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MACJ Program Requirements

The 33-semester-hour master's program includes 12 hours of required core courses, a three-hour capstone project, and 18 hours of electives.  Students can develop specializations in areas such as policing, courts, corrections, and management by combining required and elective course work.  The planning of specializations is done jointly by the student and his or her faculty advisor.

Required Courses (12 hours)

Theory and Research on Crime and the Criminal Justice System (6 hours)

• CRJ 501 Seminar in Criminal Justice
• CRJ 502 Seminar in Criminology

Research Methods and Analytical Techniques (9 hours)

• CRJ 503 Research Methods in Criminal Justice
• CRJ 504 Statistical Tools for Criminal Justice

Capstone Course (3 hours)

• CRJ 505 Theory and Practice in Criminal Justice

This course is the capstone course for the MACJ program and will be taken during the student's last semester of coursework. Students will integrate material from required and elective coursework and will write a research paper that focuses on a criminal justice policy or practice. Students will present their papers at a poster session that will be held at the end of each semester.

Electives (18 hours)

In consultation with their advisors, students select a minimum of 18 hours of elective course work. Students may take either 500-level or, with the permission of the instructor, 600-level courses.  For a list of elective courses, click on the "Course Descriptions" link on this page.