Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ)

Recognizing that leaders and administrators of criminal justice agencies must be cognizant of larger societal issues, this course examines contemporary public administration and law issues within the macro-political environment in which justice administrators must lead their organizations. Through a series of case studies and empirical studies, students will examine the most promising, unique and innovative procedures in the administration of justice, centering both evidence-based analysis, and problem solving around traditionally intractable issues

This course examines how to conduct criminal justice research and how to be better consumers of criminal justice research and other types of information relative to the needs of agencies. The relationship between theory, research, problem solving, and policy is examined, leading students to develop an understanding of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research while exploring various methodological designs. Problems and errors associated with sampling, analysis of data, interpretation of results, and research limitations are presented. Important issues in criminal justice research are discussed including ethics, confidentiality, and vulnerable populations.          

This course examines how to conduct criminal justice research and how to be better consumers of criminal justice research and other types of information relative to the needs of agencies. The relationship between theory, research, problem solving, and policy is examined, leading students to develop an understanding of the differences between quantitative and qualitative research while exploring various methodological designs. Problems and errors associated with sampling, analysis of data, interpretation of results, and research limitations are presented. Important issues in criminal justice research are discussed including ethics, confidentiality, and vulnerable populations.          

This course provides students with an understanding of how criminal justice research is conducted and how one systematically evaluates quantitative research reported in the criminal justice literature.  Traditional data analysis, including the topical areas of measures of central tendency and dispersion, probability, sampling distributions, and univariate and multivariate techniques for hypothesis testing are examined.  Students learn how to select appropriate statistical tests and how to properly interpret results. Utilizing analysis software such as SPSS or MS Excel, students perform analysis on a variety of criminal justice data.

This course will present a “deep dive” on a current issue surrounding ethical leadership with a special focus on strengthening research writing.  Working through the specific topic, students will learn to write a comprehensive literature review, using scholarly sources. There will be a special focus on developing information literacy and organizing extant research materials in writing. 

This course will explore restorative justice (RJ) principles as a method of addressing crime/harms through work with three main stakeholders in the justice process: the responsible party, the impacted party, and the community. The course will contrast the historical roots and practices of restorative justice to the traditional adversarial process currently employed in the United States, highlighting differences between these very different models. There will be a particular focus on how restorative justice programming can promote healing and resiliency among those impacted by crime through various policies and practices, utilizing a trauma informed approach. We will further examine the intersection of race and restorative justice in the U.S., and how restorative justice has been utilized around the world, for both micro and macro-level harms. Empirical research on RJ programming will be examined and critiqued. Students will have the opportunity to practice applied restorative justice skills, including participation or facilitation in circle, in class.    

Serving as a final capstone assessment instrument, students will integrate knowledge and understanding developed in the core curriculum to prepare a thorough and analytic policy prospectus on a current issue facing the criminal justice system. The prospectus will include a literature review that examines the history and impact of the issue as well as a detailed policy proposal that serves to address the issue with a. particular focus on ethical leadership.  Students will also present their final work to a panel of MCJ instructors.