Criminology, Master of Arts (0421)
This is an archived copy of the 2019-2020 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.wku.edu.
Department website: http://www.wku.edu/sociology
Program Coordinator
James W. Kanan, james.kanan@wku.edu, (270) 745-2404
This online program exposes students to the empirical study and evaluation of crime patterns in society using a social scientific perspective. The program’s primary emphasis is the development of strong methodological and quantitative skills necessary to gather and analyze criminological data. In addition to a research and analysis emphasis, course work is directed toward the investigation of the etiology of offending and victimization in violent and property crimes, using a variety of theoretical frameworks structuring the research process. Courses examine the major correlates of crime, delinquency, and deviance, including an analysis of the effects of gender, age, race/ethnicity, and social class in explaining variation in offending and victimization rates at various levels of analysis (e.g. individuals, within neighborhoods, among counties, and across countries).
Students are exposed to historical and contemporary macro and micro level theories of offending and victimization, and they are challenged to think about how prior and current research in the field of Criminology can be used to inform social and public policies. Several courses provide students with the opportunity to examine the institutions that have evolved to respond to crime and delinquency in our society. These courses provide insights and perspectives into punishment and correction systems, penology, criminal law, rehabilitation and recidivism. At the end of the program, students must complete a criminological research project in the format of a peer-reviewed journal article and pass an oral examination. Additional information can be found at www.wku.edu/sociology/ma_criminology/index.php.
Program Admission
Admission to the program requires a GAP score of at least 600 [GAP = (GRE-V + GRE-Q) + (Under- graduate GPA x 100)]. For students who took the GRE prior to August 2011 the minimum GAP score is 2200 [GAP = (GRE-V + GRE-Q) x Undergraduate GPA]. The GRE Analytical Writing minimum is 3.5. Interested students should send applications for admission, GRE scores, and transcripts to the Graduate School.
Please refer to the admission section of this catalog for Graduate School admission requirements.
Program Requirements (30 hours)
The Criminology MA program requires students to complete 30 credit hours of graduate work. The program only provides a non-thesis option. Students must pass an oral examination after completing all course work in the specified curriculum.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| SOCL 513 | Quantitative Methods of Social Research | 3 |
| SOCL 514 | Advanced Social Statistics | 3 |
| CRIM 525 | Survey of Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CRIM 532 | Criminology | 3 |
| CRIM 596 | Applied Research Project | 3 |
| Electives | ||
| Select 6 hours from the following | 6 | |
| Law Enforcement | ||
| Penology | ||
| Deviant Behavior | ||
| Criminology and Law | ||
| Neighborhoods and Crime | ||
| Family Violence | ||
| Juvenile Delinquency | ||
| Comparative Criminology | ||
| Victimology | ||
| Gender, Crime and Justice | ||
| Life-Course Criminology | ||
| Race, Class and Crime | ||
| Environmental Criminology | ||
| Students may complete a maximum of twelve credit hours of graduate course work outside of the Department of Sociology. Students may select courses from this list of approved electives offered by the Department of Correctional and Juvenile Justice Studies and the Department of Criminal Justice at Eastern Kentucky University: 1 | 9 | |
COR 823 Topical Seminar in Corrections/Juvenile Justice | ||
COR 830 Understanding Corrections/Juvenile Justice Institutions | ||
COR 835 Correctional/Juvenile Justice Leadership & Administration | ||
COR 840 Trends/Issues in Adult/Institutional/Community Corrections | ||
COR 850 Corrections and Juvenile Justice Interventions | ||
COR 856 Law and Ethics in Dealing with Offenders | ||
CRJ 814 Policing and Society | ||
CRJ 874 Crime, Criminal Justice and Popular Culture | ||
CRJ 875 Crime and Public Policy | ||
CRJ 878 Ideology and Criminal Justice | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
| 1 | With the approval of the graduate advisor in the Sociology Department, students may complete or transfer twelve graduate credit hours of electives from other departments at Western Kentucky University or from courses completed at other institutions. |