Program type:

Major
Grad Track
Format:

On Campus
Est. time to complete:

5-6 years
Credit Hours:

156
Contribute to a more just and safer world with two degrees in Criminal Justice.
UNT's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice empowers you with the knowledge and skills needed to create just and safe communities. Our Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice improves your ability to take informed and thoughtful actions as a leader, policymaker or researcher in the criminal justice system. This is accomplished through an exceptional curriculum that provides you with an understanding of the nature and scope of problems posed by crime and the operation and administration of the criminal justice system.

Want more info?

We're so glad you're interested in UNT! Let us know if you'd like more information and we'll get you everything you need.

Request More Info

Why Earn Combined Criminal Justice Degrees?

Our curriculum educates you in the theoretical, practical and empirical aspects of criminal justice in preparation for your potential career or graduate studies. The coursework addresses a wide variety of subjects such as:

  • Criminal justice and public policy
  • Criminal law and procedure
  • Criminological theory
  • Ethical and diversity issues in criminal justice
  • History of crime and justice in the United States
  • Police and correctional systems
  • Research methods

Faculty members have a diverse range of educational and professional backgrounds. In addition to teaching courses, they assist the Department of Criminal Justice in applied research projects, program evaluation studies and scholarly research. Some of their current research focuses on:

  • Capital punishment
  • Homeland security
  • Juvenile delinquency
  • Police operations and tactics
  • Prison violence
  • Victimization
  • White collar crime

Benefits of Grad Track

  • Earn your M.S. in less time
  • Cut expenses as students will be charged undergraduate tuition rates
  • Prepares the student for the rigors of graduate-level coursework while still an undergraduate
  • Provides uninterrupted continuity of the knowledge gained as an undergraduate to graduate-level courses
Marketable Skills
  • Leadership ability
  • Oral and written communication
  • Law and policy awareness
  • Information collection, analysis and interpretation
  • Teamwork
  • Technical and academic writing
  • Abstract problem-solving
  • Knowledge of government operations
  • Research interpretation/implementation
  • Information verification

Combined Criminal Justice Degrees Highlights

Some courses incorporate experiential activities in jails, prisons or courtrooms, or require completing service-learning activities. Other electives and seminars allow you to focus your studies on a particular interest, and study abroad opportunities also are available.
We sponsor student chapters of Alpha Phi Sigma (the national criminal justice honor society) and Lambda Alpha Epsilon (the criminal justice pre-professional society)), and many other student organizations.
The online Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a Concentration in Justice Policy and Administration is ranked #4 in Texas and #26 in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report.
All courses are designed and developed by full-time Criminal Justice graduate faculty and feature the quality instruction, standards of excellence and innovation in teaching and learning for which the Department of Criminal Justice is well-known.
The department Teaching Assistantship features a stipend of $16,746 per year. This award is competitive, with a limited number of positions available. The department also offers Graduate Student Assistantships, which receive compensation of $17 per hour for up to 25 hours per week.
Our faculty members have extensive relationships with area agencies and include nationally recognized experts in policing, juvenile justice, corrections, criminological theory, victims' issues and sentencing.

What Can You Do With Combined Criminal Justice Degrees?

Pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice at the University of North Texas can lay the groundwork for becoming a:

  • Law enforcement officer
  • Court administrator
  • Probation or parole officer
  • Crime and intelligence analyst
  • Correctional treatment expert
  • Victim's advocate
  • Policy analyst
  • Social service provider
  • Loss prevention officer
  • Fraud investigator
  • Corporate security administrator

Many of our alumni are serving in agencies throughout the North Texas region as:

  • Police chiefs, supervisors and officers
  • Special agents at federal agencies
  • State law enforcement officers
  • Supervisory staff at community corrections agencies

Combined Criminal Justice Degrees Courses You Could Take

Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice (3 hrs)
This course critically examines race, gender and other diversity issues within the U.S. criminal justice system. Topics of emphasis include the importance of diversity issues in the development, organization and operation of the criminal justice system.
Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice (3 hrs)
Students will study ethical issues facing the criminal justice system, and problems confronting police, the courts and the juvenile and correctional systems are addressed.
Criminal Justice Policy (3 hrs)
Students will learn methods of policy formulation, implementation and analysis in the criminal justice setting. Selected topics are developed for practical research and evaluation.
Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration (3 hrs)
Topics include critical application of selected analytical tools in administering justice agencies; studies of the application of human and financial resources, productivity, measurement and enhancement; and organization design, culture and change in the context of criminal justice agencies.
Evaluation and Research Methodologies (3 hrs)
Students will learn quantitative and qualitative methods of gathering and analyzing data on crime and the justice system, with special attention devoted to evaluation methods.
Crime and Justice in the United States (3 hrs)
This course examines the societal responses to people and organizations that violate criminal codes; discusses the history, development, organization and philosophy of the justice process; and analyzes the complex inter-relationships between the major components of the criminal justice system (police, courts and corrections).

Learn More About UNT

Watch this video to learn more about what makes UNT great!