Frank&Stein

Yes, they do require a master's and they seemingly give you full credit for having it. I am thrilled at the opportunity to study with Dr. Nicole Leeper Piquero for my personal research interests and also learn from accomplished professors like Dr. John Worrall and Dr. Alex Piquero. I have withdrawn my application from South Carolina and South Florida where I had also been accepted. I've officially committed to the University of Texas at Dallas!!

I can't claim Maryland but I did get an email from UT Dallas accepting me into their program! I'm most excited because of a few of their professors and my research interests are a great fit. Their program is scheduled for 3 years and this is also very attractive for me. Does anyone have an opinion on UT Dallas' PhD program for criminology?

So far my funding offers have been a bit underwhelming and even though I am grateful for the opportunities I'm starting to have second thoughts. I think being a professor is an evolving profession where getting tenure is becoming extinct. That said, I think criminal justice/criminology is a growing field that is not (yet) saturated by PhD graduates. What do you think our chances are of getting a full time position after graduating? Are you expecting to have to be an adjunct for a few years before getting a full time position? I'm not just in this for the money. I'm not picking a PhD program because it pays the most and I'm not wanting to be a professor because I want to be rich. I do however value job security and there are plenty of online resources that strongly advise against getting your PhD. I'm not getting my PhD to not have simple things like medical benefits. So I'm curious what you guys think!

I just got a phone call from South Carolina accepting me into their program!

http://www.adpccj.com/documents/2013survey.pdf The above link is an interesting survey that includes information about funding. They say that the average stipend in just over 16k. I think the expected length of program and cost of living for the area are major factors. For me, I am not looking to create such a financial burden that my academic progress would be restricted. I'm not looking to be rich and I'm not even expecting to have money left over to save but if a funding offer cannot make ends meet because of the cost of living and length of the program I'm not sure how committed the program is to their student's success. A low funding offer also makes me question the stability of the program. Getting your PhD is challenging without having to worry about finding a summer job every year and without having to worry about funding dropping off after three years. If you are entering with your master's degree I would also expect the program to recognize that value and fund accordingly. Maybe this is coming off as entitled but I have found through the corporate world that if an employer is trying to squeeze profit out of you in the beginning they will likely abuse you in the future and view you as expendable (which we are). I recognize that most of us (including me) can be very swiftly replaced with another candidate with very similar credentials and am grateful for any and all funding offers. However, I think the funding offer from a program is the single greatest indicator of that program's commitment to your success. We have a lot to offer the program and there is no reason to settle for a sub par program or funding offer if you are lucky enough to have options. As one example if you are assisting in an online class as a TA you should understand the amount of money these classes are bringing in and how grad students facilitate this cash flow.

I don't think someone is being unfair by waiting to decide on multiple admission offers. There are many variables that are unknown like funding opportunities that you can estimate before applying but until a formal offer is extended; the full picture has yet to be painted. Funding can vary from year to year and you just don't know until it is in writing. Even after funding offers have been extended, a top applicant who has been accepted into multiple programs may be looking at funding offers evolving from this competition. I do not deny that being on a waitlist is full of anxiety but blaming the people who have been accepted makes as much sense to me as those who have been denied blaming those who are on the waitlist.

Hey 1415dr, Cincinnati is likely my first choice and I too was spooked by that individual acceptance. I imagine they are a little delayed by all of the days off they have had from the weather recently. I'm afraid to be a bother and ask them when we will here something so I instead check the results listings like a maniac. Hopefully we will find out soon! I'm guessing the funding for USF will be about 15k. I'm not sure about the cost of living for Tampa so I'm not sure how to feel about that. I'm certainly appreciative of the offer (if it is offered) but I will be very interested in other school's offers as well as schools like Cincinnati should have a relatively low cost of living. I'm really excited about the program at USF but am not sure about making ends meet without taking out significant loans.

Congratulations thom4004! I also got a phone call accepting me into USF! I'm very grateful and excited. I'm looking forward to their funding offer as that will likely be the single most important factor on which school I choose.

Hey thom4004, I think we might hear back from USF around mid to late February. When I look for previous results from that school that's when they came out in the past. Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted!

So far I have been denied by UC Irvine and Northeastern. I found out about both of these decisions during the last week of January. Out of all of the schools I applied to I thought I had the smallest chance of getting accepted into UC Irvine and UPenn. Even though I expected to be denied it was still discouraging but now more than ever I am happy I applied to so many schools. Northeastern was also disappointing as Boston is a great city and I think the school is also impressive. It seems like results are trickling in from other programs so I am excited to hear back from more programs.

Hello Everyone, I have been a frequent visitor to this site to gain as much insight as possible into the application process for my programs and I thought I would share some of that experience for others to learn from. I graduate this spring with my Master's degree in criminal justice from an online program run by a fantastic brick and mortar school. I majored in criminal justice for my Bachelor's degree as well and since my Bachelor's degree I have been working for three years in the criminal justice system. I had a 3.6 gpa in undergrad and another 3.6 gpa for my master's program. My gre scores were 156 verbal, 157 quantitative and 4.0 for writing. I do not have significant research or publication experience. My Master's program was a terminal program that I took part time for two years while working full time. My undergraduate school is nothing special and my Master's program comes from a fantastic school but I am not sure if PhD programs dislike the fact that it is 100% web based. I have applied to 10 schools which cost about $1,000. The schools are the following in no particular order. 1. University of Cincinnati 2. John Jay College 3. Northeastern 4. UC Irvine 5. UT Dallas 6. University of South Florida 7. Florida International 8. Old Dominion University 9. University of South Carolina 10. University of Pennsylvania I'm not sure what to expect with regard to getting accepted/denied and funding/no funding. One resource I have found helpful along the way is the following website: www.adpccj.com/ This website has surveys which give information on applicants' gre and gpa scores and much more. I wish there was more information like this website and that is why I'm making this post; I want others to have a little more insight into this process. I consider myself to be a middle of the road applicant that you may be able to relate to and gain an idea of what it takes to be accepted or denied at the previously mentioned schools. I will update my results as they come in. . .