Course Catalog

Graduate Courses in the Criminal Justice program

* Course descriptions of additional elective options appear as cross-listed 300/500-level courses in the undergraduate listing of course descriptions for criminal justice, management and social work.

501. Victimology.
This course will examine the relationship of the victim, the offender, and the society. Students will examine sociological theories as they relate to crime victims, as well as qualitative and quantitative research issues involving crime victims, the impact of victimization, and legal system responses to victims. In addition, students will examine the history of victimization, the impact of criminal trauma on victims and their families, and the current issues facing victims and victim advocates in the criminal justice system. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

502. Seminar in Justice Issues.
This course is designed to provide experience in critical analysis of current and emerging justice policies and practices. Graduate students will analyze published evaluation research, assess the value of quantitative and qualitative analyses, and learn how to implement systematic evaluation techniques. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

503. Seminar in Theories of Criminal Justice and Crime.
This advanced criminal justice theory class focuses on theory application. Students will be given information about crime, court, corrections, and security or prevention issues and asked to apply particular theoretical schemes in the attempt to understand and create a basis for dealing with issue areas. Graduate standing required. Prerequisite CJ 342/542 or CJ 343/543 or permission of instructor. Four credits.

504. Seminar in Justice System Decision Making and Policy Implementation.
This course focuses on discretionary decision making throughout the criminal justice system. Students will examine how to identify and define discretionary decisions in the justice system, how to structure discretionary responses, and how to establish methods for checking discretion. The course will include assessment of policy decisions and the impact of policy on daily functioning of the justice system, as well as systemic effects of decision making. Goals of fairness, justice and equality in criminal justice policy will be critically analyzed. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

505. Standards of Professional Behavior.
Ethical concerns for justice system professionals will be examined. Dilemmas involving confidentiality and privacy, conflicts of interest, deception, coercion and control, and human subjects review will be explored within the broader context of the concepts of justice, fairness and respect. In addition to theoretical constructs of ethical issues that arise in social science disciplines, various written codes of conduct (such as National Association of Social Workers, American Corrections Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, American Bar Association, and American Psychological Association) will be examined and analyzed from a justice system policy perspective. Graduate students will read original research and provide in-depth analysis of ethical issues. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

506. Justice Systems Statistics.
This required course will examine the basic principles of statistical techniques that are commonly used in criminal justice and public policy research, which techniques are appropriately used for various research purposes, and how to interpret statistics and communicate the results meaningfully. Graduate standing required. Prerequisite: Math 201, Soc 210 or equivalent. Four credits.

507. Research Methodologies.
This course provides an overview of scientific procedures in criminal justice research. We will examine the boundaries of scientific inquiry, the nature of causal explanation, the relationship between theory and observation, and the differences between positivist and interpretive models of study. Surveys, experiments, fieldwork and archival methods will be studied with a critical emphasis on development of research designs that are appropriate to particular empirical goals. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

508. Legal Issues for Justice Professionals.
The course examines criminal, administrative and civil law issues that commonly arise among justice agencies, including civil remedies for violations of individuals' constitutional rights; investigative powers and limitations; legal relationships between crime victims and public agencies; public corruption prosecution; and administrative policies and procedures. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

539. Budget Building and Resource Allocation for Criminal Justice System Agencies.
Introduces basic concepts in public finance, basics of public financial statement analysis, process and formats of budgetary systems, budgetary politics and strategies, and other issues of public financial management. Prerequisites: Acct 251 and 252 or permission of instructor. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

540. Social Justice and Human Rights Issues.
This course is designed to examine social justice and human rights issues reflected in the U.S. Constitution and the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights as they interplay in various aspects of the criminal justice system including corrections, juvenile justice, enforcement, administration and legal action. Issues will include, but not be limited to, the influence of sexism, racism, ethnicity, homophobia, ageism, disability and other discrimination in the form of harassment, inappropriate action, group conflict, prejudice and discrimination in the United States and in the world community. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

545. Police Effectiveness.
The course examines the origins of policing; traditional and innovative policing methods within police organizations and by individual officers; and the relationship between police, the public and society. It includes critical analysis of empirical research on policing efforts and programmatic evaluation. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

546. Strategic Policing.
The course focuses on maximizing the use of technology to implement problem-oriented policing strategies in modern police agencies. In addition, it examines the changing reliance on intelligence information, the methods used to gather the information, the development of analytical skills to identify and synthesize relevant data, and the standard practices of intelligence analysis. The course will examine problem-solving by individual police officers and the use of intelligence information to assist in strategic planning by police departments. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

547. Sexual Violence: Victims, Perpetrators and the CJ System.
This course is an extensive introduction to the sociological study of sexual violence. In this course, students can expect to explore the causes of, theories about, and statistics on sexual violence in U.S. society. Additionally, this course will survey the various components of the criminal justice system involved with victims and/or perpetrators of sexual violence. Undergraduate equivalent: Criminal Justice 333. Four credits.

580. Independent Study in Criminal Justice.
Independent study is limited to those who have completed a minimum of 24 semester credits of graduate level course work and have accumulated a minimum GPA of 3.2. Independent study is intended for those who have a special interest in an area of study and/or research not usually available as a regular offering of the college. Enrollment in independent study is by petition. Graduate standing required for 500-level enrollment. Independent study carries one to four credits.

590. Special Topics in Criminal Justice.
There may be periodic graduate offerings on special topics designed to investigate a detailed area of study within criminal justice or a related field. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

595. Examination Study.
Students must pass a comprehensive examination that covers the topics taught in the core curriculum of the MACJ. Students generally take this examination in the semester before they intend to graduate. Much of the required reading for the core courses is included on the comprehensive examination reading list. The reading list also includes additional classic and recent key texts and research articles in criminology and criminal justice beyond what is required or recommended for the foundation courses. See the MACJ student handbook for more details. Graduate standing required. Four credits.

Last Updated: 11/18/11