PLUS ONE PROGRAM
The Plus One Program in Criminal Justice provides an opportunity for the best of Northeastern’s undergraduate criminal justice majors to complete both the undergraduate program (BS) and the graduate degree program (MS) in criminal justice in less time than if the programs were completed sequentially.
Students earning a Bachelor’s and then a Master’s degree from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University would need to earn a total of 160 semester hours of credit (128 semester hours for the BS and an 32 semester hours for the MS). However, in the Plus One program, students are allowed to take up to 16 semester hours of graduate courses in their junior and senior years, thereby reducing the total number of semester hours required for both degrees to 144.
Admission to the Plus One Program
Undergraduate students may apply to the Plus One program at the beginning of their junior year, contingent upon having completed the following courses in the undergraduate criminal justice major:
CRIM 1100 Introduction to Criminal Justice
CRIM 1200 Ethics, Values & Diversity
CRIM 2100 Criminal Due Process
CRIM 2200 Criminology
CRIM 3600 Criminal Justice Research Methods
CRIM 3700 Criminal Justice Statistics
Application is limited to students who have an undergraduate record with an overall GPA of at least 3.500 in courses taken to date and have completed at least 82 semester hours of undergraduate credit.
The Program
Once a student is admitted to the Plus One program, the graduate courses in which the student enrolls would replace 16 semester hours of upper-division criminal justice electives. Upon admission, students would typically complete the following Master’s core courses during their junior and/or senior years to earn these 16 semester hours:
CRIM7200 Criminology
CRIM7202 The Criminal Justice Process
CRIM7204 and CRIM 7205 Research Methods and Lab
CRIM7206 Statistical Analysis
CRIMXXX Graduate level law related course
Once all undergraduate degree requirements have been met, including the completion of at least 128 semester hours, students will graduate with the Bachelor’s degree and formally enter the Master of Science program. Students then complete an additional 16 semester hours of graduate coursework in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice to earn the Master’s degree.
How to Apply
- You should make an appointment with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice undergraduate academic advisor (Gail Horn 617-373-3327) and the Graduate Advisor (Laurie Mastone 617-373-2813) to make sure the program is right for you.
- If the School determines that you are eligible to apply for the Plus One Program, you will be given a Plus One Internal Admission Application.
- Submit this form, along with any additional materials required, to the College of Social Science and Humanities Graduate School, 124 Meserve Hall.
- Once you have submitted your application it will be entered into the ApplyYourself application system by Graduate School staff and your recommenders will be notified by email to submit their letters via this system.
