Online Masters Program

CJ Online

We are still accepting applications for our new Online Masters Program!

Check out our CJ Online website for more information.

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Doctoral 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 immeasurably by both the quality of our nationally eminent faculty and the breadth of interests and expertise among the forty-five faculty members.  A visiting lecturer program expands even further your exposure to nationally eminent scholars.

 

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

  • First and second year Ph.D. students are assigned to faculty and/or one of our research institutes as research assistants. Assistantships are meaningful because they build the critical skills and credentials you will need for a quality academic position upon graduation.
  • 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.
  • Candidates for a Ph.D. must demonstrate competence to proceed to a dissertation. Approval to proceed to a dissertation is formally termed "Admission to Candidacy." After successful completion of stipulated coursework, two publishable manuscripts is considered prima facie evidence of the student's readiness to proceed to the dissertation. Assistance is provided throughout the process, 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.
  • In a recent survey of hiring institutions, the two most sought credentials for criminal justice faculty applicants were a published article(s) and teaching experience.  Sam Houston State graduates have both.
  • Sam Houston State University possesses a national and international presence.  Study abroad programs exist in a dozen countries, and formal faculty exchange programs exist in several others, including China.  Students study with colleagues from around the world, joining the global criminal justice intellectual community.
  • In the academic year 2008.2009, every criminal justice doctoral student was provided $1,000 to attend a national conference: American Society of Criminology or Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences; Ph.D. students were also provided an additional $500 to attend a regional or state conference.  At the March 2009 ACJS conference in Boston, twenty-two of our doctoral students presented papers.
  • 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, the Institute for Legal Studies, and the Survey Research Program.

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