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Criminal Justice M.S.

The purpose of this degree is to provide students with an opportunity for graduate-level education and a specialized degree in criminal justice. This degree will meet the educational needs of several types of students: (1) existing and prospective criminal justice agency personnel wishing to advance their knowledge and credentials in criminal justice, (2) students wishing to prepare for doctoral level work, (3) students wishing to prepare for community college teaching, and (4) students seeking more knowledge of crime and criminal justice.

Master of Science in Criminal Justice--Total Semester Hours=36

Admission Requirements

  1. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university.
  2. A minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4 point scale on the last 60 hours of undergraduate and/or graduate coursework.  .
  3. Applicants with three or more years of full-time employment in the social services or criminal justice sectors must submit a CV or resume documenting their relevant work experience. 
  4. A course in research methods is recommended (not required) prior to admission. 

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Criminal Justice is a 36-hour degree program. Students will choose from one of three concentrations: Criminal Justice Generalist, Management, or Cybersecurity. The degree culminates with a capstone project. 

Required courses—27 hours

Capstone

CRIJ 5355Criminal Justice Capstone Seminar

Ethics:

CRIJ 5336Administrative Ethics

Administration:

CRIJ 5309Seminar in Criminal Justice Administration

Corrections:

CRIJ 5313Contemporary Issues in Corrections

Criminological Theory:

CRIJ 5303Contemporary Criminological Theory

Law Adjudication:

CRIJ 5302Judicial Policy and Social Process

Law Enforcement:

CRIJ 5332Law Enforcement: Environment and Practice

Research and Analysis:

CRIJ 5396Research Methods
CRIJ 5397Advanced Social Science Analysis

Area of Concentration

Criminal Justice Generalist

CRIJ 5307Criminal Justice Policy
CRIJ 5340Violence and Society
CRIJ 5310Topics in Criminal Justice

Management

PADM 5331Information Systems in Public Administration
PADM 5332Public Budgeting and Finance
PADM 5350Seminar in Human Resources Management (Same as MANA 5350)
or
Approved PADM Elective

Cybersecurity

Choose any three of the below courses:
COSC 5341Cybersecurity
COSC 5342Cybersecurity Management
COSC 5364Cyber Risk Analysis
COSC 5388Digital Forensics

Graduation Requirements

  1. All students must achieve a cumulative 3.0 GPA on all work applied to the degree.
  2. All students must earn a grade of a “B” or higher in the Capstone course (CRIJ 5355).