Master of Science in Criminal Justice
Description and Outcomes
The Master of Science in Criminal Justice program is designed to help you satisfy your intellectual curiosity, build knowledge, and prepare to successfully undertake leadership and other professional positions in today's complex criminal justice environment.
The Master of Science in Criminal Justice program provides you with an opportunity to pursue an applied research course of study. At the conclusion of the program, your acquisition of competencies is assessed via your coursework and successful completion of an applied research project. In so doing, the program enables you to become better prepared to meet the dynamic challenges of the field today and in the future.
Program Length
The Master of Science in Criminal Justice program consists of a minimum of 55 quarter credit hours. Upon successful completion of the program, you will be awarded a master of science degree.
Program Outcomes
- Research Methods: Use current qualitative and quantitative research to evaluate current trends in criminal justice.
- Organizational Behavior and Management: Apply organizational behavior and management theories to insure the effective and efficient operations of an agency or division.
- Criminological Theory: Apply criminological theory to create policies and procedures that address specific community problems.
- Law: Use policies and practices to assist officers and administrators to meet the legal principles and standards applicable to the criminal justice profession.
- Professionalism: Engage in scholarly discourse with colleagues and practitioners in the field of criminal justice.
- Ethics: Apply ethical decision-making skills to practices within the field of criminal justice and academic study to demonstrate leadership practices.
Professional Competencies
In addition to the discipline-specific outcomes, professional competencies are integrated throughout your academic program. You can review the professional competencies associated with your academic program in the Professional Competencies section of this Catalog.
Program Availability
For program availability, please refer to the U.S. State and Other Approvals section and Program Availability Information.
Policies
Progression Requirements
- If enrolled on the 6-week calendar, you may enroll in no more than one course per session without permission from the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences or the Dean’s designee.
- You may not use credit for prior learning to fulfill core courses unless a waiver is granted by the Dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. A waiver is issued based upon an evaluation of common learning outcomes. The following courses must be completed at Purdue Global:
Course List Code Title Credits CJ525 Applied Research in Public Safety 5 CJ598 Applied Research Project 5
Certification, State Board, and National Board Exams
Certain state certification and licensure boards have specific educational requirements for programs to lead to a license or certification that is a precondition for employment in a recognized occupation. Prospective and current students must review Purdue Global’s State Licensure and Certifications site to view program and state-specific licensure information.
Unless otherwise specified, Purdue Global's programs are not designed to meet any specific state’s licensure or certification requirements. Licensure-track programs may limit enrollment to students in certain states; please see Purdue Global’s Program Availability Information to determine enrollment eligibility.
You are responsible for understanding the requirements of optional certification exams. Such requirements may change during the course of your program. You are not automatically certified in any way upon program completion. Although certain programs are designed to prepare you to take various optional certification exams, Purdue Global cannot guarantee you will be eligible to take these exams or become certified. Your eligibility may depend on your work experience, completion of education and/or degree requirements, not having a criminal record, and meeting other certification requirements.