Master of Arts in Criminal Justice - Online
The graduate program is designed specifically for individuals currently working in the field of criminal justice and its ancillary professions, although well qualified non-practitioners are welcome. The primary mission of the program is to provide students with an academic foundation for managerial and other advanced professional roles in the field of criminal justice.
Link To Apply
Program Design
Individuals entering the program will join a cohort of students that forms each September to begin classes fall term. Students may join the program “out-of-cycle” and work on selected courses before joining the next fall cohort. Through WOU’s online course management system, students will actively join other members of the cohort and the instructor in a coordinated learning experience. As a capstone experience, each student will research and write a professional paper that focuses on a specific issue or problem within the criminal justice field.
Students will acquire two skill sets during the course of their study. First, they will learn how to conduct social science research. Second, they will learn how to apply these methods toward solving the actual problems encountered in the administration of justice. In other words, they will learn how to put theory to practice.
Thesis/Professional Paper
Working with a three-member thesis committee, headed by the thesis advisor, students will develop a research question that addresses a specific problem within a host agency or adds significant information to the body of knowledge about the operations, responsibilities, mission, or history of the host agency. Students will make an oral defense of their thesis to their graduate committee, via conference call. Students will also present their findings to the host agency or its governing body in the form of a professional PowerPoint presentation. The student’s graduate advisor will attend this presentation, which will serve as the concluding segment of the exit process.
Course of Study
All students will complete four courses in the professional core (16 credits), select five elective courses from the list below (20 credits), and participate in a thesis project (9 credits). The total course of study requires a minimum of 45 graduate credits. Students may transfer up to three accredited graduate courses into the program.
Professional Core
Complete all four classes
CJ 612 Research in Criminal Justice
CJ 617 Criminal Justice Administration/Organizational Behavior
CJ 619 Ethics and Leadership in Criminal Justice
CJ 660 Theory and Research in Crime and Delinquency
Electives
Choose five
CJ 616 Community Based Organizations
CJ 618 Theory of Criminal Law
CJ 620 Offender Treatment
CJ 621 Human Resource Management in Criminal Justice
CJ 622 Strategic Planning in Criminal Justice
CJ 656 Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice
Or any 500 level CJ course (NOTE: no more than 50% of all coursework can come from 500 level courses)
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