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For admission to graduate study at the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice the applicant must first be admitted to the Graduate School. The most efficient and effective method of applying to the University of Maryland, College Park is through our Online Graduate Application. Applying online saves time and money, is more environmentally friendly than the traditional application, and reduces the chances for human error in processing. Please visit http://www.gradschool.umd.edu/gss/admission.htm to apply. The following Supporting Materials should be sent to: University of Maryland College Park
The Department requires that all applicants arrange for submission of official Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores from the Educational Testing Service. Decisions on admission for the fall semester will first be made for those whose completed applications and supporting material have been received by the Graduate School and the Department on or before December 1st. Qualified applicants whose completed applications and supporting material are received after December 1st, but on or before May 1st, will be granted admission on a first-come, first-served basis, up to the limits of available space in the program. Applicants for the spring semester must have their completed applications and supporting material received by September 1st. Applications for the Traditional MA program and for entry into the Ph.D. program for students not holding an MA/MS degree are accepted for Fall entry only. If the application is favorably recommended by the Department, this decision is sent to the Graduate School. The Graduate School in turn notifies the applicant of admission and asks for acknowledgement of acceptance. If the applicant is not favorably recommended for graduate study by the Department, then the Graduate School notifies the applicant of the decision. The Academic Common Market allows out-of-state students to be admitted at in-state tuition fee levels if no college or university within the students' home states offers programs equivalent to the programs pursued by those students. The following states currently participate in this exchange: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. If you feel you are entitled to the Academic Common Market in-state tuition rate, please contact:
Southern Regional Education Board
The Department's policy is to make financial aid decisions separate from admission decisions. That is, a decision to admit a student to the program is not affected by whether or not the student requests financial aid. The financial aid most regularly available in the Department is in the form of graduate teaching and research assistantships. Other regularly available forms of financial aid are listed in the Graduate Catalogue and the appropriate application procedures are discussed. A small number of Fellowships are also available to the most outstanding new applicants. Applications [ fin_aid.pdf ] for graduate teaching and research assistantships should be submitted directly to the Department's Graduate Office. For new applicants (e.g., students not already enrolled in one or our programs) these applications are due on December 1st. For continuing students, applications for financial aid are due on January 1st. Please send financial aid application to: University of Maryland College Park
International Student Admission Due to additional time needed for processing the applications, the complete application and official academic credentials - beginning with secondary school records - should be received by the Graduate Admissions Office at least seven months prior to the semester he or she plans to enter. International applicants must also include scores on Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) if English is not the native language. Proper immigration documents and evidence of financial resources are also required. The GRE requirement is not waived for foreign students.
A written offer of admission by the Dean of Graduate Studies is made to an applicant who meets all admission requirements. The offer specifies the date of entrance which will normally coincide with the date requested in the application. The offer of admission must be accepted or declined by the date specified in the offer. If the Graduate School is not notified by the date specified, the offer of admission lapses and the space is assigned to another applicant. An individual whose offer of admission has lapsed must submit a new application and fee if he or she wants to be reconsidered for admission at a later date. The offer of admission is also a permit to register for courses and must be presented by the student at the time of first registration. The informal letter of admission sent to the applicant by the Department is not official and, thus, not a permit to register. Any student who cannot register in the authorized semester must immediately submit a written request to have the date of admission extended. This request must be sent to the Director of Graduate Records in the Graduate School, University of Maryland.
Minimum Admission Requirements The Graduate School requires as a minimum standard a "B" average or a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, in a program of study resulting in the award of a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university. In addition, the student's undergraduate program should include completion of the prerequisites for graduate study in his chosen field. In individual programs, where resources are available, a few applicants who do not meet this minimum standard for undergraduate work may be provisionally admitted if there is compelling evidence on the basis of other criteria of a reasonable likelihood of success in the program the person desires to enter. If an applicant has studied at the graduate level elsewhere, less weight may be, but is not necessarily, placed on the quality of the undergraduate academic record. In addition to the general Graduate School requirement, special admission requirements of the Department include the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test, and nine hours of course work related to criminal justice or criminology. Applicants are encouraged to have completed at least one course each in theory, statistics, and research methods.
Under certain conditions, applicants who are missing some of the prerequisite courses but who are otherwise fully qualified for admission may be given a provisional admission. Students receiving such an admission are notified of the conditions of their admission, the period of time they have to meet the conditions, and the need to receive a grade of "B" or better in any courses taken to meet the conditions.
After a student is recommended for admission, the student is advised by the Chairperson of the Department until such time as the student selects an advisor. M.A. students are expected to select an advisor from among the Department's Graduate Faculty prior to the end of their first semester. Request for approval of the advisor are available in the Department's Graduate Office. Students are free to change their advisor. They are responsible, however, for completion of the new advisor form which must be signed by the new advisor and Chairperson. The advisor is usually the chairperson of the student's thesis committee, but there is no requirement that this be the case. Graduate students may select any qualified member of the Graduate Faculty to act as their thesis advisor. A list of the Department's Graduate Faculty (Associate and Regular) is available in the Department's Graduate Office and on this web site.
The student must seek an appointment with the graduate advisor prior to registration for the first semester's course work. The advisor will assist in planning the degree program. Students should bear in mind that neither the advisor, the Department nor the Graduate School is under obligation to accept any courses to be applied to the student's official program as approved by the Graduate School which are not a part of the program developed with the advisor's assistance. The policies governing degree programs are subject to modification from time to time. The policies in force at the time of enrollment are binding upon the student, and subsequently established program requirements may not be imposed retroactively. With the prior approval of the advisor, however, students may elect to conform to all current program requirements. Contact: crimgrad@deans.umd.edu , for more information. |
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