Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice

The Doctoral Program in Criminal Justice is a post-master's program of study and research. The program is composed of a substantive core focused on criminal justice theory and institutions, a research methods core that prepares social scientists in the scientific method and social-science statistics, and a selection of substantive criminal justice concentrations (policing, corrections, and juvenile justice).

The program focuses on criminal justice and takes advantage of the city of Orlando and surrounding cities and counties to examine criminal justice issues from multiple angles and levels.

The program is intended to serve many purposes. Chief among them are:

Prepare disciplinary stewards capable of advancing scholarship in criminal justice,
Prepare a qualified workforce to assume criminal justice instructional responsibilities in postsecondary institutions,
Prepare analysts competent to staff federal, state, and local criminal justice agencies, and
Improve safety and justice in communities through research partnerships with neighborhood, city, county and state agencies and associations.

An earned Master's degree in criminal justice or a closely related discipline from an accredited institution.
Official, competitive GRE score taken within the last five years.
Three letters of reference from faculty or professionals who can assess the student's ability to succeed in a doctoral program. A minimum of two letters must be from university faculty members, at least one of which must be written by a faculty member from the institution/program from which the Master's degree was earned, preferably a thesis advisor or close mentor who has the capacity to directly assess the applicant's potential for PhD-level work
A personal narrative of 500 1,000 words describing research interests, educational expectations, career aspirations, level of computer skills, and any special qualifications that may enhance the overall learning environment of the CJ PhD program.
A curriculum vita.
A writing sample that is at least 2,000 words long, is academic in nature (e.g., paper written for a Master's class), and demonstrates the applicant's ability to complete graduate-level composition. Should not be an article accepted for publication and applicant must be sole author.
Applicants may be requested to participate in an interview (in person, by Skype, or by phone) with the Department's Doctoral Program Committee.

Admission to the Criminal Justice doctoral program will be granted on a competitive basis. Meeting minimum UCF admission standards does not guarantee program admission. Final admission is based on evaluation of the applicant's abilities, past performance, recommendations, match to the program, ability to enhance program strength and diversity, and potential for completing the degree and making significant contributions to criminal justice.

Minimum UCF Requirement for TOEFL/IELTS
TOEFL iBT score of 80
IELTS band score of 6.5