| Degree: | Master of Science (M.S.) |
| Department: | Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies Building 85, Room 160 (850) 474-2236 http://uwf.edu/justice/ |
| College: | Professional Studies |
The purpose of the program is to prepare students for careers in federal, state, county, and local criminal justice agencies, including management and administration; careers in public or private criminal justice research and analysis; teaching positions at community and state colleges; and/or continued education at the doctoral level.
The Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) has two options: a coursework option (Option 1) and an area research paper option (Option 2). Each option requires a minimum of 33 credit hours, including 24 credit hours of criminal justice coursework. The coursework-only option (Option 1) requires 15 credit hours of required coursework plus an additional 9 credit hours minimum of criminal justice electives and 9 credit hours of criminal justice or non-criminal justice electives. The area research paper option (Option 2) requires 15 credit hours of required coursework plus an additional 9 credit hours of criminal justice electives, a 3-credit hour paper completed in consultation with a faculty advisor and 6 additional credit hours in either criminal justice or non-criminal justice electives.
The program also offers four optional concentrations from which students may choose: Social Work; Public Administration; Education; and Homeland Security. Social Work, Public Administration, and Education concentrations are completed using the nine hours of graduate-level unrestricted electives in the concentration field. The Homeland Security Concentration is completed using the nine hours of unrestricted electives and three hours of criminal justice electives in designated graduate-level Homeland Security classes. The concentrations allow the students in the program to more specifically tailor the degree to their academic and career interests.
An accelerated bachelor's to master's program is available for exceptionally well qualified students. Please see the requirements for this program in the Undergraduate Criminal Justice Program.
In addition to the University graduate admission requirements described in the Admissions section of the catalog, the department bases decisions for regular admission on a holistic review of credentials in which the following criteria are used to assess the potential success of each applicant:
A grade of ‘B’ or better is required for each core course.
| Criminal Justice Required Core | ||
| CCJ 5006 | Criminal Justice Administration | 3 |
| CCJ 5008 | Criminal Justice Theory | 3 |
| CCJ 6061 | Criminological Theory | 3 |
| CCJ 6704 | Research Methodology | 3 |
| CCJ 6705 | Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative Data | 3 |
| One of the following options: | 18 | |
| Option 1 | ||
Three CCJ Electives | ||
Three Unrestricted Electives | ||
| Option 2 | ||
| Criminal Justice Area Paper | ||
Three CCJ Electives | ||
Two Unrestricted Electives | ||
| Total Hours | 33 | |


