Criminal Justice and Criminology (MA)
The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology provides students with a cutting-edge education that will prepare them to assume leadership roles in criminal justice and related agencies as well as to pursue more advanced educational opportunities.
Curriculum
The Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice requires 30 credit hours of coursework, consisting of five required courses (including a culminating experience) and five elective courses. In order to demonstrate cumulative proficiency, students are required to pass either Applied Research in Criminal Justice & Criminology or complete a thesis as their culminating experience. By default, all students are placed in the non-thesis option unless they select and are approved for the thesis option.
Coursework Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CJC 401 | Politics and Policies in the Criminal Justice System | 3 |
| CJC 402 | Theories of Criminal Behavior | 3 |
| CJC 403 | Research Methods and Program Evaluation 1 | 3 |
| CJC 404 | Applied Data Analysis and Interpretation 1 | 4 |
| Culminating Experience Course | ||
| CJC 408 | Applied Research in Criminal Justice & Criminology 1,3 | 2 |
| or CJC 501 | Thesis Research | |
| Select Five Electives 2 | 15 | |
| Mental Illness and Crime | ||
| International Criminal Justice | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Practicum in Criminal Justice | ||
| Variable Topics Electives - Maximum of 3 in each area | ||
| Advanced Topics in Criminology | ||
| Advanced Topics in Policing | ||
| Advanced Topics in Courts | ||
| Advanced Topics in Corrections | ||
| General Special Topics | ||
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- 1
Student must earn a grade of B or better in order to graduate (a B- or below will not fulfill this requirement), and class must be repeated if grade below a B is earned.
- 2
In consultation with the Graduate Program Director, students may select graduate-level electives among those offered within the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology as well as from other programs such as Social Work, Psychology, Women's Studies and Gender Studies, Public Policy, or Sociology.
- 3
Students choosing the thesis track will complete a research thesis and take CJC 501 Thesis Research, while students who choose a non-thesis option will complete a major research paper and take CJC 408 Applied Research in Criminal Justice & Criminology.
Responsible Conduct of Research
All PhD students and students in thesis-based Master's degree programs must successfully complete UNIV 370 Responsible Conduct in Research and Scholarship or other approved coursework in responsible conduct of research as part of the degree requirements. It is strongly recommended that students complete this two-day training before beginning the dissertation/thesis stage of the program.
Thesis Option
Students who have aspirations to pursue research in their career, or pursue a PhD, should consider the thesis track. Optimally, students should complete CJC 403 during the fall semester of their first year in the graduate program. In order to be approved for the thesis option, students must receive permission from the Department of CJC’s Graduate Committee. The following requirements must be met:
- Completion of CJC 403 (Program Evaluation and Research Methods) with a grade of A- or better (no exceptions);
- Submission of a class paper to demonstrate writing skills that are acceptable to the Department of CJC’s Graduate Committee; and,
- Submission of a thesis approval form that provides a brief description of the proposed research question, the proposed methodology, and a detailed timeline.
Once a student has selected the thesis option, they will sign a written agreement acknowledging that they cannot switch back to the non-thesis option if it becomes too difficult or takes longer than anticipated.
Students will work with their thesis chairperson to complete an acceptable draft of their thesis proposal. The thesis proposal draft will consist of a detailed literature review, research questions or hypotheses, research design, analysis plan, and a discussion of the strengths and limitations of the proposed research.
If data collection involves human participants, students must follow all of the requirements established by Loyola’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects. Students cannot submit an IRB application until their thesis proposal is officially approved.
Once the formal thesis proposal has been approved, students will then work towards the completion of the research and composition of the thesis. Once final draft is reviewed and approved by entire committee, the student will make a formal presentation (defense) of the thesis and submit it to a publicly available database per Graduate School policies.
Graduate & Professional Standards and Regulations
Students in graduate and professional programs can find their Academic Policies in Graduate and Professional Academic Standards and Regulations under their school. Any additional University Policies supersede school policies.
Learning Outcomes
The CJC graduate curriculum incorporates seven Student Learning Outcomes:
- Provide students with a broad liberal arts background, with stimulating and challenging courses pertinent to the study of criminal justice and criminology.
- Give students the awareness and appreciation of group similarities and differences, especially those relating to culture and race, and to ethics, norms, and values.
- Help students develop theoretical and practical knowledge of the structures, processes, and functions of the criminal justice system, always stressing its links and interdependence with other institutions in the social system.
- Provide students with an understanding of criminological theory and how these apply to criminal justice policy and practice.
- Offer students the opportunity to test their interests and abilities in criminal justice fields through controlled involvement in the form of agency visits, field experience, and research.
- Help prepare students for professional service in a wide range of careers in criminal justice.
- Enable talented students to enter confidently into graduate or professional school programs in criminal justice, law, social work, or any of the social sciences.