Master of Arts (MA) in Criminal Justice | Curriculum and Concentrations – Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice is designed to meet the needs of both working professionals and traditional students. Students may enroll full- or part-time, with classes that are taught primarily on weekday evenings at the Camden campus.

Curriculum

The MA in Criminal Justice requires 30 credits of coursework. The 30 credits include:

Core Courses – 9 credits
Criminal Justice Electives – 12 credits minimum
Other Electives – up to 9 elective credits from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, or the Graduate School of Social Work as approved by the graduate director. (Note: students are not required to take courses outside of our department.)

Students must pass one comprehensive examination in criminal justice policy analysis, research methods, or data analysis. The exam must be taken in the second year, or in the final semester for accelerated BA/MA students.

Students also have the opportunity to write and defend a thesis under the supervision of three committee members.

Criminal Justice Core Courses (9 credits)

Policy Analysis in Criminal Justice (3)
A research and writing oriented seminar that will prepare students for conducting criminal justice policy analysis. Topics include the role of interest groups and organizational participants in the policy process, types of policies, and models of policy research. Examined are current criminal justice policies using analysis that considers the development, implementation, and evaluation of policy (i.e., what has occurred in policy, why, and at what benefits or costs). Also covered is policy formulation, which involves the development of new policy options to remedy public problems.

Research Methods in Criminal Justice (3)
Foundation in research methods commonly used in criminal justice and the social sciences. Includes conceptualization, operationalization, research method and design, sampling approaches, data collection, analysis, and ethics in research.Prerequisite: Undergraduate course in research methods.

Data Analysis in Criminal Justice (3)
This course provides students with a grounding in the basic tools used in quantitative analysis in the field of criminal justice along with an introduction to the statistical issues involved in the design and logic of research. Students learn to use various nonparametric measures of association as well as parametric tests of significance and are introduced to the fundamentals of correlation, regression, and hypothesis testing.Prerequisite: Undergraduate course in statistics.

Recent Criminal Justice Elective Courses (12 credits minimum)

Using Crime Data

Gender, Crime, and Justice

Criminal Investigation Practicum I & II

Mass Incarceration, Reentry, and Justice

Harm Reduction and Criminal Justice: Responding to the Opioid Crisis

Contemporary Issues at the Intersection of Health and Justice

Cannabis and Social Institutions

Survey Design

Restorative Justice

Green Criminology

White Collar Crime

Numerous courses in Forensics and Forensic Investigation

Optional Concentrations:

The MA in Criminal Justice offers two concentrations: Forensic Sciences and Social Justice. Students focus their study by taking three elective courses in these areas. Both tracks provide hands-on, experiential learning.

Forensic Science

In the Forensic Science Concentration, students benefit from our first-in-the-state Forensic Science Graduate program to learn how forensics is integrated within law enforcement and aids in solving complex cases. Students can learn about trace evidence collection, forensic techniques and forensic interviewing. Electives may include:

Trace Analysis

Pattern Evidence

Theory of Forensic Science

Forensic Interviewing

Social Justice

In the Social Justice Concentration, students explore how the criminal justice system impacts issues such as diversity, conflict and inequality, and global social change over time. With multiple hands-on experiential research opportunities, students have a direct, positive impact on communities outside the classroom. Electives may include:

Gender Advocacy and Juvenile Justice Part I and II

Diversity and Oppression

Social Inequities in the Criminal Justice System

Mass Incarceration

Social Justice, Policy, and Human Rights in Photography and Film