Program:
MS - Criminal Justice

School:
Virginia College

Program Description:
The Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) degree is designed to provide an advanced and in-depth study of the criminal justice system from a management and administrative viewpoint.

The curriculum includes advanced courses in the different fields of the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, corrections, and juvenile justice, as well as courses that will increase the students’ understanding of criminological theories and social science research.

This program is designed to help prepare students to take on leadership and managerial positions at the local, state, and federal levels of the criminal justice system. In addition to successful completion of all required courses and elective hours, students will be tasked with completion of four comprehensive examinations which will cover specific course materials as a means to fully demonstrate the students’ mastery of the material learned.

Students will also complete an Area Paper or a research paper in a field of interest within criminal justice. This project must be completed prior to graduation, and its topic and specifications required must be approved, overseen, and graded by an approved MSCJ faculty member.

Upon successful completion of this program, students should be able to:

- Analyze the issues and decisions made at the administrative levels of the criminal justice system

- Develop the tools needed to conduct social science research in criminal justice institutions.

- Demonstrate a familiarity and understanding of criminological theories, past and present, which explain criminal and deviant behavior

- Conduct detailed research, analyze data, and report findings in a thorough manner

- Describe the strategies, principles, theory, and techniques of evidence gathering during criminal investigations

- Identify the salient features of modern criminal justice policy

- Summarize the major tenets of modern criminal justice research