MA in Criminal Justice Admissions Information

Admission Requirements

MA Program applicants need to submit the following:

• Transcript showing the completion of a BA or BS degree. Applicants with a GPA under 3.0 will be considered on a case-by-case basis
• Three letters of recommendation (academic reference preferred)
• Personal statement
• 750-word essay on criminal justice issue or GRE results
• Brief resume highlighting education and experience
• TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo score requirement for international students

Dual MA/MSW applicants should satisfy the above requirements, along with MSW requirements (see here). Dual JD/MA applicants should satisfy the above requirements along with the JD requirements (see here). Applicants to the Accelerated MA program should satisfy these requirements.

Application Deadline

MA Requirements

Four Required Courses (12 Credits)

• 27:202:522 Research and Evaluation
• 27:202:523 Data Analysis and Management
• 27:202:525 Justice, Law and Policy
• 27:202:553 Master’s Project Seminar

Six Electives (18 Credits)

We provide varied course offerings in relation, for example, to policing, corrections, courts, cybercrime, juvenile justice, research methodology and more (see Course Descriptions & Syllabi). We also allow students to combine courses to earn certificates. Certificates are currently offered in Mediation, Financial Crime, and Data Analysis and Statistics (see MA Certificates).

Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Program Overview

The M.A. curriculum prepares students for positions of leadership and responsibility in government organizations and/or non-profits dealing with issues of crime, justice, and law enforcement. It also provides advanced training in social science research and methods. This is achieved through coursework and hands-on experience that emphasize up-to-date knowledge of policies and practices in the criminal justice system, as well as the development of skills necessary for students to become more effective agents of change in their chosen fields.

We link our students to real-world issues and practices to promote careers of impact in a range of public and private organizations that deal with crime, justice, and their consequences. This is achieved through a rigorous grounding in policy, theory, and analysis that involves the following competencies:

Policy skills

Students will become informed criminal justice policy analysts. They will develop knowledge of criminal justice system operations and key debates in the field. This will be achieved through comprehensive training that includes the review of substantive approaches to the structure of criminal justice organizations as well as in-depth case studies centered on issues of management, resource allocation, and innovation.

Problem-solving

Students will learn how to identify and measure crime and criminal justice policy problems using appropriate methodological and statistical techniques. They will also learn how to design appropriate targeted interventions to respond to these problems, and techniques of monitoring and evaluation to track the success of interventions.

Integrity

Students will deepen their sense of responsibility and commitment to the criminal justice field and communities affected by criminal justice policies. They will do this by learning to bridge gaps between policy, research, and theory, and to appreciate the social contexts of criminal justice policies, and their intended and unintended consequences.

Leadership

Students will develop the confidence and vision to become evidence-based agents of change within criminal justice agencies, social service organizations, and communities impacted by criminal justice policies. This will be acquired through hands-on experience(s) working in the field and learning ways to design and communicate solutions to crime and criminal justice problems.