Doctor of philosophy in Criminology and Criminal Justice

UMass Lowell's doctoral degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary, research-oriented degree designed to provide a theoretically grounded, methodologically sophisticated and statistically rigorous education.This curriculum provides for a sequence of courses in theory, methodology and statistics. The curriculum builds upon faculty research strengths and offers substantive courses which address the incidence, prevalence and correlates of crime, the characteristics of criminals and victims, and the effectiveness of current strategies in the areas of crime prevention, policing, the courts and the corrections system (both institutional and community-based).

The program will thus train the next generation of faculty who will teach criminology and criminal justice in the state and region's community colleges and four-year institutions, as well as nationally, and who will be well positioned to develop productive research agendas in crime and justice. Our graduates will be well prepared for analytical and administrative leadership posts in international and domestic research and policy institutions. The program will thus train the policy analysts, managers, and administrators in criminal justice and community venues to help prevent crime in the first place, or alternatively, respond effectively to those who violate the law or who come into contact with the justice system.

Minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.750; or graduate GPA of 3.660 (if applicable).

Verbal and Quantitative scores on the Graduate Record Examination [i.e., generally, the 40th percentile on each GRE component: Quantitative, Verbal and Writing] for admission. Verbal and Quantitative scores on the Graduate Record Examination [i.e., generally, the 50th percentile on each GRE component: Quantitative, Verbal and Writing] for assistantship funding.

English language proficiency:

Minimum 79 TOEFL score; 6.5 IELTS score