This program offers two broad concentrations of graduate study. Flexibility within these two areas allows some individual specialization, for example, in the areas of police, courts or corrections. The concentrations are:
- M.A. in Criminal Justice Administration
- M.A. in Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation
Requirements for the master's degree in criminal justice include:
- 30 hours of coursework completed with at least a 3.0 GPA.
- An M.A. thesis, major research paper or field practicum.
- Written comprehensive examination based on the core course curriculum.
For more information, please complete our online information request form.
Admission Requirements
Applicants for admission to graduate study must hold a bachelor's degree, although not necessarily in criminal justice. Students with limited or no background in criminal justice may be required to remediate such deficiencies through additional coursework either prior to or concomitant with enrollment in graduate courses. Acceptance into the master's program is based on a combination of academic and professional factors.
combined B.s./m.a. in criminal justice
Students eager to accelerate their education and expand their career opportunities can choose to apply for the combined five-year B.S/M.A. program, leading to an M.A. degree in Criminal Justice. The B.S./M.A. program enables criminal justice majors to begin fulfilling core requirements for a master's degree while completing the bachelor's degree.
Students admitted to the program may apply nine credit hours taken in their senior year toward the M.A. degree. Courses for the M.A. degree complement the undergraduate schedule, preparing B.S./M.A. students for the greater challenges of a graduate program in their senior year and for broader career opportunities in the future.
After graduating with a B.S. degree, students complete remaining course requirements for the M.A. degree during a fifth year at Loyola. An internship or thesis may then be completed during the summer or following semester.
