In today’s society, knowledge of criminal justice and security is rapidly becoming vital in not just the traditional criminal justice arenas (police, security, intelligence) but also corporations, hospitals, colleges/universities, and non-profit agencies.  Issues of security and crisis management are prevalent and growing in our culture and around the world. The criminal justice professional also needs to have leadership and teambuilding skills and an understanding of the ethical and moral aspects of relevant issues. An enhanced appreciation of one’s social and civic responsibility is also a must.  In today’s global and complex world, criminal justice professionals need to acquire all of these tools in an advanced degree to succeed and be prepared for changes in the workplace. In addition, a degree that focuses on both domestic and global security and justice issues is highly desired in the field. 

Graduates of the Master’s in Criminal Justice program acquire a variety of useful skills for the profession, including critical thinking; a clear understanding of diversity and cultural issues; an understanding of the language of the discipline; excellent communication skills, including writing, quantitative reasoning, and investigative skills; and a working knowledge of technology. This program grounds students in the field of criminal justice providesthem opportunities to specialize in homeland and global justice, emergency and crisis management, and violence prevention and advocacy.  Further, students can develop their own concentration through our Self-Designed Option, with the support and guidance of a faculty mentor.

Criminal Justice Curriculum
The curriculum for the three M.S. in Criminal Justice options is shown below. The degree program is structured as follows:

• 36 credits are required for the MS degree
• 27 credits (9 courses) comprise the core offerings
• 9 credits (3 courses) required for the concentration
• 6 credits (2 courses) required for electives

Learn more about the Criminal Justice concentration offerings:

• Emergency and Crisis Management
• Homeland Security and Global Justice
• Violence Prevention and Advocacy
• Self-Designed Option