Department of Criminal Justice

To be considered for regular status as a graduate student in the Department of Criminal Justice, students must meet general Graduate College requirements and the following department requirements:

1. An undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice or related social or behavioral science with at least a 3.0 average is required.
2. Successful completion of an undergraduate statistics course.
3. Successful completion of an undergraduate criminal justice theories course.
4. CJ101 Introduction to Criminal Justice or its equivalent (required for all entering students)
5. Applicants with less than a 3.0 cumulative GPA may still apply to the program with submission of Graduate Record Exam (GRE) scores of 213 or higher.

Admission into our graduate program is a competitive process as openings are limited.  Students not meeting the department requirements may be considered on a case-by-case basis as openings are available, and may be required to take the GRE prior to admission.

How to apply:

The first step in applying for the M. A. in Criminal Justice is admission to the BSU Graduate College.  The prospective student should apply to the Graduate College Admissions office at least one full semester prior to expected enrollment.

Concurrent to the application process at the Graduate College, the prospective student should send the following items directly to Department of Criminal Justice:

1. A Statement of Purpose.  This statement should explain the student’s reasons for seeking admission and what they hope to achieve in the program.
2. Three letters of recommendation from professors/instructors.

These items should be sent to:

Attn:  Dr. Bostaph, Graduate Coordinator
Department of Criminal Justice
Boise State University
1910 University Dr.  MS1955
Boise, Idaho 83725-1955

Deadline for priority consideration for admission for Fall semester is February 15th.

Applicants who have submitted all admission materials by this date will be considered first for openings within the Criminal Justice M.A. program.

Final deadline for admission to Fall semester is April 1st.   The deadline for admission consideration has been extended to June 1st.  Admission materials must be received by this date to be considered for any remaining openings within the program.

The application deadline for Spring semesters is October 1st.