MS in Criminal Justice

Criminology, Law and Society homepage

Become a Mason Graduate Student

All applicants for graduate study at George Mason University must meet the admission standards specified in the Admission chapter of the University Catalog.

CHSS Graduate Admissions is self-managed. You are responsible for submitting all required application materials by the posted deadline. Review your program's Admissions Requirements and Deadlines before you begin your application. You can also visit our Grad Admissions FAQs page for helpful hints on how best to prepare your transcripts and other Admissions materials.

Step 1: Complete and submit the online Graduate Admissions application:

Step 2: Upon submission and payment of the online application, you will receive an email confirming application submission and instructions for uploading any supplementary materials required to complete the admission process. You will also be assigned a Mason identification number—called a G number—that will be key to all University communications. You can find this number through your self-service center.

Step 3: Check your application status. You can use your application log-in and password to access your information throughout the application process. Graduate Admissions may send updates or notify you of issues with your application through your self-service center, so it is best to log in periodically to stay on top of your application.

Step 4: For newly admitted students, refer to the CHSS New Graduate Student webpage for tips on confirming enrollment, submitting official transcripts, registering for class and more.

Program Specific Requirements

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Additional Information

The submitted goals statement should be 200-300 words in length describing what you intend to do with your MS degree in Criminal Justice.

The writing sample is an essay of 500-750 words that identifies a current problem or issue in criminal justice and examines promising approaches to mitigating or resolving it. The essay should be original work and not have been written previous to this application. It should be persuasive to a criminal justice policy maker or practitioner. The essay can include references (not counted toward the word limit), but these are not required.

Two letters of recommendation should come from faculty members or individuals with first-hand knowledge of your academic or professional capabilities.

The Office of Graduate Admissions, in coordination with the MS in Criminology, Law and Society review committee, will consider requests from admitted students to defer their enrollment to a future term if they choose not to enroll in the semester for which they were accepted.  Offers of funding are not guaranteed for deferrals and are at the discretion of the program of admission.  All requests for deferral must be submitted using the directions in the Self-Service Center by the enrollment deadline listed in the student’s offer of admission. Deferrals are only granted for a period up to one full academic year (Ex. Fall to Fall).

Application Deadlines

Fall Priority Deadline: May 1

Spring Priority Deadline: November 1

All applicants are strongly advised to submit all supporting documents by the program's posted deadline. Late applications will be considered on a space-available basis.

Fall admission:

Applications for Fall 2019 will be accepted until August 1, 2019. Applications that have been submitted but are missing supplementary materials after August 1 will be considered until August 15, 2019.

Spring admission:

Applications for spring 2019 will be accepted until January 8, 2019.  Applications that have been submitted but are missing supplementary materials after January 8 will be considered until January 15, 2019.

Additional Requirements for

International Applicants

Students applying for graduate study must have earned a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution of higher education, which is verified from official transcripts, by the time they enroll at Mason. They should also have earned a GPA equivalent to a 3.0 on a 4-point scale.

Unofficial documents may be considered for admissions purposes only. Applicants may upload copies of their transcript with their application. Transcript must include a version in the original language as well as in English, and should contain a copy of the graduation certificate/diploma to verify the conferral date. Transcript evaluations can be made from unofficial documents.

For student who prefer to submit official transcripts instead, they can be mailed directly to:

Office of Graduate Admissions
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MS 4C8
Fairfax, VA 22030

Please review the guidelines for international transcript submission.

*Note: For admitted students needing an F-1 or J-1 visa, the Office of Graduate Admissions and the Office of International Services and Programs must have an official transcript on file before visa paperwork can be completed. These can be submitted to the Office of Graduate Admissions after receipt of a decision of admission to the above address.

Transcript Evaluations

A transcript evaluation is also required for all international transcripts. Evaluations must be completed by an accredited agency approved by NACES or AACRAO, or you may submit your transcript for evaluation by George Mason’s International Credential Evaluation office. If you choose to use Mason’s service, please expect 6-8 weeks for processing.

For more information, visit the International Application Hints section of the Admissions Website.

Proof of English Proficiency

Students who were educated outside of the US, Canada (excluding Quebec), UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand must submit qualifying TOEFL, IELTS, or Pearson Test of English exam results. All examinations require advance registration and it could take several weeks to receive your results. It is important to register for these examinations early.

Minimum scores required for each exam:

  • TOEFL: 88 points, minimum of 20 points in each section
  • IELTS: 6.5 total band score
  • Pearson: minimum score of 59

Visa Information

Please submit the following documents as part of your I-20 application:

If you already hold an F-1 or J-1 visa, please provide a copy of your I-20 form and your passport ID photo as part of your application. For questions regarding the I-20 application, please contact the Office of Graduate Admissions or the Office of International Programs and Services.

*Note: For admitted students needing an F-1 or J-1 visa, the Office of Graduate Admissions and the Office of International Services and Programs must have an official transcript on file before visa paperwork can be completed. These can be submitted to the Office of Graduate Admissions after receipt of an admitted decision to the above address.


Non-Degree Admissions

You have the option to take graduate courses in non-degree status. To apply, you must complete an online application for your intended start term and include transcripts as well as a resume. You will also be required to indicate on the application which courses you plan to take for approval during the application review process. Credits earned in non-degree status may potentially transfer to a degree program at a later date so long as it meets the program requirements and the program director approves the transfer. For information on transfer credit policies, please refer to the University Catalog.

Non-Degree Requirements

College Transcripts Goals Statement GRE Portfolio Recommendation Letters Resume Writing Sample

Application deadlines for graduate non-degree coursework differ from program deadlines. For additional information on the non-degree application process and deadlines please refer to Applying for Non-Degree Graduate Study.