Criminal Justice and Criminology MS / Public Administration MPA

Students in the criminal justice master’s and MPA program develop a broad foundation for understanding criminal justice policy and the conceptual and analytical skills critical to the effective management of public agencies and programs.

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Program Type

Master’s

Program Format

On Campus

Contemporary public officials are required to make complex choices and implement programs and policies within difficult financial, legal, political and organizational constraints. More than ever, it is important that administrators be able to work with a variety of people, both within and outside the public sector. Professional education thus encompasses fiscal control, quantitative analysis, organization management, decision analysis, and a working understanding of government institutions and legal procedures.

Both departments collaboratively offer a program designed to provide students with theoretical and practical exposure to evolving professional practice in the field of criminal justice .

The total credits for the coordinated criminal justice master’s and MPA program would typically be completed in both programs at the same time, rather than one program after the other. Students will take 33 credits for the MS in Criminal Justice & Criminology and a minimum of 39 credits for the MPA. Degrees will be awarded simultaneously. A student not completing the requirements for the coordinated degree program would need to complete all requirements for an individual program in order to receive a degree.

Students in the coordinated MS/MPA program must complete all degree requirements within seven years of the first enrollment semester as a degree student.

Track A

Students with significant public or nonprofit sector work experience may, at the discretion of the MPA director, have the Public Service Administrative Internship course (Pub Adm 921) waived. Students seeking placement in this track will need to meet with the MPA director to discuss this possibility and will be required to provide documentation of current public or nonprofit sector work experience.

Track B

Students with no significant public or nonprofit sector work experience are required to enroll in and successfully complete the Public Service Administrative Internship course (Pub Adm 921). As part of the requirements for this course, Track B students are required to obtain, with the assistance of the MPA director, one or more internships in either the public or nonprofit sector while enrolled in the MPA program.

Time Limit

Students in the coordinated MS/MPA degree program must complete all degree requirements within seven years of the first enrollment semester as a degree student.

Master of Science in Criminal Justice & Criminology

Required Courses	Credits
CRM JST 773: Criminological Perspectives	3
CRM JST 743: Proseminar: Administration of Criminal Justice Systems	3
CRM JST 756: Proseminar: Analysis of Criminal Justice Research	3
Electives
Select 12 additional credits within the criminal justice & criminology program.	12
Select 12 additional credits with the consent of the student’s advisor.	12
TOTAL	33

Master of Public Administration

Required Courses	Credits
BUS ADM 738: Human Resource Management	3
PUB ADM 763: Scope and Dynamics of Public Administration	3
PUB ADM 769: Analyzing and Evaluating Public Policies and Programs	3
Select one of the following:	3
BUSMGMT 709: Predictive Analytics for Managers
PUB ADM 792: Decision-Making for Nonprofit and Public Organizations
CRM JST 756: Proseminar: Analysis of Criminal Justice Research
Select one of the following:	3
BUS ADM 441: Diversity in Organizations
BUS ADM 443: Special Topics in Human Resources Management
BUS ADM 737: Managerial Decisions and Negotiations
Capstone
PUB ADM 959: Capstone Seminar in Public Administration	3
General Public Administration
Select three of the following:	9
BUSMGMT 724: Accounting for Nonprofit Organizations
PUB ADM 400: Ethics and Responsibility in Public Administration
PUB ADMN/URBPLAN 630: Budgeting and Finance in the Public Sector
PUB ADM 750: Public Administration Risk and Analysis
PUB ADM/POL SCI 914: Seminar in Intergovernment Relations
PUB ADM 958: Seminar in Public Administration
PUB ADM 965: Municipal Management
Concentration
Select 12 credits in CRM JST.	12
Internship
PUB ADM 921: Public Service Administrative Internship	3
TOTAL	42

Total Degree Credits for Master of Public Administration: 48-51 credits

The total credits for the coordinated program would typically be completed in both programs at the same time, rather than one program after the other. A student not completing the requirements for the coordinated degree program would need to complete all requirements for an individual program in order to receive a degree.