Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ)

The Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) is a 36 credit-hour degree program designed to provide students with advanced knowledge and skills to enable them to succeed in the field of Criminal Justice. The program emphasizes both the theoretical and applied aspects of Criminal Justice.

The MSCJ program is designed to meet the needs of students seeking a master's degree as a prerequisite for entry into the field, as well as the needs of students who are currently employed in the field and want to broaden their knowledge, skills, and abilities. This is accomplished by offering a broad range of foundation courses for a student who did not major in criminal justice at the undergraduate level, as well as sufficient electives to accommodate students who did.

Students can elect a concentration in Homeland Security or elect no concentration and take six courses from the Acceptable Electives.

MSCJ Program Objectives

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Evaluate the fundamental concepts, roles and functions of criminal justice and the criminal justice system

• Apply general management theories and practices to criminal justice administration

• Demonstrate broad knowledge to work effectively in criminal justice or related disciplines

• Acquire and synthesize new knowledge as a result of independent research using up-to-date information technology and evaluate findings with respect to their merit, worthiness, or importance

• Design research studies and define appropriate statistical methods to be used, to address current problems in criminal justice