General Requirements

The candidate must:

1. have completed a minimum of 18 hours of work at the undergraduate level in criminal justice or an approved equivalent.
2. complete a total of 36 hours (18 hours at MTSU and 18 hours at TSU) with no more than 30 percent of the total degree hours dually listed as undergraduate/graduate hours including the following core courses:
   Middle Tennessee State University - Fall Semester Only
   CJA 6000 Criminal Justice Administration, 3 hours
   CJA 6010 Seminar in Law Enforcement, 3 hours
   Tennessee State University - Spring Semester Only
   CJA 6020 Judicial Seminar, 3 hours
   CJA 6030 Contemporary Corrections, 3 hours
3. file a Candidacy Form after having completed 10 semester hours credit and before having completed 16 semester hours credit. Candidate must have maintained an average grade of 3.00 or above on all work attempted. No fewer than 10 and no more than 16 semester hours may be counted toward the degree before the individual is advanced to candidacy. Indicate research/thesis institution at this time.
4. complete the following 6 hours at an institution (MTSU or TSU):
   CJA 6900 Research in the Criminal Justice Process, 3 hours
   (A student should take this course at the school (MTSU or TSU) where the student will write his/her thesis and graduate)
   CJA 6640 Thesis Research, 3 hours
5. complete the remaining 18 hours of approved electives as follows:
   12 hours at the non-thesis/research institution
   6 hours at the thesis/research institution
6. successfully complete an oral comprehensive examination in conjunction with the thesis defense.

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