General Information about Criminal Justice PhD Programs
Criminal Justice PhD programs are doctoral education programs in the social sciences that focus on matters related to law enforcement, legal issues, the societal causes that lead to higher crime rates, and the effects that criminal activity has on society as a whole and upon individuals. Criminal Justice PhD candidates typically choose a research topic that is of particular interest to them and relevant to their own prior experience within the field.
Because criminal justice is such a broad field, encompassing everything from forensic psychology to politcal and legal concerns, it’s important to choose a program at a school that has faculty who specialize in your area of interest. Most colleges and universities do not have a criminal justice academic department as such; if they have faculty who are specialists in criminal justice matters they may be part of the psychology department or sociology department. You may also find criminal justice PhD programs which are political science oriented or related to the field of forensic science.
Typically, required courses within the field of specialization will be minimal as candidates will already have experience related to the topic. You’ll be able to choose, of course, to take additional classes to augment what you already know. Required coursework will focus on research and analysis methods. There may also be courses in up-to-date research on certain relevant topics that you will be required to take if they directly relate to your own proposed research.
Typically in criminal justice PhD programs, the doctoral candidates focus on conducting their own research. The form that your own research will take depends entirely upon your specialization in the field; obviously a criminal psychology related specialization will require differing research than forensic science, even if thyey are both considered criminal justice PhD programs.