As professional standards in criminal justice continue to rise, more and more administrators are finding that they need not only professional skills but also advanced proficiency in such areas as analysis, communication, and leadership. The M.C.J.A. program helps criminal justice professionals develop those skills across a broad array of settings and contexts. Students can select from prescribed tracks or design their own track in a specialized area such as security, prevention, education, and training.
The program’s flexible approach makes it ideal for those who wish to pursue their degree part time or at a distance. It also allows students who are working in professional settings to tailor their graduate study to specific workplace challenges and goals, and to use the working environment as a setting for action research.
APPLICATION AND ADMISSION
Admission to the graduate program in criminal justice administration is open to those with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or a related field from a regionally accredited college or university. There are no standardized test requirements, although upon admission a writing sample may be required for advising and assessment purposes.
To apply, submit a graduate application and arrange for transcripts of all your undergraduate studies, as well as any graduate work you have completed elsewhere, to be sent directly to the School of Graduate Studies. You can apply, enroll, and begin your studies at any time during the academic year.
Because of the individualized nature of the program, it is recommended that you discuss your educational goals with the program staff either before you apply or as soon as possible after you are accepted.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
This section includes information on options, processes, and regulations within the M.C.J.A. program. Contact the program staff or the School of Graduate Studies for additional details.
The Graduate Experience
Your graduate experience can be of immense
value to you in the future, not only because it advances specific career or educational goals, but also because it cultivates habits of mind and discipline that will be important throughout your life. It fosters independent critical thinking; the ability to plan and perform; and skills in communication, research, and presentation.
The Nature of Graduate Study
Graduate work makes use of strong academic skills. The program therefore includes a number of courses that reinforce key competencies in graduate study such as critical thinking, professional writing, and fluency in communication and evaluation. Taking advantage of these courses will assist you in furthering your abilities.
In the course of graduate study, you should expect to improve and apply learning characteristics from your past undergraduate work. At the same time, your studies will emphasize higher-order attributes common in graduate education.
Psychologists of learning describe an ascending complexity of learning: basic assimilation of data, comprehension of data, application of data, analysis of information, and synthesis and evaluation. One significant difference between undergraduate and graduate work is that graduate education assumes the first three elements as givens in your work and encourages analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, particularly as a result of independent research. Graduate study not only emphasizes independence but also cultivates higher order learning and presentation bolstered by graduate characteristics.
Graduate Independent Study Courses
A number of graduate independent study courses are offered in different subject areas to complement self-designed directed independent work. Contact the School of Graduate Studies to register for an independent study course.
Syllabi
You will receive a syllabus after registering for a graduate independent study course. If the course is electronically delivered, you will receive information about accessing the online syllabus.
Instructor Contact
After registering for a graduate independent study course, you begin coursework by contacting the designated instructor by e-mail. Let the instructor know immediately if you have questions about the syllabus or course material. If you have difficulty reaching the instructor or problems with interactive course elements, contact the Graduate Independent Study Office immediately.
Time Limits and Extensions
The starting date for a graduate independent study course is the date you register for the course as printed on your schedule. You have 20 weeks from the date of registration to complete each graduate independent study course unless a different limit is stated in the course syllabus. The specific completion date for each course is listed on your schedule.
You may request an extension from the course instructor. If your request is approved, the instructor will notify the Graduate Independent Study Office, which will post the extension dates and new deadline. Approved extensions should state the time frame within which the instructor will agree to receive any remaining work. A grade of WIP (Work In Progress) will be assigned until the instructor has received and graded the remaining work. If the coursework is not complete by the specified date, the instructor will determine a grade for the course based on the work received by the deadline.
Unless you have received an official extension, you must complete each graduate independent study course by the completion date posted on your schedule. If you do not finish the course by the assigned completion date and have not withdrawn or received an extension, you will receive a grade of F that will become part of your official transcript. Students who have exhausted their extensions are not eligible for administrative withdrawal.
Withdrawing from Graduate Independent Study Courses
Once enrolled, you may not drop a graduate independent study course. You may withdraw at any time before the completion date listed in the Schedule of Classes by completing a withdrawal form available from the Graduate Independent Study Office. You remain responsible for all tuition and fees associated with the course.
Concurrent Program Enrollment
It is generally preferable for graduate students to pursue a single degree pathway, but there are exceptions. The following processes apply to concurrent enrollment in two graduate programs.
To be considered for concurrent enrollment, you must first obtain the approval of the academic officers over both programs. You can then register for a second section of Methodology, in which you construct a concurrent enrollment plan for proposal to the dean of graduate independent study. This proposal should include any concepts of structure and content developed in discussion with the academic officers.
The dean of graduate independent study will consider the proposal to ensure that degree requirements are properly fulfilled and that an appropriate amount of content is shared between degree programs. To maintain the integrity of each degree program, the sum of the credits for the two degrees should not diminish by more than 20 percent. Two 36-hour degree programs, for example, could share 14 hours of Content credit.
Pursuit of a second graduate independent degree requires that both a new Methodology and a new Perspective project be submitted.
Graduate Advisors and Mentors
Your Methodology proposal must include the membership of a graduate committee that will guide and advise you throughout the program. Committee membership is voluntary, and it is your responsibility to ask advisors to serve on your committee.
Graduate committees typically include faculty members from MSU or other colleges or universities, as well as qualified individuals outside the academic sector. It is important that committee members have terminal degrees or equivalent credentials, although in some fields of study a committee may include a member who lacks a terminal degree but has unique and appropriate professional experience. Register for GCJA 580 Content to complete independent work under the guidance of an advisor.
If your approved degree plan includes the design of a special course (i.e., with regular graded assignments, an instructional syllabus, and continual teaching), the instructor for that course is designated a mentor and paid on a per-student basis. Register for GCJA 590 Content to complete a special course with a mentor.
In some cases, a mentoring team can take the place of a graduate committee with the approval of the dean of graduate independent study. Mentors must have appropriate credentials and be approved by the program. Mentors who evaluate a Perspective project forward their recommendations to the program’s director of academic services.
The selection of committee members or mentors is your responsibility and is contingent on graduate program approval. You must provide documentation of appropriate credentials for any non–MSU committee advisors and mentors.
If an illness or calamity affects one of your mentors or committee members in a way that alters the outcome of any degree work or deadlines, or if you are having difficulties with a mentor or committee member, you should immediately notify the Graduate Independent Study Office.
Program Time Limit
The time limit for completion of the M.C.J.A. program is five years from the date of your first enrollment. If you transfer credit hours from another program, you have five years from the date of your earliest enrollment in a course that you are transferring. Exceptions to this policy may be granted with the approval of the program dean.
Program Withdrawal and Reinstatement
To withdraw from the program, you must provide written notice to the Graduate Independent Study Office. Your committee or mentoring team then disbands and you are no longer a degree candidate (if you have reached that point in your studies).
After program withdrawal, you may still enroll in appropriate single courses and apply for admission into a certificate program offered through graduate independent study. To be reinstated in the degree program, however, you will be required to retake Methodology, obtain approval of a new proposal, and form a new committee or mentoring team.
DEGREE REQUIREMENTS
The 36-credit-hour degree program is divided into three phases: Methodology, Content, and Perspective.
Phase I: Methodology (3 hours)
You develop a detailed degree proposal for presentation to the program. This proposal, based on your research, tells what you plan to learn in the Content phase and how you plan to demonstrate that learning in the Perspective phase. This degree proposal is expected to include the following elements:
Your approved Methodology proposal should account for every aspect of Content. Changes to any element of Content require an approved amendment to your Methodology proposal. Forms for proposing amendments are available in the Graduate Independent Study Office.
Since advisors and mentors are rarely able to immediately evaluate the work submitted to them, be careful to budget an appropriate amount of time for review of your work when planning your program.
Phase III: Perspective (8 hours)
The culminating element in the degree is the Perspective project, in which you demonstrate mastery of your program content in a work featuring analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The Perspective project may be a traditional thesis; depending on your goals and your area of study, however, it may instead take the form of an extended written document, several smaller documents, a Web site, an oral presentation, or a portfolio.
As with the Content phase, be careful to budget an adequate amount of time for your advisors or mentors to review your work. This consideration is especially important if you are working toward a specific graduation date or another requirement.
Once your graduate committee or mentoring team has accepted and evaluated your Perspective project, it forwards a recommendation to the program’s director of academic services. After a successful review, you are awarded the final 8 hours of credit (for a total of 36 hours) and receive your degree.
SAMPLE PROGRESSION
This example shows how the M.C.J.A. program might be structured by a student who has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and wishes to increase opportunities for advancement with a graduate degree emphasizing law enforcement.
Phase I: Methodology
The student registers through the School of Graduate Studies and consults with the program for permission to proceed with initial research. The student then conducts independent research as a foundation for the Methodology proposal and identifies members who agree to serve on an advisory committee.
After submitting a draft proposal to the program for review, the student then develops and submits a final proposal that includes the following details:
Focus and rationale. The proposal gives the focus of the degree as Master of Criminal Justice Administration with an emphasis on law enforcement administration. It also offers a rationale for the degree that explains the importance of credentialing in the field.
Details of learning to be done in Content. The proposal outlines specific competencies to be learned and groups them into sections: legal perspectives in law enforcement administration, communication in law enforcement administration, analysis of system and policy, and ethical and theoretical issues. It explains how each section will be carried out through a combination of traditional coursework and independent study.
Designation of advisors. The proposed graduate advisors include two of the student’s current supervisors as well as a member of the University’s criminal justice faculty.
Timeline. The proposed timeline specifies a year for completion of Content and eight months for completion of the Perspective project.
Description of the Perspective project. The proposal includes an outline for a project designed to demonstrate learning across the designated content areas—in this case, the design and administration of a grant-funded community policing program that includes innovative crime-deterrence incentives.
The program staff or dean reviews the proposal and awards 3 hours of credit upon its approval.
Phase II: Content
The learning plan designed in the proposal is carried out, with credit awarded as each segment is completed for a total of 25 hours.
Phase III: Perspective
When the Perspective project is complete and has been presented to the graduate committee, the committee reviews the project. It forwards its written recommendations to the program’s academic services director and dean, who award the final 8 hours of credit upon approval.
CONCENTRATIONS
While students have the freedom to structure their studies around different areas of specific interest, standardized curricula are provided for those who wish to pursue graduate study in selected high-demand fields. These programs incorporate coursework in both criminal justice and strategic leadership to fulfill the Content phase.
Correctional Counseling
Students complete directed work and projects in applied settings focusing on early intervention, pretrial counseling, and supervision and parole.
Sample Progression
GCJA 501 Methodology 3
GCJA 560 Critical Inquiry 3
GSL 510 Art & Science of Leadership 3
GSL 504 Organizational, Group,
and Team Leadership 3
GSL 506 Human Side of Organizations 3
GCJA 580 Projects / Fieldwork in
Correctional Counseling 13
GCJA 680 Perspective Project in
Correctional Counseling 8
Total 36
Corrections Administration
Students complete directed work and projects in applied settings within correctional administration. Areas of focus include social and behavioral aspects of the offender, counseling, communication, accounting and finance, and comparative studies in the field.
Sample Progression
GCJA 501 Methodology 3
GCJA 560 Critical Inquiry 3
GSL 510 Art & Science of Leadership 3
GSL 504 Organizational, Group,
and Team Leadership 3
GSL 610 Strategic Thinking 3
GSL 506 Human Side of Organizations 3
GCJA 580 Projects in Corrections
Administration 10
GCJA 680 Perspective Project in
Corrections Administration 8
Total 36
Education and Training
Students complete directed work and projects in organizing training and training itself, as well as GCJA 570, and, as appropriate, GCJA 550, 555, and 575.
Sample Progression
GCJA 501 Methodology 3
GCJA 560 Critical Inquiry 3
GSL 510 Art & Science of Leadership 3
GSL 504 Organizational, Group,
and Team Leadership 3
GSL 506 Human Side of Organizations 3
GCJA 570 Educational Strategies 3
GCJA 580 Projects in Criminal Justice
Education and Training 10
GCJA 680 Perspective Project in
Education and Training 8
Total 36
Enforcement and Investigation
Students complete directed work and projects in applied settings focusing on supervision of enforcement, interdiction, investigation, and managing crime scenes during initial response and subsequent investigation.
Sample Progression
GCJA 501 Methodology 3
GCJA 560 Critical Inquiry 3
GSL 510 Art & Science of Leadership 3
GSL 504 Organizational, Group,
and Team Leadership 3
GSL 610 Strategic Thinking 3
GCJA 580 Projects in Enforcement
and Investigation 13
GCJA 680 Perspective Project in
Enforcement and Investigation 8
Total 36
Security and Prevention
Students complete directed work and projects in applied settings focusing on aspects of security and prevention administration, including industrial security and anti-
terrorism.
Sample Progression
GCJA 501 Methodology 3
GCJA 560 Critical Inquiry 3
GSL 510 Art & Science of Leadership 3
GSL 504 Organizational, Group,
and Team Leadership 3
GSL 610 Strategic Thinking 3
GCJA 580 Projects / Field Experience
in Security and Prevention 13
GCJA 680 Perspective Project in
Security and Prevention 8
Total 36
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