Division of Graduate and Online Programs
Vice President for Graduate and Online Programs: Dr. John LaNear, J.D., Ph.D.
The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary program that combines the principles and practices of criminal justice with the principles and practices of leadership. It focuses on the development of leadership skills and abilities that are relevant to the criminal justice profession, such as communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution. The program is designed to prepare criminal justice practitioners, those at a crossroads in their careers, and those in intersectional careers with leadership skills and knowledge of the demands and dynamic changes in the criminal justice field.
Program Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate advanced competency in interpreting organizational development and leadership discourse necessary for working in public and private sector agencies within criminal justice.
2. Appraise and select appropriate databases for retrieving, evaluating, and analyzing evidence-based literature for application in criminal justice research and grants.
3. Demonstrate the ability to conceptualize, analyze, and theorize the changing nature of crime, security, prevention, justice, and policy issues and goals in the current socioeconomic and societal trends of South Carolina, the United States, and the world.
4. Integrate knowledge of organizational development and leadership skills in the expansion of knowledge within criminal justice, including the legislative process, legal process, criminal law, criminological theory, ethics, mental health, diversity issues and concerns, emerging issues, current research and theories, and critique and expand on information learned and applied to build on a body of knowledge in the field.
a. Students will integrate their learning in either a thesis or end-of-course project within their specialized curriculum field.
b. Students will use appropriate research or project design and implementation methods to plan and describe a research project/thesis that includes a research question or problem.