Criminal Justice Degree Online

The graduate program in criminal justice was launched in September 2002 and offers a curriculum in the administration of criminal justice, leading to the Master of Arts. The program is designed for those seeking career opportunities or advancement in justice-related fields in addition to those who seek preparation for doctoral study. Students take courses in public management and budgeting and acquire a broad understanding of the criminal justice system, including contemporary issues affecting it and the analytic skills required to conduct and apply research and to assess public policy. The nationally-recognized faculty is multidisciplinary. The public administration faculty offers courses that equip students with the skills to oversee complex public agencies. The criminal justice faculty emphasizes social science theories and methods to impart a comprehensive understanding of crime and the justice system. Faculty members in the School of Law, social work, history and liberal studies provide a wide array of electives. Evening classes meet the needs of students who work or have other obligations during the day.

See information for prospective students and the links on the sidebar for more information about our program.

APPLY ONLINE
Aims of the course
This course allows you to develop an advanced knowledge of crime and offenders, as well as to assess contemporary trends and concepts in criminal justice policy and community safety. It will incorporate approaches to crime control within the community and penal institutions. You will also gain the methodological and analytic skills required to conduct research within the field of crime and criminal justice; this level of knowledge and skill can prepare you for doctoral study or research posts within the criminal justice arena, or can consolidate your professional experience.
Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement is normally a lower second class Honours Degree in a relevant discipline (such as criminology, or social and behavioural sciences). Applications are also welcomed from those who have experience in criminal justice, or who possess relevant professional qualifications. In some circumstances applicants who do not meet the standard entry requirements may be permitted to enrol on the MSc, at the discretion of the course leader.

Applications are welcomed from overseas students, and all applicants are considered on individual merit, without regard to gender, marital status, disability, race, ethnic origin, religion or social background. The course will be taught in English, and for those applicants whose native language is not English, evidence of proficiency in the English language will be required.
Course structure

The course consists of four core modules, and a dissertation of no more than 15,000 words.

Core modules:
Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice
Crime Control and Community Safety
Criminological Research Methods
Crime and Offender Patterns
Students also select one ‘designate’ module per semester, and these include (subject to availability):
Community Development
Sexual Violence: causes, consequences, and interventions
Psychology and Criminal Behaviour
Urban Patterns and Spatial Analysis
Assessment

A range of methods are used including essays, projects and examinations. Most work is assessed by essays. The dissertation is between 12,000 and 15,000 words in length, and completed over the summer study period. The dissertation forms a key element of the MSc, and allows you topursue in depth a topic of your choosing.
Career opportunities

The course helps prepare you for employment in the criminal justice sector (including the police, probation, prison, youth offending and community safety departments), as well as academic or government research posts. Recruitment prospects are buoyant given the ongoing concerns about crime and community safety, and the large amount of resources that are poured into the criminal justice system.

The primary purpose of the Master of Science in Criminal Justice is to prepare students to meet the needs of local, state and federal criminal justice agencies. As career opportunities in the field of criminal justice have burgeoned, the educational expectations of criminal justice agencies have increased. The Master of Science in Criminal Justice combines an advanced framework in research methods, criminological theory and criminal justice administration to provide students with the methodological and analytic skills to conduct sophisticated crime analysis and program assessment. A unique component of the Master of Science program is the Geo-Information Science concentration. There has been rapid growth in the use of computerized mapping in the field of criminal justice. Practitioners are needed who possess the expertise to use Geo-Information technologies to analyze crime, problem solve and develop policy. The Master of Science in Criminal Justice is a 36 credit hour degree available under two plans (thesis and non-thesis). All students will be required to complete five core courses and declare one of the following concentrations: Criminology, Administration of Criminal Justice or Geo-Information Science. To complete a concentration, students must take 12 credits of related coursework as part of their electives and maintain a 3.0 GPA. The program will be offered on a part-time basis the first five years of its implementation. Students will be able to complete the program in two years carrying a course load of two classes per semester including two summer terms.

Aims of the course
This course allows you to develop an advanced knowledge of crime and offenders, as well as to assess contemporary trends and concepts in criminal justice policy and community safety. It will incorporate approaches to crime control within the community and penal institutions. You will also gain the methodological and analytic skills required to conduct research within the field of crime and criminal justice; this level of knowledge and skill can prepare you for doctoral study or research posts within the criminal justice arena, or can consolidate your professional experience.
Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement is normally a lower second class Honours Degree in a relevant discipline (such as criminology, or social and behavioural sciences). Applications are also welcomed from those who have experience in criminal justice, or who possess relevant professional qualifications. In some circumstances applicants who do not meet the standard entry requirements may be permitted to enrol on the MSc, at the discretion of the course leader.

Applications are welcomed from overseas students, and all applicants are considered on individual merit, without regard to gender, marital status, disability, race, ethnic origin, religion or social background. The course will be taught in English, and for those applicants whose native language is not English, evidence of proficiency in the English language will be required.
Course structure

The course consists of four core modules, and a dissertation of no more than 15,000 words.

Core modules:
Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice
Crime Control and Community Safety
Criminological Research Methods
Crime and Offender Patterns
Students also select one ‘designate’ module per semester, and these include (subject to availability):
Community Development
Sexual Violence: causes, consequences, and interventions
Psychology and Criminal Behaviour
Urban Patterns and Spatial Analysis
Assessment

A range of methods are used including essays, projects and examinations. Most work is assessed by essays. The dissertation is between 12,000 and 15,000 words in length, and completed over the summer study period. The dissertation forms a key element of the MSc, and allows you topursue in depth a topic of your choosing.
Career opportunities

The course helps prepare you for employment in the criminal justice sector (including the police, probation, prison, youth offending and community safety departments), as well as academic or government research posts. Recruitment prospects are buoyant given the ongoing concerns about crime and community safety, and the large amount of resources that are poured into the criminal justice system

The graduate program in criminal justice was launched in September 2002 and offers a curriculum in the administration of criminal justice, leading to the Master of Arts. The program is designed for those seeking career opportunities or advancement in justice-related fields in addition to those who seek preparation for doctoral study. Students take courses in public management and budgeting and acquire a broad understanding of the criminal justice system, including contemporary issues affecting it and the analytic skills required to conduct and apply research and to assess public policy. The nationally-recognized faculty is multidisciplinary. The public administration faculty offers courses that equip students with the skills to oversee complex public agencies. The criminal justice faculty emphasizes social science theories and methods to impart a comprehensive understanding of crime and the justice system. Faculty members in the School of Law, social work, history and liberal studies provide a wide array of electives. Evening classes meet the needs of students who work or have other obligations during the day.

See information for prospective students and the links on the sidebar for more information about our program.

The criminal justice master’s program at MSU provides students with analytic skills, an interdisciplinary knowledge base, and both classroom and practical understanding of the settings where correctional, law enforcement and security policies are implemented.

The program integrates theory and application through case materials and classroom guest speakers, as well as internship opportunities.

Individuals who wish to pursue a career in criminal justice research and teaching will have a strong foundation for advanced graduate studies based on the program’s combined emphasis on research, critical issues and interdisciplinary theory.

The School of Criminal Justice was established in 1935 as an academic program providing courses for those seeking careers in law enforcement. Graduate studies in the School of Criminal Justice began in 1956 with the Masters of Science degree, followed by the Interdisciplinary Doctoral program in 1968 and the Doctorate in Criminal Justice in 2001. In 1970, the School’s name was changed from the School of Police Administration and Public Safety to the School of Criminal Justice to reflect the new emphasis on the entire system of justice in the United States.

Housed in the College of Social Science, the School of Criminal Justice has evolved to provide exemplary undergraduate and graduate programs in which students and faculty apply the theories and methods of science to understanding and solving critical policy issues in both the criminal justice and private security fields.

For further information regarding graduate programs, contact Melissa Christle at burrier@msu.edu or (517) 353-7133.

*Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to read PDF documents.

M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in sociology. The Department offers a variety of courses and program flexibility that are designed to serve the interests of students pursuing both academic and non academic careers.

Undergraduate Program
The Undergraduate Program has three areas of concentration: I. Administration of Justice, II. Anthropology, and III. Sociology. Generally speaking, the Undergraduate Program provides students with the basic tools for analysis and insight, including research methods (both quantitative and qualitative) and theory. Furthermore, our curriculum equips students to more effectively negotiate the diverse society in which we live by addressing social inequalities such as race/ethnicity, gender and social class. Above all, our program–which emphasizes writing, critical thinking, group dialogue, and one-on-one faculty mentorship– gives our graduates the strong writing, research, and analytic skills that are increasingly attractive to employers in the information age.

Graduate Program
The Graduate Program offers comprehensive training in sociological theory, research methodology and statistics. At the Ph.D. level, there are four areas of academic concentration: I. Criminology, II. Medical Sociology, III. Social Inequality (Race/Ethnicity, Class and Gender Relations), and IV. Urban Sociology.

Members of the faculty, students, and administrative staff seek to create an atmosphere of cooperation and collaboration, both in and out of the classroom. Students are encouraged to present papers at professional meetings and to work with faculty on research projects and in authoring and co authoring publications.