The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice curriculum is centered on five core courses that have been developed to prepare you for competencies and skills in the four basic cornerstone areas. You will focus on taking the five, three-credit hour core courses early on in the program and will also choose three elective courses (nine-credit hours) from among the diverse curriculum offerings, which can be taken at any time during the program.
Once the core courses are successfully mastered, you will be academically prepared and eligible to enroll in the final two Capstone courses. These final courses focus on developing a research topic and the writing and presenting of the your thesis work or your scholarly contribution to the field of criminal justice.
In order to begin the Capstone sequence, you must have completed at least four of the five core courses including MCJ 6000: Criminology, MCJ 6050: Social Statistics, and MCJ 6150 Research Methods in Criminal Justice. Only after the MACJ Director has reviewed your academic record, checked that the core courses have been completed, and is assured that you are ready to proceed to the Capstone sequence will you be cleared to enroll in Capstone I. You must successfully complete Capstone I before moving on to Capstone II.
• In the first Capstone course, you are expected to choose a project and develop a research proposal. This proposal will specify a research problem, focus on a review of relevant literature (both scholarly and that geared toward the practitioner), and set out a research plan, either as a proposed case study or an applied program evaluation in a field setting, to be completed in the second semester.
• In the second Capstone course, you are required to prepare either a case study review or an assessment of existing field programs, or try to implement your own proposal in a field setting. In both cases, a critical analysis will be demonstrated in a summary document and a public presentation to peers and professors.
| Required Courses: |
Credits |
|
MCJ 6000 Criminology and Deviance:Theories and Perspectives
|
3 |
| on Crime and Criminal Behavior |
|
| MCJ 6050 Social Statistics |
3 |
| MCJ 6100 Management in Criminal Justice/Community |
3 |
| Oriented Settings |
|
| MCJ 6150 Research Methods in Criminal Justice |
3 |
| MCJ 6300 Interpersonal and Community Communication |
3 |
| MCJ 6400 Capstone Seminar I: Methods and Research |
3 |
| MCJ 6500 Capstone Seminar II: Thesis and Presentation |
3 |
| |
|
| Electives: |
|
| MCJ Choose from available MCJ electives |
9 |
| |
|
| Total credits required to complete the MACJ program: |
30
|
Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Course Descriptions (PDF)