Academic Programs

Ph.D. Program

The doctoral experience at Sam Houston State University will sharpen your analytical abilities, expand your knowledge, and impart new intellectual skills. We do not merely graduate doctoral students; we launch our doctoral graduates on an academic career.

Sam Houston State University alumni are consistently rated among the most prolific contributors to our knowledge base and hold leadership positions in numerous academic associations. Your academic experience is enhanced by both the quality of our faculty and the breadth of interests and expertise among over forty faculty members. A visiting lecturer program expands even further your exposure to world-renowned scholars.

Why pursue a Ph.D. at Sam Houston State University's College of Criminal Justice:

Competitive Funding - up to $26,000
Great Research Opportunities - First and second year Ph.D. students are assigned to faculty as research assistants. Assistantships are meaningful because they build the critical skills and credentials you will need for a quality academic position upon graduation.
Teaching Opportunities - Third year Ph.D. students qualify for a doctoral teaching fellowship. After completing a specialized course in pedagogy, you will be assigned full instructional responsibility for one or two courses a semester. You will be the instructor - not an instructional assistant.
One-on-one mentorship - Faculty provides one-on-one mentorship to doctoral candidates throughout the process of building their Research Assessment Portfolio, including submission of manuscripts to prestigious journals. Our goal is to have all of our doctoral graduates already "published" before they enter the job market.
Students study with colleagues from around the world - joining the global criminal justice international community.
Travel Funding up to $1,000 - In the academic year 2010-2011, criminal justice Ph.D. students were provided $1,000 to present at a conference: American Society of Criminology or Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences; CJ M.A. and Forensic Science M.S. students were provided $500 to present at a conference. At the November 2010 ASC conference in San Francisco, 23 of our Ph.D. students presented papers. At the March 2011 ACJS conference in Toronto, 12 of our Ph.D. students and 4 of our M.A. students presented papers.
Exposure to International Scholars - Through the Beto Chair Lecture Series, students will interact with top scholars from the fields of criminology and criminal justice in formal and informal settings.
An array of special opportunities exist among our institutes - the Correctional Management Institute of Texas and the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas both have strong research and development programs. Our focused research institutes include the Crime Victims Institute, the Police Research Center, Texas Regional Center for Policing Innovation, and the Institute for Legal Studies.

What's Going On?

Eyewitness ID

November 1, 2011

The Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas is seeking public comment on a draft policy and procedures for the use eyewitness identification by Texas law enforcement agencies. LEMIT Executive Director Dr. Rita Watkins discusses the proposed policy, which was mandated by the Texas Legislature and developed with the help of law enforcement and special interest groups.

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