Graduate Catalog: Criminal Justice Courses (C J)

503 Criminal Justice Administration (3
Familiarizes students with the internal segments, functions, and mission of the criminal justice system. Emphasis on the internal problems confronted by the administrator.

505 Financial Management (3
Study of financial management tools and budgeting techniques applicable to the public sector. Students deal with cases and other assigned materials focusing on budgeting and financial decision-making.

507 Criminal Justice Research Methods (3
This course introduces students to the research methods employed in criminal justice, including survey methodology, quantitative methods, and data analysis using analytic software. Prerequisite: at least one undergraduate or graduate course in social research and/or social statistics. Previous undergraduate or graduate coursework in criminal justice, sociology, or criminology is recommended, but not required.

522 Criminology (3
An advanced seminar in Criminology; classical and contemporary theories of crime are examined in original sources. (Prerequisite: Prior undergraduate or graduate coursework in criminology, deviance or delinquency.)

524 Sex, Drugs, and Crime (3
Prostitution and drugs are often associated with criminal violence. This course will explore legal and illegal social worlds of sex workers, drug users, and others to evaluate current explanations for their persistence and interconnections with violent crime — in the US, abroad, and at different class levels.

526 Race, Ethnicity and Criminal Justice (3
The over representation of racial and ethnic minorities in criminal justice processes has been noted for well over 100 years, yet the explanation for it remains unclear. This seminar will explore the extent of these disparities and the possible reasons for them. Prerequisite: an undergraduate course in criminology, delinquency, deviance, or intergroup relations is required.

528 Youthful Offenders (3
This course provides a detailed examination of the social, psychological, and biological factors associated with juvenile delinquency and related risky youth behaviors. Major areas of study include family and community dynamics, peer networks, neurological and genetic risks, and age-graded changes in antisocial involvement.

530 Criminal Justice Policies (3
An advanced seminar that explores the historical and contemporary policy approaches of criminal justice systems (i.e., policing, courts, and corrections). Major areas of study include the war on drugs, juvenile justice and street gangs, incarceration and prisoner reentry, U.S. border control, and terrorism.

533 Crime over the Life Course (3
This course traces the development of criminality from birth into old age. Drawing upon longitudinal studies of delinquent and adult offenders in the United States and elsewhere, biological, psychological, and social correlates of criminal onset, persistence and desistance are examined.

540 The Constitution and Criminal Justice Policy (3
Stresses the effect of court decisions and the law on policy making, planning, and administrative discretion in the criminal justice system.

544 Staff Supervision in Criminal Justice (3
This course examines the role of a staff supervisor in criminal justice settings. It focuses on five functions of an effective supervisor: planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling, and the tools that facilitate them. It reviews also the principles of effective leadership and their application in criminal justice agencies.

560 Urban Crime Patterns (3
This seminar introduces students to the spatial patterns of crime and their relationship to other features of the urban environment. It examines the classic studies of the Chicago School and the theories of urban crime developed there. Current studies applying and extending these theories will be reviewed. Finally, the seminar will review the use of GIS to document urban crime patterns. Participants will have an opportunity to conduct basic GIS analyses of urban data. Data and examples will be drawn whenever possible from the Scranton, Philadelphia, or New York metropolitan areas.

576 Corrections (3
This course places a major emphasis on the historical and social contexts of corrections. It presents the views of victims, reformers, prison officials, and others. The student is taken inside the role behavior of the probation officer, warden, et al., to determine what is an effective and satisfactory job. Dialogue concerning controversial probation issues is encouraged to provoke thought and balance.

578 Community Corrections (3
The course combines theoretical and practical considerations of the philosophy, goals, problems, treatment approaches, and developing trends in the area of community corrections. Major topics include defining the mission of community corrections, historical development, probation/parole, pretrial services, boot camps, halfway houses, work release programs, electronically monitored home confinement, drug/alcohol treatment programs, community service, and job training/placement programs.

595 Thesis (3
Original research in Criminal Justice executed by the student under the supervision of a thesis director in Criminal Justice and at least one additional faculty member. This opportunity is intended for students who plan to continue their education in a doctoral program in Criminal Justice or a related field. It is normally taken in the last semester of master’s level work.

597 Management Project/Internship (3
Students employed in a criminal justice agency will complete a management project demonstrating their ability to use the knowledge and skills they have acquired in the program to identify, document, and resolve a management problem selected in concert with their agency and Marywood project supervisors. Students who are not so employed will complete a 240 hour internship in a criminal justice agency in which they integrate features of their classroom learning with their experiences as an intern in the field. A major paper is required in either case. This course must be completed, normally within 9 credits of graduation, by all degree candidates, except those completing a Master’s Thesis.

598 Special Topics in Criminal Justice (3
This seminar offers an in-depth examination of a topic of interest to the criminal justice community.

Criminal Justice Program (Catalog)