Qualified students will continue to Ph.D. program

Measure M.A. students'competence through written work by tracking the number who have completed their courses and defended their thesis. Students who have completed their thesis have learned how to develop a quality literature review, theoretical and methodological research design, appropriate statistical models, which make a significant contribution to the literature.

A thesis is the student's original contribution to the field, which contains a discrete and unique examination of data, presented in a lengthy written essay. Every thesis has a Committee consisting of members of the faculty who have expertise in the subject area. Committee members facilitate student learning by helping the student arrange, examine, and write the thesis. One committee member is the thesis Chair, who is the primary advisor. The Chair of the thesis Committee consults frequently with the student, while the student is researching and writing the thesis. These consultations result in student learning as the Chair meets one-one-one with the student. Submitting a completed thesis indicates that students have learned all the essential components of professional research, including developing a focused and comprehensive literature review, a qualitative or quantitative methodological structure, a rigorous analysis of the data, and conclusions that contribute to the field. Completing a thesis qualifies a M.A. student for entrance into a Doctoral Program in Criminal Justice or Criminology.

100% of students complete a quality thesis within 2 years of entering the M.A. program.

25% of M.A. students within the College of Criminal Justice completed their thesis within 2 years of entering the program. An evaluation rubric will be designed to aid the student and the committee in determining who might be qualified for Ph.D. program.

Thesis Committee members should do a better job of assisting students when they select their topics. Thesis topics are not selected quickly enough in the M.A. student's matriculation; hence, topics should be selected by the end of the student's first semester. Professors who teach classes of new cohorts of M.A. students encourage them to select their thesis topics by the end of the first semester. Topics should cover relevant and timely issues within the field, taking into consideration the student's qualifications, university assets, and faculty resources. Committee members should take more of an active role in advising and solving problems students encounter when writing their thesis. To improve student learning outcomes, Committee members should hold regular meetings with students writing theses. When working on a thesis, the student delves deeply into a topic that might be the jumping off point for work in a Ph.D. program. Throughout the thesis process Committee members should encourage the M.A. student to pursue a Ph.D. degree, making the thesis experience a valuable learning experience. A rubric has been designed to aid the committee in evaluating theses. All theses will be appraised according to choice of problem, theoretical framework, mode of inquiry, execution of study, interpretation of results, analysis, written presentation, originality of idea and/or approach, and contribution to the field. Each area will be given a rating from 1-5; a desired overall score of 41 (90%) or above suggests that student learning outcomes were achieved at a level to pursue a Ph.D. degree.