Program Description

Application Requirements

Program-Specific Instructions

Additional Information

Students admitted to the doctoral program without a graduate degree in a relevant area will be required to complete the master’s degree as an integral part of the doctorate. There is no required background or preferred experience, but students should demonstrate interest in and aptitude for graduate study in criminology, law and society.

The submitted goals statement should be 2-3 pages in length and explain why you want to earn a graduate degree in Criminology, Law and Society and why you want to do so at Mason. If applicable, please refer to specific faculty members’ work and /or research areas and explain your interest (uploaded via online application).

The application requires the names and email addresses (via online application) of the three faculty members or individuals who have first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s academic or professional capabilities who will be submitting required recommendations.

Applicants must send in GRE scores on the verbal, quantitative, and analytical tests taken within five years of application.

The writing sample should be a recent sole-authored work of at least 2,500 words (uploaded online).

The Office of Graduate Admissions, in coordination with the PhD in Criminology, Law and Society review committee, will consider requests from admitted students to have their application reconsidered for a future term if they choose not to enroll in the semester for which they were accepted. A reconsideration is not an automatic admission and an applicant must go through admissions review again, regardless of previous decision. Offers of funding are not guaranteed for reconsiderations and are at the discretion of the program of admission. All requests for reconsideration must be submitted using the application portal by the enrollment deadline listed in the student’s offer of admission. Reconsideration is granted only for a period of one full academic year (Ex. Fall to Fall).

English Proficiency Requirements

All Mason students must have a full command of academic English to be successful in their studies. For this reason, Mason requires applicants to demonstrate English proficiency for admission consideration, regardless of citizenship. Click here to view the requirements.

International Transcript Requirements

All transcripts from colleges or universities outside the United States must be translated into English, if applicable, and submitted for evaluation to the Mason Office of Admissions. Mason will provide evaluation service free of charge for all international transcripts, however, some programs may request an outside evaluation be completed. Because of volume, more time may be needed to process applications requiring a Mason evaluation. You should submit your application 6 weeks prior to the deadline if you plan to utilize Mason’s free evaluation service. For expedited service, students may submit their documents to any NACES member organization at their own expense. If you decide to use an external evaluation service or if your program requires an outside evaluation, GPA and Degree equivalences must be included with your course-by-course evaluation. Mason evaluations are used for internal purposes and are not released to applicants. For information on international transcript requirements, go here.