The traditional criminal justice Master of Arts degree program is an in-class approach to graduate education.
The program promotes professionalism, teaches cutting-edge criminal justice theory and its application to the field of criminal justice, and fosters ethical standards for criminal justice practitioners and academicians.
It is an eleven course program (33 credits) that requires completion of:
- 6 required courses
- 4 elective courses
- 1 capstone course
Classes are held at DeSales University's Center Valley, PA campus.
Curriculum
6 Core Courses Required (18 credits)
The core courses represent the MACJ program's intent to cover five areas of interest identified in the criminal justice matters as core areas. They include criminal justice and juvenile justice processes, criminology, law enforcement, law adjudication, and corrections. Although criminal justice and juvenile justice processes, are not specifically identified as specified core courses, they will be an included focus across the curriculum.
- CJ 501 Advanced Criminology
- CJ 502 Research Methods and Evaluation
- CJ 503 Ethics in Criminal Justice
- CJ 504 Law Enforcement: Administration, Organization, and Management
- CJ 505 Issues in Corrections
- CJ 506 Issues in Criminal Law
4 Elective Courses (12 credits)
The 12 credit elective course requirement is directed at a particular student's specific interest in the criminal justice system and related matters.
- CJ 508 Homeland Security in the Age of Terrorism
- CJ 509 Issues in Gender, Race, and Ethnicity
- CJ 510 Forensic Science and the Courtroom
- CJ 512 Politics of Crime
- CJ 514 Violence, Crime and Justice
- CJ 515 Topics in Criminal Justice I
- CJ 516 Forensic Psychology
- CJ 517 Topics in Criminal Justice II
- CJ 518 Investigative Social Observation
- CJ 519 Leadership In Criminal Justice
- CJ 520 Juvenile Justice
1 Capstone Course Required (3 credits)
This course will only be taken after students complete six (6) core and/or elective courses. It will provide the student with an opportunity for review, consideration, and application of course materials prior to completion of the program. The culminating/evaluative experience included with this course will be a policy paper of sufficient length and scope to adequately reflect the depth, breadth, and overall perspectives of the student concerning criminal justice. The policy paper will also be, as a matter of intent, a paper that seeks to make a contribution to the criminal justice community.
- CJ 507 Advanced Seminar Criminal Justice
Total: 11 courses (33 credits)
For complete course descriptions, please see the
DeSales Graduate Catalog.