Graduates of the program have gone on to pursue doctorates in criminal justice and criminology at some of the finest doctoral training programs in the country or to careers in public and private-sector agencies in the criminal justice system at the federal, state, and local levels of government.

The UAB Graduate School has established minimum standards for admission into the MS Program in Criminology & Criminal Justice "in good standing." Minimum requirements for admission include: (1) evidence of a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States, (2) a 3.0 grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) computed either overall or for the last 60 hours of undergraduate credits earned , (3) a combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the Graduate Record Examination. International students have additional requirements and are strongly urged to consult the UAB Graduate School before seeking admission to the MS Program. All applications for admission to the MS Program are made through the UAB Graduate School and not to the Department. Information on the Graduate Record Examination, including information on where the examination is offered can be found at the homepage of the Graduate Record Examination. Local administration of the GRE General Test is with:
Prometric Testing Center
New Horizon of Birmingham
601 West Beacon Parkway
Suite 106
Birmingham, Alabama 35209
(205)263-5061


Are there additional admission requirements?

In addition to the established Graduate School minimum requirements, the Department of Justice Sciences requires students seeking admission to the MS Program to have completed an introductory-level undergraduate statistics course and an introductory-level undergraduate research methods course in which a grade of "B" or better was earned in each class.

What if I meet the minimum GPA and test score requirements but do not meet the additional requirements concerning prerequisite coursework?

A student who meets the minimum standards for admission, but either has not taken the additional courses or has not earned a grade of "B" or better in each class may be admitted to the program on a contingency. However, before the student will be allowed to take any courses in the MS Program, he or she will be required to take the necessary statistics and/or methods course and earn a grade of "B" or better in each class.

What if I meet the minimum admission requirements but do not have a substantive background in Criminology/Criminal Justice?

A student seeking admission to the program who meets all of the admission requirements listed above, but who lacks a substantive background in criminology or criminal justice may be admitted to the program on a contingency. These students will, however, be required to take remedial coursework before they will be allowed to enroll in any graduate-level courses. Typically, students will be required to take Introduction to Criminal Justice (JS100), Crime and Criminality (JS101) or their equivalents and the aforementioned research methods and statistics courses.

Students who are admitted into the program "in good standing" are automatically considered for Department-based funding that is awarded on a competitive basis. Funding may take one of three forms: (1) a Department-sponsored Research Assistantship, (2) a scholarship, or (3) research assistantships from research grants/contracts received by individual faculty members.

The Department-sponsored Research Assistantship includes a monthly stipend and partial waiver of tuition and fees in exchange for working 30 hours per week with a faculty member on his or her research projects. The Assistantship is granted for one year but is renewable for a second year. For the 2007-2008 academic year, the Research Assistantship totaled over $15,000.00 in total benefits.

The Department also has scholarships available to qualified students. A scholarship award will typically pay for up to two classes per semester (four courses per year). The scholarship is renewable for a second year assuming the student remains "in good standing" in the program.

Individual faculty members in the Department of Justice Sciences may also have research assistantships available from grants they receive to fund one or more research projects. These assistantships typically pay the student a stipend in exchange for 20-30 hours per week of work on the project.

Tuition and Fees
Costs associated with pursuing the MS are comparatively reasonable. Costs for tuition and fees during the 2007-2008 academic year are as follows:

Resident of Alabama
Tuition: $182.00 per semester hour
Student Services Fee: $42.00 (plus $8 per semester hour)
Student Building Fee: $34.00 (plus $3 per semester hour)
There may be additional, applicable fees.

Non-Resident of Alabama
Tuition: $455.00 per semester hour
Student Services Fee: $42.00 (plus $8 per semester hour)
Student Building Fee: $32.00 (plus $3 per semester hour)
There may be additional, applicable fees.

Additional tuition and fees information is available at the students.uab.edu website. Additional information, including how students may satisfy the residency requirement for in-state tuition, is available at the UAB Graduate School's home page. Students living in the southeast may also be able to take advantage of the Academic Common Market (ACM) which involves an agreement among more than a dozen southeastern states that allows students living in one state to pay in-state tuition while enrolled in graduate program in another participating state. Complete information on the ACM is found at the ACM home page.