No. Both the Graduate School and the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department are unable to provide an application fee waiver at this time.
No. Our application process is centralized and does not require being sponsored or recommended by faculty. You are welcome to reach out to a faculty member to ask about their research, but any application inquiries sent to faculty will be redirected to the Program Coordinator or Graduate Director.
Consider pursuing this degree if you’re passionate about understanding crime, justice systems, and public policy—and you’re eager to make an impact through research, practice, or leadership. Our program is a great fit for those looking to advance careers in law enforcement, research, academia, or public service. If you’re motivated by questions about justice, social change, and empirical analysis, this could be the perfect next step in your journey.
Visit our faculty profiles to explore their research areas. If you find a faculty whose work resonates with your interests, it’s a strong indicator that our department could be a great match for your graduate studies.
The application deadline for Fall is January 10. For spring admissions (MA only) the deadline is July 1.
PhD applicants who submit all required materials for admission to the graduate program will be considered for financial support, typically offered through graduate teaching or research assistantships. Awards are competitive and contingent upon available departmental funding each academic year.
Master’s applicants typically do not receive funding from the department. However, please check on the Graduate School webpage for other funding opportunities.
Yes, we do require the Graduate Record Examination. To send your score please use the WSU institutional code 4705.
Continuation of financial support is governed by Graduate School policies and is contingent upon satisfactory performance in assigned teaching or research assistant duties and the availability of department funds, as well as consistent progress toward degree completion.
Graduate assistantships typically require students to engage in up to 20 hours of academic or research-related work per week under faculty supervision. In return, students receive a financial stipend, health insurance benefits, and a tuition waiver.
No. While funding is not guaranteed, PhD applicants who are admitted to the program are given priority consideration. The availability of assistantships and financial support varies annually based on institutional resources. Master’s students who are not funded directly through the department often secure graduate assistantship positions elsewhere on campus.
The number of assistantships available each academic year is contingent upon funding provided by the university administration and external research grants awarded to faculty members. In recent years, the program has admitted between 5-10 new graduate students annually.
Most incoming students who are accepted into the program with funding are awarded teaching assistantships. Research assistantships, by contrast, are generally supported through faculty-secured research grants. When such funding is available, and an applicant’s qualifications align with a faculty member’s specific research needs, a research assistantship may be offered in lieu of a teaching assistantship.
Applicants must have a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or, alternatively, a GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 semester (or 90 quarter) hours of undergraduate coursework. For graduate-level coursework, a minimum GPA of 3.30 over at least 12 semester credit hours is required. A GPA of 3.5 or higher is preferred for competitive consideration.
In addition to meeting the general admission requirements, international applicants must hold the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree—typically representing at least four years of post-secondary study beyond grade 12. They are also required to demonstrate English language proficiency (with a minimum TOEFL: 90; IELTS: 7) and provide documented evidence of financial support.
Preliminary admissions decisions are made by the Graduate Studies Committee, which consists of three faculty members and the graduate coordinator. These initial recommendations are subsequently reviewed and voted on by the full graduate faculty within the department to determine final admission decisions.
An MA or MS in criminal justice or a closely related field is required for admission to the Ph.D. program.
You can email the Graduate Director, Cortney Franklin (c.franklin@wsu.edu), or the Graduate Program Coordinator, Danielle Makin (danielle.makin@wsu.edu), for program inquiries.