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PROGRAM INFORMATION

Criminal Justice, MA

The Master of Arts degree program in Criminal Justice is designed to serve as a first stage of training for students wishing to eventually pursue more advanced graduate work, as well as preparation for students who will terminate their studies at the master's level. For the latter group, including many in part-time attendance, the M.A. program is designed to serve students who, upon graduation, will begin or rejoin professional careers in management, administration, or specialist positions in governmental and private criminal and juvenile justice and related agencies. The Master of Arts degree requires the completion of 30 hours of coursework and a thesis, or completion of 36 hours of coursework. The curriculum is structured around a set of core requirements that provide substantive grounding in decision making and operational aspects of the criminal justice system, and a theoretical, legal, policy, and methodological foundation for understanding crime and society.

Campus Location:
Main Campus

Students are able to complete the degree program through classes offered before and after 4:30 p.m. Students able to complete the degree program on a part-time basis (8 credit hours or less per semester).

Department Information
Gladfelter Hall, 5th Floor 1115 W. Berks Street Philadelphia, PA 19122

(215) 204-7918

Ranking:
There is no formal ranking of criminal justice programs, though the Journal of Criminal Justice Education has produced occasional articles on program productivity. Temple University's Criminal Justice Program is classed among a number of schools which are acknowledged to have extremely strong faculty, but have not yet produced a large number of doctoral degrees.

Accreditation:
False

Areas of Specialization:
Faculty members specialize and offer substantial coursework in a wide array of areas. Some of the broader topics covered are: criminological theory, corrections and community corrections, issues in policing, court processes, white collar crime, organized crime, crime and the physical/social environment, juvenile justice, criminal law, criminal justice policy-making and strategic management, discretion in criminal justice, restorative justice, socialization and deviant behavior, research methods (qualitative/quantitative) and statistical analysis. More specific details of faculty research and publications can be found at the department's graduate program website.

Job Placement:
The Master's program is primarily dedicated to producing well-trained criminologists, researchers and criminal justice practitioners. The job market for an individual with a Master's Degree in the field is extremely good. Some of our graduate students advance their career while completing the coursework while others get hired at the completion of their degree. Graduates of the MA program have obtained positions in the criminal justice system, including state and federal police agencies, criminal or juvenile courts, and corrections (insitutional and community-based agencies). Careers are also possible in government, planning, public administration, research, teaching, or community activism.

Affiliation(s):

Interdisciplinary Study :
The program encourages interdisciplinary coursework, research, and interactions among faculty and students with interests in a wide range of fields. Many of the students entering the Criminal Justice Masters program have backgrounds in subjects such as history, political science, psychology, social work, counseling, sociology, geography, urban studies, and economics.

Study Abroad:

Licensure:
False

Non-degree Student Policy:
Non-matriculated students are eligible to take any of the graduate Criminal Justice courses offerred. If accepted to the program, those courses may be applied toward the degree program.