School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Northeastern University

Graduate Studies in Criminology at Northeastern University

Northeastern University, also known as NU, is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. At the graduate level, the university offers more than 125 programs.

Northeastern University is considered one of the nation's top universities for graduate studies in criminology and criminal justice. The Graduate School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University confers Master of Science (MS) in Criminal Justice, Executive Master of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership, and PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy degrees.

Master's Degree Overview

Master's degree programs in criminal justice at Northeastern University are designed to address the increasing challenges and scrutiny of today's criminal justice and security agencies. The programs equip justice system leaders with the skills to help them think and act strategically, ethically, and efficiently while developing comprehensive solutions to crime and terrorism issues.

The broad curriculum examines criminal justice and private security systems and the problem of crime as a form of deviant behavior. The curriculum also encompasses related disciplines such as law, sociology, political science, psychology, criminology, and public administration. A systems approach to criminal justice is emphasized, with a special focus on policy development and analysis and its impact on individuals and organizations charged with the administration of justice.

Students can customize their own programs, which may include an internship, directed study, or master's thesis. With a full-time course load, students can complete their studies in 18 months. Part-time students can complete their degree in 3 to 4 years, depending on their course selection and pace.

MS in Criminal Justice and Criminology

Candidates for the Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology degree must complete 32 hours of coursework and pass a comprehensive exam.

The required 17 hours of core courses include criminology, criminal justice process, research methods and lab, statistical analysis and lab, and one law-related course. The remaining 15 hours of elective credits are needed to satisfy degree requirements.

Up to 6 elective hours may be taken as internships, directed study, thesis option, or study outside the Graduate School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, which must be approved by the graduate director.

Executive MS in Criminal Justice Leadership

The Executive Master of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership degree is designed for students with 3 or more years of experience in the criminal justice field. The curriculum combines a rigorous intellectual and philosophical foundation with career-oriented learning, experienced through online courses and a weeklong summer camp workshop on Northeastern University's campus.

A total of 42 credit hours are needed to satisfy degree requirements; 27 of these are core courses in foundations and operations. To satisfy the remaining hours of coursework, students choose from 4 areas of specialization: community justice and family, corrections management, leadership, and security.

Students gain in-depth insight into the complex criminal justice environment and examine the long- and short-term benefits of ethical decision-making. They build a personal model of leadership that can be activated in the workplace to evaluate criminal behavior trends, including street violence, gangs, guns, drugs, human trafficking, terrorism, and cyber crime. Both technology and its role in crime response and prevention are also examined.

PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy

The PhD in Criminology and Justice Policy degree prepares students for academic careers and careers in research and policy development. Full-time students entering with a bachelor's degree can complete the program in 5 to 6 years. In addition to taking 37 required core courses and 27 electives, they also take 3 qualifying exams and prepare dissertations to satisfy the requirements for the PhD.

Students entering with a master's degree can complete the program in 4 years. They complete 62 hours of coursework, 20 of which are core courses. These students also take 3 qualifying exams, as well as a mandatory complement of research, data analysis and multivariate sequences. PhD students also complete qualitative, quantitative, or mixed method dissertations.

In addition, each student chooses between a teaching practicum and a policy practicum that may be located off campus or at one of the school's research institutes.

Faculty Expertise

Faculty members in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology have expertise in a wide range of areas, including serial murder, hate crime, terrorism, policing, law, corrections, and security. In addition to teaching, many are involved in funded and non-funded research and publish books and articles widely read by students, criminal justice professionals, and policy-makers.

Among the distinguished faculty is Professor Donna M. Bishop, whose research interests include juvenile justice and youth policy. The author of 2 books and over 60 articles and monographs, she frequently takes her academic research into the policy arena, presenting her findings to legislative bodies, judicial conferences, prosecutorial conferences, public defender and sentencing advocacy groups, and juvenile task forces and commissions.

Professor Peter Manning is the author and editor of over 20 books, including "Privatization of Policing: Two Views." His research interests include the rationalizing and interplay of private and public policing, democratic policing, crime mapping and crime analysis, uses of information technology, and qualitative methods. He is currently researching the transformation of policing in Ireland.

Attractive Urban Campus in the Heart of Culture

Northeastern University is located in the heart of Boston in the Fenway Cultural District, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Fenway, Roxbury and Back Bay. Since the late 1990s, Northeastern University has been considered a model of design for urban universities and has won national recognition as the nation's most beautiful new or renovated exterior space.

More information is available regarding The College of Social Sciences and Humanities, graduate applications and graduate studies at Northeastern University.

• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Master of Science (MS)
  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees 22
• Doctoral Degrees Not reported
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported
• * Shows the number of degrees awarded for the last academic year that data was reported.

• Earning Your Degree
• Part-time study available? Yes
• Evening/weekend programs available? Yes
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Not reported

• Degree Requirements
• Master's Degrees Required and optional
• Doctoral Degrees Not reported
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied108
• Accepted68
• Acceptance Rate62%
• Enrolled29
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $50
• Application Fee - International $50
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Yes
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline March 1st Not Reported Not Reported
• Winter deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline October 1st Not Reported Not Reported
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE General Test
• Doctoral's DegreesGRE General Test
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL required

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *Not Reported
• Out-of-state tuition *Not Reported
• International student tuitionNot Reported
• * Tuition for full-time graduate student per academic year
• Fees
• Per-academic year feesNot Reported
• Per-term feesNot Reported
• One-time feeNot Reported
• * Fees for full-time graduate students
• Financial Support
• Financial award applicants must submitFAFSA
• Application deadlines for financial awardsMarch 31
• Types of financial support availableResearch Assitantships, Teaching Assistantships, Career or Field-Related Internships, Federal Work-Study, Financial Support for Part-time Students, Institutionally-sponsored Loans

• Gender
• Total Graduate StudentsNot Reported
• Female PercentageNot Reported
• Male PercentageNot Reported
• Participation
• Total Graduate StudentsNot Reported
• Part-time PercentageNot Reported
• Full-time PercentageNot Reported
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / Latino0%
• Black / African American9%
• White / Caucasian49%
• American Indian / Alaskan Native1%
• Asian1%
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander0%
• Two or more races0%
• Unknown40%

• Existing Research
• Focus of faculty researchJuvenile justice, victimology, serial and mass murder, private security, criminology corrections, race and crime
• Externally sponsored research expenditures last yearNot Reported