Criminal Justice, MCJ

The Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) program is designed for students interested in comprehensive professional graduate education in the field of criminal justice. It is intended to develop in the student a fundamental understanding of the basic fields within criminal justice and of background material from supporting disciplines that would enable the student to adapt to many operational specializations. As an academic and professional field of study, this program is dedicated to preparing men and women not only to administer the system as it presently exists but also to evaluate, to analyze and to change—to become pioneers in accelerating the shaping of a rational and responsive criminal justice system.

To deal with this system effectively, research design capability must be developed along with the skills required for the ordering and analysis of empirical data. This course of study will also prepare the student to be an innovator in crime control and prevention through course work dealing with strategies and skills for promoting individual, organizational, and social change.

General Requirements

A minimum of 36 credit hours of appropriate graduate study, including a minimum of 27 credit hours in criminal justice. The remaining courses for the degree may be under the criminal justice heading or under another discipline, with prior written approval of the faculty advisor.
A grade point average of B (3.0 on a 4-point scale) or better is required for degree candidacy.
Grades of B- or better in all required courses. Credit will not be counted for any course in which a student earns a grade of C- or lower.
No more than six credit hours of independent study.

Course Requirements

Core Courses

Elective Courses

Students must complete 21 semester hours of electives. Elective courses include a mixture of specialized courses, workshops, and other formats. Students may choose to use these elective hours to build an area of concentration designed to meet individual needs. Where appropriate, students may include specialized courses offered by other departments and schools of the University, with prior written approval of the faculty advisor.

Field Study in Criminal Justice

Students who have not had experience in a criminal justice organization are required to complete CJ 6910 Field Study in Criminal Justice. A minimum of 240 hours of supervised work is required to earn three hours of credit. All required core courses must be completed before enrolling in CJ 6910.

Advanced Seminar/Professional Practicum

This course presents students with the opportunity to apply knowledge gained in course work to a question of interest drawn from their current or future careers in criminal justice. The Advanced Seminar/Professional Practicum is taken in the final semester of the student’s program. It allows the student to apply the knowledge and skills gained in his or her course work through in-class discussions and individual or group projects. All core courses must be completed before a student enrolls in the advanced seminar.