Table Of ContentPROPOSAL TO INITIATE A
DOCTORAL PROGRAM (Ph.D.) IN JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Louisville
CIP CODE: 43.0103
Effective Academic Year 2012-13
August 2011
Table of Contents
Introductory Information ................................................................................................ 4
Need for Program………………. ................................................................................…5
Relevance to the University Mission and Strategic Plan ............................................... 8
Consistency with the Vision of the College of Arts and Sciences .................................10
Program Description ...................................................................................................... 11
Curriculum Requirements ..............................................................................................11
Comprehensive Exams ...................................................................................................15
Course Descriptions .......................................................................................................15
Resources ......................................................................................................................... 20
Facilities .........................................................................................................................20
Library ............................................................................................................................21
Faculty ............................................................................................................................21
Sources of Revenue ........................................................................................................23
The Five Questions .......................................................................................................... 24
Are More Kentuckians Ready for Post Secondary Education? ......................................24
Are More Students Enrolling? ........................................................................................25
Are More Students Advancing Through the System? ....................................................31
Are We Preparing Kentuckians for Life and Work? ......................................................32
Are Kentucky’s Communities and Economy Benefiting? .............................................34
Expenditures .................................................................................................................... 36
Revenues .......................................................................................................................... 37
Appendix 1…………………………………………………………………………………...41
Appendix 2……………………………………………………………………………………55
Appendix 3……………………………………………………………………………………72
Appendix 4……………………………………………………………………………………255
Appendix 5……………………………………………………………………………………258
Appendix 6……………………………………………………………………………………262
PROPOSED Ph.D. IN JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION
I. Introductory Information
Issues related to crime are consistently at the top of local, state, national, and international discussions. In
1990, there were 13 Ph.D. programs in criminology and criminal justice. In of December 2001, there
were over 25 doctoral granting programs in criminology/criminal justice. According to U.S. News &
World Report, there are now 36 Ph.D. programs in criminology and criminal justice.1 2Institutions
offering doctoral degrees in criminal justice or criminology (excluding Sociology and other departments
that offer criminal justice and criminology as concentrations) include:
• American University
• Arizona State University
• Claremont Graduate School
• Florida State University
• George Mason University
• Georgia State University
• Indiana University
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY)
• Michigan State University
• North Dakota State University
• Northeastern University
• Old Dominion University
• Pennsylvania State University
• Portland State University
• Prairie View A & M University
• Rutgers University
• Sam Houston State University
• Simon Fraser University
• State University of New York – Albany
• Temple University
• Texas State University @ San Marcos
• University of Arkansas at Little Rock
• University of California-Irvine
• University of Cincinnati
• University of Delaware
• University of Illinois – Chicago
• University of Maryland
• University of Missouri-St. Louis
• University of Nebraska
1 Carolyn Kleiner Butler, “A Good Time to Study Crime,” USNews.com,
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/articles/brief/06hum_brief.php
2 There are approximately 2200 programs that offer BS, BA or Associate degrees in Criminal Justice, Criminology
or similar disciplines.
• University of Pennsylvania
• University of South Florida
• University of South Carolina
• University of Southern Mississippi
• University of Texas-Dallas
• Washington State University
Doctoral degrees in criminology have been offered in Sociology departments for approximately 50 years.
Doctoral degrees specializing in criminal justice are somewhat younger. There is a difference in
perspective between the two. Criminology concentrates on the development of theoretical perspectives
that explain criminality. Criminal Justice typically includes criminology but also offers a broader
perspective on how the criminal justice system operates. It includes both an operational examination of
the system (administration, planning, and program evaluation) and a critical examination of policy (i.e.,
racial profiling, bias in sentencing). Doctoral students in criminal justice are prepared for university
teaching and research positions as well as research positions in government and private sector
organizations.
Need for the Program
Data from the National Research Council indicates that in 1999 there were 82 criminology/criminal
justice Ph.D.'s awarded. During 2004 and 2005, approximately 100 Ph.D.’s graduated each year. A count
of positions advertised in the Chronicle for Higher Education during the months of August, September,
November and December of 2009 showed a total of approximately 150 different positions advertised
during this time period. Of these 150 advertised positions, 98 percent were for assistant professors and an
additional 3 percent were for assistant or associate professors. While the data, at face value, would
suggest that there is a “need” for a fifty percent increase in Ph.D.’s with doctoral degrees in criminal
justice/criminology than currently exists, the actual figures show a greater deficit. Only approximately 57
percent of the Ph.D. graduates from existing programs accept academic positions.3 As such, there are
then 57 Ph.D. candidates produced each year to fill the more than 150 available positions. This suggests a
deficit of almost 200 percent in Ph.D.’s in this area annually. This deficit has been in existence for a
number of years and its consequences can be seen in the number of Ph.D.’s in sociology, political science,
public administration and other social science specialties who are hired annually by programs in criminal
justice and criminology.
During 2006, a survey was distributed to criminal justice and criminology Ph.D. programs in the United
States. 4 Twenty-six of the programs responded to the survey. The data suggest that there is a “need” for
additional Ph.D. programs created through both the interests of students in this degree as well as openings
in academia. Specifically, this survey found that during AY 2005-06, the doctoral programs received an
average of 38 applications and accepted an average of 13 individuals into their doctoral programs. Of
those individuals accepted into the Ph.D. programs, an average of 5 enrolled in the doctoral programs.
The “demand” for this degree during AY 2005-06 clearly exceeds the available openings in Ph.D.
programs. Additionally, the graduation rates for these programs are generally quite high. Overall, these
3 Frost, N. and T. Clear, Doctoral Education in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Journal of Criminal Justice
Education, Vol 18, No. 1 (March 2007), p. 35-52.
4 Frost & Clear
programs responding to the survey had only a 2.5% attrition rate among their admitted students. While
the average number of students admitted (7-8 per year across all programs) is higher than the number of
students who graduate, the graduation numbers are not insignificant and average three to four students per
year for the existing programs.
Recently, the Department of Justice Administration advertised to hire two faculty, both positions being
assistant professor, tenure track. In one search, only 48 percent of the applicants had degrees in criminal
justice/criminology and in the other, 27 percent non-criminal justice/criminology degrees. The total
applicant pool for both of these searches included a wide range of degrees and, as such, reflects the
current deficit of new/recent criminal justice/criminology Ph.D.’s to fill available “entry-level” academic
appointments.
Similarly, a report in June 2008 from Inside Higher Education reported that, based on an analysis of
openings in Sociology Departments that were advertised in 2006, the most frequent subfield identified
was criminology/delinquency. And, while 35% of the advertised openings with subfields were
criminology/delinquency and 41% had subfields of criminology/delinquency or law and society,
graduates with Ph.D.’s in Sociology were not concentrating in these areas. Instead, the prominent
subfields of graduates during 2006 were sociology of culture, sex and gender, organizations, occupations
and work, social movements and race. As such, there is evidence to suggest that these positions are
attracting Ph.D.’s in criminal justice and are therefore an additional source of positions and openings for
these graduates.5
There is, within the academic market, a clear need for Ph.D.’s in criminal justice/criminology within both
criminal justice and sociology programs. Specifically, the new openings (in both criminal justice and
sociology) exceed the existing pool of individuals available for employment by approximately 200
percent annually. Additionally, within the graduate programs, students who are admitted and actually
enroll have a very high (98.5 percent) completion rate.
The proposed Ph.D. in Justice Administration will be the only Ph.D. in Criminal Justice/Justice
Administration within the Commonwealth. The Ph.D. will be a traditional academic degree in criminal
justice/justice administration but with some unique features that will increase the attractiveness of
University of Louisville as a degree-granting institution. First, the curriculum will emphasize the
examination of public policies and programs in criminal justice, especially their management and
effectiveness. It will stress applied knowledge within the context of theory development. This will make
the degree attractive to both individuals interested in pursing a more traditional academic career as well as
those interested in pursuing research and planning positions within both the public and private sector.
Second, this program will offer students an opportunity to pursue the doctorate on a part-time basis. The
majority of doctoral programs currently focus on full time students. This eliminates a significant portion
of potential students who are working, full time, in criminal justice and private sector agencies and wish
to advance their career, knowledge, and skills through the completion of a Ph.D. program. A total of 91%
of the Ph.D. graduate students in AY2005-06 were pursuing their education full-time, in part due to
5 Sociology Jobs Plentiful, But Do They Match?, Inside Higher Ed,
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/06/23/socjobs
limitations posed by program requirements that only full-time students be admitted. 6 Of course,
traditional, full time students will not be excluded and instead, this non-traditional pool of potential
students included as part of the target population for this degree. Lastly, while graduate student program
admissions show relative equity between males and females, graduate students in criminal justice and
criminology who are non-Caucasian are in a distinct minority. Only 8 percent of all doctoral students in
AY 2005-06 and 5 percent of all admitted doctoral students during this same year were African
American, even fewer were Hispanic (5 percent of current and 3 percent of admitted) in ethnicity. Racial
and ethnic diversity in higher education is important but “…particularly so in the field of criminology and
criminal justice”7. The proposed Ph.D. in justice administration would be developed with the objective of
initiating the program with a strong and active plan for recruitment of racial and ethnic minorities. This
would include developing relationships with active “feeder” programs at colleges and universities known
for large racial and ethnic minority enrollments with criminal justice/criminology programs, limiting
some portion of assistantships for racial and ethnic minorities on a priority basis, active and direct
recruitment of racial and ethnic minorities as doctoral students and as new faculty for the Ph.D. program.
The Department of Justice Administration has prominence as a program that offers undergraduate and
graduate curricula that provide students with a thorough understanding of the criminal justice system and
its interrelationship with society. The courses give students an in-depth knowledge about the application
of justice, the crime problem in this society, and the theoretical causes of crime. This foundation prepares
students for successful careers in law enforcement, corrections, probation/parole, juvenile justice, and
social services, as well as graduate school and law school. The Department of Justice Administration is
also one of the oldest in the United States, dating from the inception of the Southern Police Institute and
the Administrative Officers’ Course in 1951. Currently the department consists of the undergraduate
(Bachelor of Science) and graduate (Master of Science) programs as well as the Southern Police Institute
and Institute for Community Security and Public Safety. The strength of the program is the relationship
that exists between the academic and applied components of the organization and it is upon this strength
that the Ph.D. program will be developed.
The Ph.D. in Justice Administration will produce graduates who will be able to find ready employment in
their field of expertise – criminal justice/criminology. It is anticipated that the trends for placement of our
graduates will follow national trends that have been identified in the research cited previously.
Approximately one-half of our Ph.D. graduates will be employed in academia and the other half in the
public/private/not-for-profit sector. Specifically, those who are not employed in academia will be able to
find positions in research and other organizations such as the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S.
Department of State, city and county criminal justice planning agencies, International Association of
Chiefs of Police, American Correctional Association, National Institute of Corrections and other not-for-
profit organizations that rely on research and evidence-based practices to determine their programmatic
activity.
II. Relevance to University Mission and Strategic Plan
U of L’s Strategic Vision statement reads:
6 Frost & Clear
7 Frost & Clear 44
In pursuit of our goal, we shall, first and foremost, focus on our metropolitan mission and our 200-year
tradition of serving the citizens and institutions in our nine county service region.
The proposed program is consistent with this metropolitan mission. In particular:
• Many criminal justice agencies within the service region of the University of Louisville have or
have recently established research units. These agencies such as the Louisville Metro Police
Department, Criminal Justice Commission, Kentucky Justice Cabinet, and Kentucky State Police
have a significant need for professional staff with research credentials. This Ph.D. program will
contribute to meeting this need in Kentucky. In addition, while the primary service region of the
university is a nine county region, this need for professional staff within criminal justice agencies
is a national need, which could be met, in part, by graduates from this program.
• The management of crime problems is essential to the safety and economic well being of a
community. Specialized research at the doctoral level will add valuable information to this crucial
component of quality of life in our communities.
• There are few Justice Administration Ph.D. programs in the Ohio Valley of the United States.
The closest universities that offer a Ph.D. similar to Justice Administration are University of
Cincinnati, Indiana University (Criminal Justice), and University of Missouri – St. Louis
(Criminology/Criminal Justice). To date, no program of this sort exists in the Commonwealth of
Kentucky. This forces students from regional universities to attend universities out of state to
obtain a Ph.D. in a Justice Administration field.
The proposed Ph.D. in Justice Administration is in accord with the mission of the University of Louisville
as it seeks to fulfill its Mission Statement.
The University of Louisville shall be a premier, nationally recognized metropolitan research university
with a commitment to the liberal arts and sciences and to intellectual, cultural, and economic
development of our diverse communities and citizens through the pursuit of excellence in five interrelated
strategic areas: (1) Educational Experience, (2) Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activity, (3)
Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, and Communication, (4) Partnerships and Collaborations, and (5)
Institutional Effectiveness of Programs and Services.
The University of Louisville, during 2006, reached its goals within the Challenge for Excellence. The
current mission of the institution seeks to retain and build upon these achievements. The development of
Ph.D. programs and specifically a Ph.D. in Justice Administration will further fulfill the current mission.
The proposed Doctor of Philosophy in Justice Administration would contribute to sustaining the
achievement of several strategic goals as specified within the 2008-2020 strategic initiatives.
Strategic Area 1: Educational Experience
The goal of the proposed Justice Administration Ph.D. program is to educate students so they are
prepared to be active researchers and/or teachers in the field of Justice Administration. Students will be
able to conduct quality research that is of a caliber that is publishable in scholarly journals and/or used to
inform public policy through public agencies. Students will be prepared to teach at research institutions
as well as regional and community colleges, depending on their interests. Students will additionally have
the knowledge and skills to engage in research and policy development within criminal justice agencies.
Goal 2: Double the number of nationally recognized programs.
A Ph.D. in Justice Administration would be a nationally recognized program. Since there are fewer than
40 Ph.D. programs in justice administration/criminal justice/criminology this program would be part of a
small, elite and widely recognized set of institutions which offer such Ph.D. programs.
Goal 3: Increase doctoral degrees awarded annually.
The Ph.D. in Justice Administration would produce Ph.D.’s therefore contributing to the number of
doctoral degrees awarded annually by the university. Currently, the university has only one doctoral
program in the social sciences. More importantly, the graduating Ph.D.’s in justice administration would
find multiple viable opportunities for employment upon graduation.
Strategic Area 2: Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activity
Goal 5: Increase Research and Scholarly Activity
Increase total grants and contracts
Increase total peer-reviewed federal grants and contracts
Increase number of investigators and researchers
The Ph.D. in Justice Administration will generate more research and scholarship as well as contracts and
grants at the university through increased activity among Department of Justice Administration faculty
and Ph.D. students. The presence of a Ph.D. in the Department of Justice Administration will make it a
more “attractive” grant recipient to federal and other funding agencies. Additionally, faculty within the
department will participate in the coordination and oversight of research seminars that will provide a
greater visibility of the department and university’s research accomplishments.
Strategic Area 4: Partnerships and Collaborations
Be a national leader in preparing students to live and work in a global society
emphasizing cultural diversity, international studies and social justice
The Ph.D. in Justice Administration will prepare Ph.D. students to live and work in a global society. The
nature of the discipline is such that our course work and research strongly emphasize cultural diversity,
international and global issues and issues related to social justice. This program would not only prepare
graduates to live and work in a global society but to prepare their future students to do the same.
With the advent of a new Justice Administration program at the doctorate level, interdisciplinary work
would have decided appeal, since it fosters an exchange of ideas where two or three disciplines meet and
possible collaboration in classroom teaching and research. While the majority of courses required for the
Ph.D. would be Justice Administration courses, the curriculum has been designed to allow students to
take elective courses outside Justice Administration. This could include courses from not only the social
sciences but additionally courses from the natural sciences, education, business and the humanities. As
both an academic and “professional” Ph.D., the requirements for graduation have been developed as a
means of providing students with a sound basis of common knowledge but with enough flexibility in
order to tailor the degree to their specific academic and professional goals.
The establishment of this program will also help the University maintain its achievement of “national
recognition through selective investment in programs that have clear potential to achieve national
eminence and enhance educational quality in our graduate programs” through the development of a
program with a “unique niche.” This program will educate students so they are prepared to be active
researchers and/or teachers in criminal justice and criminology. Students will be able to conduct high
quality research that is of a caliber that is publishable in scholarly journals and/or used to inform public
policy through public agencies. Students will be prepared to teach at research institutions as well as
regional and community colleges, depending on their interests. Additionally, a Justice Administration
program at the doctoral level has the potential to accommodate interdisciplinary work. The nature of the
discipline itself is interdisciplinary and, as such, carries high potential for collaboration in teaching and
research as well as the ability for students to tailor their specific course and research work to their
individual professional and educational needs and interests.
Consistency with the Vision of the College of Arts and Sciences
The proposed Ph.D. in Justice Administration is in also accord with the Strategic Plan for the College of
Arts and Sciences, 2007-2017 specifically:
Priority 1: Improving the quality, depth, and breadth of the A&S academic programs by working to
achieve regional or national distinction in selected areas.
Priority 2: Improving the quality of the academic experience of and the outcomes achieved by
students enrolled in the College.
Priority 3: Continuing to build the A&S research mission in Graduate Programs.
Adopting the proposed doctorate in Justice Administration would address the long term goal of increasing
the number of doctoral graduates, a number which has grown slowly at U of L in recent years. More
specifically, based on information presented during the recent sessions related to our achievement of
strategic goals under the Challenge for Excellence, one of the concerns was whether or not the university
could sustain its current graduation rate given the number of Ph.D. programs on campus. If the National
Research Council is any indicator, the demand for Ph.D.'s will continue, and possibly increase, in the area
of Justice Administration. As both an academic and professional Ph.D., this program will have a larger
potential pool of students than programs that are exclusively academic in nature.
III. Program Description
Curriculum Requirements for the Doctoral Program in Justice Administration
The doctoral program is designed to blend theoretical and applied knowledge in criminal justice. Entry
requirements for the program will include:
• Completion of a MS/A degree in Criminal Justice or related discipline,
Description:Criminology concentrates on the development of theoretical perspectives .. Completion of a MS/A degree in Criminal Justice or related discipline,
