Criminal Justice Administration, M.A.

Goals

A master’s degree in criminal justice administration (CJA) prepares students for leadership positions in a wide range of criminal justice-related fields. The faculty work to deliver a student-centered and tailored educational journey for each student, one that emphasizes the integration of a strong academic foundation combined with unique experiential and applied work opportunities. The robust curriculum helps graduates to anticipate, address, and work towards plausible solutions to problems associated with the criminal justice system and the individuals connected to it. The active-learning and engagement philosophy ensures that students are keeping up with the latest discipline and industry insights and are well prepared to move forward with their career endeavors.

Mission

Our department mission is intertwined with the Vincentian mission of the university. Our philosophy is to prepare our students to become productive members in our society and to provide them with the opportunity to reach their full potential. The faculty emphasize personalization and intentionally aim to assist students achieve their individual educational and professional aspirations, such as by providing one-on-one mentoring, tailoring class electives, coordinating internship opportunities, or collaborating on their research projects. Our department offers a holistic program that encourages students to develop and hone their analytical and decision-making skills, as well as fosters their commitment to ethical, intellectual, and social values. The CJA program aims to accomplish these objectives through a core of courses that develops skills in management, statistics, methodology, research, justice, ethics, criminal liability, as well as writing and speaking. The extensive elective courses provided by the department also offer students the opportunity to expand their inquiry into special topic areas, contemporary criminal justice policies, and subsections of the criminology discipline.

Unique Program Characteristics

The CJA program offers courses with low student-faculty ratios in all three delivery methods – on-campus, online, or hybrid – to ensure students have the flexibility they need to meet their individual scheduling needs. Students can opt to take all of the courses fully online or you can choose to complete their course work through a combination of methods. The CJA program curriculum is designed to maximize student success and assist students in further developing their critical thinking, analytical, decision-making, and deductive reasoning skills. The faculty offer personalized mentorship and professional guidance to help students reach their full potential and achieve their career goals. With one-on-one support, from academic advising to career development, students build the skills and real-world experience needed to succeed.

All CJA program faculty hold earned doctorates in Criminology & Criminal Justice, a notable fact not found in any comparable regional program. All are published scholars within their areas of expertise, and collectively, they cover the main areas of the criminal justice and victim services fields. They are all experienced teachers and regularly make presentations at professional conferences.

The faculty collaborate with several local, state, and federal agencies and organizations within the criminal justice and victim services field, and work to have their students placed in internship positions that allow them to apply their education in real-life situations. Students also have opportunities to engage in research with faculty and develop analytical skills that prepare them for doctoral work, law school, or leadership positions in a wide range of criminal justice-related fields.

The CJA curriculum outline allows for up to four or five electives (depending on what capstone option a student selects). A combined maximum of four courses (12 credit hours) including transfer credit from an accredited institution and courses outside of the CJA program (MBA, MA Interdisciplinary Studies, or EDU mental health counseling courses) at Niagara may be allowed, pending prior approval by the CJA graduate director.

Admission Requirements

Candidates for admission must submit application materials.

The application, accompanied by a $30 fee (U.S. funds), payable to Niagara University.
Official transcripts of all previous college and university work, to be sent directly from the registrar of each institution.
Two letters of recommendation to be sent directly to Niagara University by persons who know your qualifications and can assess your ability to perform graduate work.
A statement of intent (limited to 500 words or less) that outlines the applicant's academic background, educational and career goals, and how the program will meet those goals and objectives.
Scores on the GRE aptitude test, to be sent directly to Niagara University from the Educational Testing Service (which administers the exam). NU alumni who received a B.A. or B.S. from the College of Arts and Sciences in the previous five years may waive the GRE requirement if their overall under-graduate QPA was 3.0 or better. Also, GRE scores may be waived by the department depending upon professional experience and undergraduate performance. For further details, please contact the department.
For students whose native language is not English, scores on the TOEFL must be sent directly by the testing service.

Master's Degree in Criminal Justice Administration

Program of Study

The CJA program requires the completion of 11 courses that total 33 credit hours, including a capstone project. Six of the 11 courses are core requirements, and the remainder are electives. Students are given a choice for their capstone project – either complete a capstone policy paper course or a research thesis project.

The CJA program is intentionally designed to allow students to work at their own pace. Most classes meet after 4 p.m. ET, on Saturdays, or are delivered asynchronously online. This flexibility gives students space to plan their educational schedules alongside their career and personal schedules. For students attending full-time, the completion time of the program is two years, and most students who opt to take courses at an accelerated rate complete the program in a year and a half or less. For students who wish to attend part-time, the program can be completed in approximately three years.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required Courses
CRJ 500	Seminar in System-Wide Issues in	3
CRJ 510	Seminar in Criminal Justice Management	3
CRJ 520	Introduction to Statistical Analysis	3
CRJ 530	Seminar in Professional Ethics and	3
CRJ 540	Research, Planning, and Evaluation	3
CRJ 555	Seminar in Theories of Crime	3
Select Three Electives:
CRJ 550	Seminar in Police Adminstration and	3
CRJ 558: Policing & Society		3
CRJ 560	Seminar in Capital Punishment	3
CRJ 565	Seminar in Corporate and White-Collar	3
CRJ 568	Criminal Courts	3
CRJ 562: Juvenile Justice		3
CRJ 570	Constitutional Criminal Procedure	3
CRJ 572	Seminar in Penal Policy	3
CRJ 575	Seminar in Comparative Crime and Justice	3
CRJ 580	Seminar in Restorative Justice	3
CRJ 582	Race, Gender and Class in the Criminal	3
CRJ 585	Seminar in Special Problems in Criminal	3
CRJ 590	Domestic Violence	3
CRJ 595	Victimization	3
CRJ 600	Supervised Readings in Criminal Justice	3
Select One of Two Capstone Options:
Option I:
CRJ 650	Criminal Justice Policy Paper - Capstone
CRJ elective	One additional elective course
Option II:
CRJ 659 & CRJ 660	Master's Thesis I and Master's Thesis II

CRJ 500 — Seminar in System-Wide Issues in (3 credits)

This course is designed to provide an overview of significant criminal justice policies, practices, and decision making that cuts across the agencies of law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Especially important for the student with little academic background in criminal justice, this course will offer insights into the common problems of regulating discretion, application of legal rules in practice, and implementation of public policy in non-system or independent criminal justice agencies.

CRJ 510 — Seminar in Criminal Justice Management (3 credits)

An assessment of the management and administration of criminal justice agencies as a special problem of public administration. The differences between public and private sector management with special emphasis on approaches to organizational change, leadership and public service will be discussed. Individual and group behavior in criminal justice organizations will be assessed as will integrity and commitment to values.

CRJ 510PA — Seminar in Criminal Justice Management (3 credits)

CRJ 520 — Introduction to Statistical Analysis (3 credits)

This course is designed to provide the student with the necessary skills to analyze data and to evaluate published research. The course will cover the fundamental steps of hypothesis testing through more sophisticated multivariate techniques. Emphasis will be placed on identifying the appropriate statistical technique for a particular research question, the use of the computer to analyze the data, and the interpretation of results obtained.

CRJ 530 — Seminar in Professional Ethics and (3 credits)

How ethical considerations can and should affect every important decision in criminal justice. Some of these decisions include: police arrest decisions, prosecutor charging decisions, defendant plea decisions, defense strategy decisions, judicial evidentiary rulings, sentencing decisions, and probation and parole decisions. The results of unethical decisions will be examined in terms of deviance and civil and criminal liability faced by criminal justice professionals.

CRJ 540 — Research, Planning, and Evaluation (3 credits)

Research and planning techniques as they apply to policy making and evaluation in criminal justice agencies. Principles of research design, planning methods, and evaluation techniques will be presented. Emphasis will be placed on selection of the appropriate research design, planning method, or evaluation tool, given case studies of problems and issues faced by criminal justice agencies.

CRJ 550 — Seminar in Police Adminstration and (3 credits)

The history, organization and administration of law enforcement as it attempts to achieve a balance among peace, order and individual rights. The constraints imposed by law, policy, public interest, politics, and training will each be assessed. Ways to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement, while maintaining respect for the rights of suspects and the safety of citizens, will be assessed.

CRJ 555 — Seminar in Theories of Crime (3 credits)

An examination of theories and typologies of criminal behavior among intimates and strangers and its effects on victims. Since criminology is a multidisciplinary field, biological, psychological and social theories of crime will be discussed. The impact of violent crime will be emphasized. The focus of the course will be the development of the skills necessary to evaluate and apply criminological theories in criminal justice settings.

CRJ 560 — Seminar in Capital Punishment (3 credits)

The passage of a law or program designed to address a particular problem is often assumed to resolve that issue. In actuality, however, the law itself may generate more problems than it solves. This course examines some of the problems in the application of laws that have come to light through the use of social science research, or that can be minimized through an empirical investigation of the problem.

CRJ 565 — Seminar in Corporate and White-Collar (3 credits)

The nature, extent and impact of illicit behavior on the part of corporations, illicit organizations, government agencies, and employees. The causes, enforcement, prosecution, sentencing, and prevention of organized criminal behavior will be examined. Political, white-collar, organized, and corporate crime are assessed, and their similarities and differences evaluated in terms of investigation, prosecution, defense, and sentencing strategies.

CRJ 568 — Criminal Courts (3 credits)

This course focuses on the role of criminal courts in sentencing. It examines the influence of different court actors on punishment decisions, and explores courtroon decision-making through criminological, sociological, and organizational theoretical perspectives. Additional topics include punishment disparity associated with individual social statuses.

CRJ 570 — Constitutional Criminal Procedure (AS) (3 credits)

This course examines the constitutional rules and principles that help shape the law of criminal procedure. The issues covered include: pretrial rights and proceedings, the adversarial system, interrogation and confessions, and search and seizure. Attention will be given to U.S. Supreme Court decisions that interpret and apply federal constitutional provisions to these issues.

CRJ 572 — Seminar in Penal Policy (3 credits)

This course will address various issues which are relevant to the handling of the offender in the community and the institution. It is assumed that entry into the correctional system, both in terms of community-based and institutional alternatives, engenders certain problems for the system and signifies that offenders have various problems and needs that must be addressed if we are to deal with their potential for reform and recidivism.

CRJ 575 — Seminar in Comparative Crime and Justice (3 credits)

This course will consider the operation of the criminal justice system in various parts of the world. The principal concern is to develop an understanding of common problems shared by all countries in dealing with crime and to provide an understanding of how effective these countries are in administering justice. These countries will be compared in terms of the crime rate, types of crimes, police practices, legal traditions, court practices, sentencing schemes and penal policies. The goal is to alert the student to what is taking place in other parts of the world and to encourage consideration of practices in other countries as offering possible solutions to current dilemmas at home.

CRJ 580 — Seminar in Restorative Justice (3 credits)

This course will critically examine the philosophy and practice of restorative justice. It will begin with an overview of the philosophical framework, as well as some strengths and weaknesses, of our current justice system. The course will then cover the history, philosophy, and practices of restorative justice, including objections to this approach and methods and results of evaluating current programs.

CRJ 582 — Race, Gender and Class in the Criminal (3 credits)

This course considers the interrelationships among race, gender and class in the criminal justice system. Examined are the patterns and variations in crime across these variables. The assumptions, biases and relative strengths and weaknesses of theories of crime as applied across race and gender will be addressed. Attention will be given to women and minorities as offenders, victims and professionals in criminal justice with particular emphasis given to criminal justice sanctioning of crimes by and against women and minorities.

CRJ 585 — Seminar in Special Problems in Criminal (3 credits)

This seminar is designed to examine a current issue in criminology and criminal justice of particular concern. Topics such as the future of crime and justice, mala prohibita offenses and their adjudication, or the criminal or juvenile justice system and contemporary social problems may be offered depending on the critical issues of the period. This course may be taken more than once as long as the subject matter differs.

CRJ 590 — Domestic Violence (3 credits)

This class focuses on the extent, nature, causes, and consequences of domestic violence in the United States. We will focus on the complexities of domestic violence, including individual, societal, and historical factors, the implications of making distinctions in types of violence and perpetrators, and the relationship between institutional and individual responses.

CRJ 595 — Victimization (3 credits)

This course provides an introductory examination of victimology, including the prevalence and consequences of various forms of victimization, the nature of criminal justice victimization data, and the issues related to the measurement and costs of victimization. Temporal topics, such as the victim-offender overlap and repeat victimization are also covered.

CRJ 600 — Supervised Readings in Criminal Justice (3 credits)

This course is designed for the student who wishes to pursue specific readings on a subject not otherwise available in the curriculum. With approval of the instructor, the student will select a topic, organize a reading list, complete it, and compose a paper based on these readings in consultation with the instructor.

CRJ 650 — Criminal Justice Policy Paper - Capstone (3 credits)

For students who select this option, the policy paper is a capstone course that provides the forum to apply critically the substance and method of the completed curriculum to a criminal justice problem of interest and public concern. The product of this course will be a policy paper that attempts to address the policy issue in contemporary society.

CRJ 659 — Master's Thesis I (3 credits)

For students who select this option, the masters thesis is a capstone course that offers the student the opportunity to apply critically the substance and method of the field to a specific criminal justice issue. The thesis is a research project that either tests an untested hypothesis or replicates research findings that are not conclusive. The product of this course will be a research thesis of publishable quality for a criminal justice journal.

CRJ 660 — Master's Thesis II (3 credits)

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