Academic Regulations

A. Program Admission Requirements

Guilford’s Graduate School programs are competitive; acceptance is not automatic even if the applicant does meet the department’s minimum admission requirements. The number of students accepted depends on the quality of applications, availability of financial aid, and adequate faculty supervision. Similar to Guilford’s undergraduate admissions process, the graduate admissions decisions are made on a more holistic basis.

1. Admission Criteria

Please use the links below to learn more about the admission criteria for the Guilford College graduate programs.

2. Transfer and Non-matriculated Credits

Up to two graduate courses may be transferred from another accredited institution toward the degree.  Any transfer credits must have received a B or better and all must be approved by the program. Exceptions may be made at the discretion of the program.

Non-matriculating Students
Students may take up to two courses in the program prior to being formally accepted.  Grades of B or better are required for the  courses to apply toward the degree.  Exceptions may be made at the  discretion of the program.

Non-matriculating students must complete the application, submit undergraduate transcripts, and pay the application fee in whole at time of application submission.  Guilford does not require letters of recommendation, statement of purpose, and GRE score for non-matriculating applicants.

3. Application Deadlines

Applications for admission into the program will be reviewed on a  rolling basis. Admission for the summer semester will not be considered.

4. Accelerated B.S. to M.S. Program for Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Guilford students only)

This program allows Guilford students to begin their graduate work as undergraduates. In this model, full time Guilford undergraduate students would need to apply for the graduate program in their junior year and if accepted, would take one graduate course in the fall of their senior year and two graduate courses in the spring of their senior year. The graduate courses taken would replace the two upper level electives in the Criminal Justice major and the one lower level elective in the Criminal Justice major.
Undergraduates who are not Criminal Justice majors may be accepted into the program but the decision to allow graduate courses to count for major requirements is at the discretion of the department that student is majoring in. If a department does not allow graduate courses to count for major requirements, the graduate courses would count as general elective credits toward their undergraduate degree.
Admission into the accelerated program requires

  • A minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0
  • A completed graduate program application in the student’s
    junior year
  • Acceptance into the program by the Graduate Program Director

An undergraduate student will not be allowed to take graduate courses until they have completed JPS 300 (Professionalism and Ethics in CJ), JPS 333 (Criminology) and JPS 337 (Research Methods). 

Graduate courses taken as an undergraduate student will double count toward both their bachelor’s degree and their master’s degree.

Only full time undergraduate students are eligible to be admitted into the accelerated B.S to M.S. program.

B. Program Requirements

Please refer to Courses A - Z in the Guilford College Catalog for all course descriptions:https://catalog.guilford.edu/catalog/courses/

1. Master of Business Administration Degree  

a. Required Courses
MBA Foundations
Ethical Leadership
Marketing in a Digital Age
Corporate Finance
Business Economics
Business Strategy
International Entrepreneurship
Business and Ethics
MBA Capstone Project

2.  Criminal Justice Master of Science Degree

a. Required Core Courses 600 Level - 4 courses (16 credits)
Foundations of Crim. Justice
Advanced Research Methods
Problem-Solving CJ
Leadership in Criminal Justice
b. Required Culmination (Thesis) Courses - 2 courses (8 credits)
Thesis Preparation
Thesis
c. Elective courses - 4 courses (16 credits)
Crime and Policy
Criminological Theory
Cybercrime
Race, Class, Gender and Criminal Justice
Leadership in Criminal Justice
Digital Privacy and the Law
National Security
JPS 519Crime, Justice and Community4
Corrections
Corrections & Incarceration
Current Issues in Corrections
JPS 603Crime, Justice and Community4
Law and Courts
Advanced Criminal Procedure
Prosecution and Trial
Current Issues in Courts
Policing
Advanced Policing
Current Issues in Policing
Police Brutality and Culture
Independent Study and Special Topics
Special Topics
Independent Study
Thesis Continuation
d. Criminal Justice Master of Science Degree Master's Thesis
The thesis for completion of the Master’s degree is required. This includes registration in JPS 650 and JPS 651 for eight credits, which will be offered every semester. There are two options for the thesis. The first is an empirically-based research study. This will include either collecting data or analyzing a previously collected data set. The thesis is expected to be an original work based upon empirical research, library research, secondary research, or experience in the field. Students who plan to pursue a doctoral degree are recommended to choose to complete an empirically-based thesis. The second thesis option is a practical problem solving thesis. The problem solving thesis will have the student critically assess a problem in a criminal justice institution toward a goal of policy change to minimize or eliminate the problem presented. The written academic work for the problem solving practicum is expected to be an original work based upon library research, secondary research, and any experience in the field. Students who have no plans to pursue a doctoral degree are recommended to choose the problem solving practicum option. For more specific information regarding the thesis and the thesis process, please see the Thesis Manual.

3. Master of Science in International Sport Management Degree  

a. Required Courses
Strategic Planning and Problem Solving in Sport
Sociology and Sport
Internal Operations in Sport
External Operations in Sport
International Perspectives on Sport Management
Leadership Principles and Perspectives for Sport
International Model of Sport
MISM Capstone Project