Criminal Justice, M.A. and Public Administration, M.P.A.

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The College of Arts and Sciences joint degree program was designed in response to students’ demand for a degree program that would broaden student’s skills and knowledge by combing the core of these two programs; thus allowing students to have a comparative advantage in the job market. Students who graduate with this joint degree will graduate with two master’s degrees (one in Public Administration and the other in Criminal Justice). The Public Administration program offers students the tools and technical skills for working in the public sector. This includes such courses as human resource administration, public planning, and public budgeting. The Criminal Justice program focuses more on the skills, knowledge, and abilities to work effectively in organizations and positions, to effectively develop, implement, and evaluate system and organization change and reform initiatives. By so doing, the program builds upon a criminal justice and public policy program with the addition of a social justice emphasis.

In developing this joint degree program the faculty studied the “best practices” of joint degree programs and developed a program that makes use of the complimentary nature of CJUS and PA in order to maintain the integrity of each program, while allowing the greatest use of each program to satisfy the electives. Students enrolled in this program will be able to complete both degrees with 23 courses (69 credit hours), 11 in the MPA program, 10 in the CJUS program, and two separate capstone courses (one in MPA, one in CJUS).

Special Admission Requirements

In addition to university admission requirements, applicants must submit the following documents as part of their application package:

1. Applicants will be expected to have a 3.0 cumulative G.P.A. (on a 4.0 scale) in their last 60 credit hours;
2. Two confidential letters of recommendation from professional references (e.g. current or former college faculty member, current or former work supervisor, or community leader);
3. A two page, double-spaced statement of intent, which discusses personal short- and long-term career goals, reasons for pursuing the joint degrees, and how these degrees will help the student achieve those goals. The statement should encompass specific personal examples of leadership and provide other pertinent information to help the committee select candidates who can benefit from and contribute to the program. The statement of intent offers applicants the opportunity to demonstrate writing and communication skills to support their candidacy for the CJUS and MPA degree; and
4. A current resume.

Program Requirements

The 23 course (69 credits) program consists of:

• 11 required MPA courses (33 credits)
• 10 required CJUS courses (30 credits)
• 2 required capstone/project courses (6 credits)

Joint Degree Curriculum:

Required MPA courses (33 hours):

• PADM - 6700 Data Analysis for Public and Non-Profit Administration (3) *

• * PADM-6700 may be waived if equivalent courses taken as part of undergraduate work, e.g. BUS-3700 or STAT-4219.

• PADM - 7100 Political and Legal Frameworks for Public Administration (3)
• PADM - 7200 Economic Analysis in Public Administration (3)
• PADM - 7300 Seminar in Public Human Resource Administration (3)
• PADM - 7400 Public Organization Theory and Behavior (3)
• PADM - 7500 Seminar in Public Budgeting (3)
• PADM - 7600 Seminar in Research Methods (3)
• PADM - 8200 Ethics for Public Administration (3)
• PADM - 8300 Public Finance (3)
• PADM - 8400 Seminar in Public and Strategic Planning (3)
• MIS - 7650 Managing Information in the Public Sector (3)

Required CJUS Courses (30 hours):

• CJUS - 6020 Seminar in Criminal Justice Graduate Studies (3)
• CJUS - 7010 Criminal Justice Leadership: Theory and Practice (3)
• CJUS - 7210 Evaluation Research and Policy Analysis (3)
• CJUS - 7230 Special Topics in Crime Policy (3)
• CJUS - 7240 Crime Problem-Solving Strategies (3)
• CJUS - 8100 Theories of Crime and Deviance (3)
• CJUS - 8200 Research Applications (3)
• CJUS - 8300 Administration of Criminal Justice (3)
• CJUS - 8400 The Justice System and the Community (3)
• CJUS - 8800 Justice System Internship (1-3) *

• Must enroll for a 3 credit-hour internship

Master’s Final Project (6 hours):

Choose one (1) PADM and one (1) CJUS course your final semester from among those listed below. Students must earn a “B” or better grade for the final project in order to successfully complete each program.

• CJUS - 8891 Directed Readings for the Comprehensive Exam - Required Curriculum (3)
• CJUS - 8990 Graduate Thesis (3)
• PADM - 8900 Problems in Applied Public Management (3)
• PADM - 8990 Master’s Research Paper (3)

Total Hours for CJUS/PADM Joint Degree (69 Hours)