MA Course Descriptions
5300 Crime and Behavior
Contemporary criminological theories of factors contributing to crime and social disorder.
5301 Judicial Process and Behavior
Literature on topics such as judicial selection, impact of court decisions, court procedure, factors affecting decision‐making behavior of judges.
5302 Law and Society
Role of law in modern society; emphasis on legal theories shaping U.S. legal system, theories of justice, legal reasoning, and application of these theories to real‐world problems as introduction to the role of law in helping settle social conflicts.
5380 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems
Law enforcement, judicial, correctional systems of other nations; emphasis on comparison with U.S.
7300 Criminological Theory
Original works of criminological theorists from biological, psychological, sociological, and political perspectives; empirical, methodological adequacy of theories and literature; current application as viable explanation of criminal behavior.
7301 Proseminar
A critical examination of the theoretical, methodological, and policy issues in criminal justice and criminology. Explores organized knowledge about enduring theoretical and policy questions concerning crime and justice; examines the theoretical foundations of crime control, the relationship between criminal justice agencies, and the relationship between the criminal justice system and its social, political, and economic environments. Also provides students with an overview of criminal justice in higher education and requirements of a graduate education.
7303 Criminal Justice Systems
This course will discuss the major functional components of the criminal justice system from the historical, philosophical and system perspectives. It will analyze the interrelationships among components, and identify the impact of social and political forces on roles and functions of criminal justice agencies.
7304 Criminal Justice Policy
This course is designed to prepare students to understand and influence policy issues in criminal justice. The course will build upon the CJ systems course to provide a base of knowledge in policy analysis, policy research, and working within the system for policy change. This course will be specific to criminal justice policy issues, and will prepare students to complete their public policy thesis.
7305 Seminar in Criminal Law
Major concepts of criminal law; includes various statesʹ approaches to definitions of crimes, criminal responsibility, criminal defenses.
7320 Applied Research and Analysis
Examines the major concepts, techniques, and application of statistical methods in criminal justice. Topics include understanding when statistical techniques are appropriate, interpretation of results, organization and presentation of numerical information, and introduction to descriptive statistics.
7321 Criminal Justice Organizations and Management
An overview of major theories of criminal justice organizations and management. The course will center on police and correctional organizations but may be applied to any criminal justice organization. Among the topics studies are leadership, personnel, organizational and political environments, and organizational development.
7322 Foundations of Policing
Specific aspects of American police agenciesʹ organizational patterns, administrative problems, community issues, internal role systems.
7323 Ethics in Criminal Justice
Overview of ethical theory, doctrines, and controversies in the field of criminal justice. Emphasis is placed on the dilemmas faced by criminal justice practitioners and supervisors seeking to make appropriate ethical judgments and decisions that are in keeping with the goals of justice.
7325 Cyber Crime and Information Systems Security
Provides a foundation for the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in analyzing data and making policy decisions. Topics include the use of GIS as a visual representation of demographic and infrastructure data, using GIS to summarize information, and use of GIS computer software.
7331 Community-Based Corrections
Traditional correctional functions; emphasis on development of community diversion and residential programs, involvement of correctional programs in the community.
7340 Correctional Administration
Problems with control and treatment of offenders in institutional correctional settings.
7360 Deviant Behavior
See Psychology 7360.
7361 Social Psychology
See Psychology 7361.
7370 Juvenile Delinquency Problems
Topics related to juvenile delinquency and prevention in the juvenile justice system.
7390 Internship in Criminal Justice
(Prerequisites: graduate standing, consent of program coordinator)
Intensive research under faculty supervision or practical experience in a selected criminal justice agency. Requires completion of a research paper.
7391 Social Statistics
Logic, uses of statistical analysis in social science research; focus on statistical design of research projects, analysis of computer‐generated output, statistical procedures and results; critique of statistical adequacy of related literature.
7392 Research Methods in Criminal Justice and Criminology
Methods and techniques of research in the behavioral sciences. Includes an in‐depth analysis of the conceptualization of research and the design of appropriate research strategies. Topics covered include experimental design, questionnaire construction, observational techniques, and qualitative research designs.
7393 Seminar on Special Topics in Criminal Justice
Crucial criminal justice topic determined by student interest, available faculty resources; emphasis on exhaustive analysis of literature in the subject area.
8193 Dissertation
Requires consent of advisor. Students will work with advisory committee to complete dissertation.
8301 Portfolio Preparation
The portfolio will consist of a comprehensive literature review on a topic of interest to the student which is to be selected in consultation with a graduate review committee. The portfolio will include a critique of the relevant literature, including any conflicts that exist in previous research, and direction for future research on the topic. The portfolio must be approved by the student’s graduate review committee. Students are expected to provide an oral presentation on the portfolio to the committee.
8302 Policy Portfolio Preparation
This course will facilitate completion of the policy portfolio needed for graduation from the policy track of the MACJ program. Topics covered in this course include review of the literature, to include cases and laws; gathering policies, mandates, and legislation on a topic; research concerning policies of agencies, and qualitative/quantitative research methodologies. The product of the course will be a completed policy portfolio.
8303 Thesis
Independent investigation demonstrating knowledge and methods of scholarship and culminating in a written thesis with oral defense. Variable credit of one to three hours.