Graduate Catalog: Criminal Justice Program

Admission Requirements || MS Criminal Justice || Minor or Specialization

Director: Patrick M. Seffrin, Ph.D.

The graduate Criminal Justice Program combines a strong background in criminal justice with the management skills need for an administrative position in a criminal justice agency. The program is designed for those who wish to assume, or already hold, a criminal justice management position, as well as for those who wish to pursue doctoral work elsewhere after completing their Marywood degree.

Coursework in the program provides:

• a background in American criminal justice institutions;
• a knowledge of the causes of delinquency and crime, the effectiveness of rehabilitation programs, and the research on which this knowledge is based;
• an evaluation of contemporary criminal justice research and policy;
• experience with appropriate management tools;
• opportunities to communicate complex ideas orally and in writing, and to further develop analytic and critical skills.

 

Program faculty combine strong academic credentials with extensive experience of criminal justice agencies at the state and federal levels. Classes are small, typically seminars, in which students assume responsibility with the instructor for the presentation of material. The program offers substantial opportunities for students to explore their individual interests in criminal justice and closely related fields.

Financial aid, including the opportunity to work closely with program faculty as a graduate assistant, is available.

The program is housed in the Department of Social Sciences, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Admission Requirements

An undergraduate major in criminal justice, sociology, or a related field is recommended, but not required. (Students without an undergraduate course in criminology, delinquency, or deviance and those without an undergraduate course in statistics or social research will be asked to complete an undergraduate course before taking advanced, graduate work in these areas.) An undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or better is required.

A completed application must include:

• official, unopened transcripts from all institutions attended, including Marywood;
• two letters of recommendation from college or university faculty (these may be supplemented with recommendations from supervisors in a criminal justice agency);
• an essay discussing the applicant’s career objectives and the way in which the CJ Master's program will contribute to these objectives.

Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice

36 semester hours
I. REQUIRED COURSES
21 semester hours

CJ 503	Criminal Justice Administration	3
CJ 505	Financial Management	3
CJ 507	Criminal Justice Research Methods	3
CJ 522	Criminology	3
CJ 530	Criminal Justice Policies	3
CJ 544	Staff Supervision in Criminal Justice	3
CJ 595	Thesis	3
OR
CJ 597	Criminal Justice Management Project /Internship	3

II. ELECTIVES*
15 semester hours (choose five courses)

CJ 524	Sex, Drugs, & Crime	3
CJ 526	Race, Ethnicity, and Criminal Justice	3
CJ 528	Youthful Offenders	3
CJ 533	Crime over the Life Course	3
CJ 540	The Constitution & Criminal Justice Policy	3
CJ 560	Urban Crime Patterns	3
CJ 576	Corrections	3
CJ 578	Community Corrections	3
CJ 598	Special Topics in Criminal Justice	3

*Students may also elect up to two graduate courses in Business, Public Administration, Psychology, Counseling, and/or Social Work with the approval of their advisor.

Graduate Minor or Specialization in Criminal Justice

The program also offers a 12 credit minor or specialization in Criminal Justice for graduate students who wish to combine work in another graduate field (for example, Counseling, Psychology, Public Administration, Social Work) with coursework in Criminal Justice.

Minor or Specialization in Criminal Justice

I. REQUIRED COURSES
6 semester hours

CJ 503	Criminal Justice Administration	3
CJ 522	Criminology	3

II. ELECTIVES*:
6 semester hours

CJ 524	Sex, Drugs, & Crime	3
CJ 526	Race, Ethnicity, and Criminal Justice	3
CJ 528	Youthful Offenders	3
CJ 533	Crime over the Life Course	3
CJ 540	The Constitution & Criminal Justice Policy	3
CJ 560	Urban Crime Patterns	3
CJ 576	Corrections	3
CJ 578	Community Corrections	3
CJ 598	Special Topics in Criminal Justice	3

*The electives selected must be approved by the Director of Criminal Justice Programs.

Criminal Justice Courses