Accelerated curriculum and capstone experience customizable to meet your needs
What you'll study
3
Program Tracks Available
4:1
Student/Faculty Ratio
4
Semesters
The Master of Criminal Justice (MSCJ) is structured to focus on the areas of criminal justice policy, policing, corrections, criminological theory, legal issues, research design and statistics and ethics. After completion of the program, graduates will be able to critically analyze criminal justice policy and practices in relation to functioning in a democratic society. The 30-credit MSCJ program is offered in a convenient online format designed for the busy working professional and can be completed in four semesters of full-time study.
The mission of the Master’s of Criminal Justice (MSCJ) program is to create opportunities for critical thinking for future and current practitioners and academic researchers in the field of criminal justice and criminology. As a student in the program, you’ll experience an environment that is conducive to learning the body of knowledge generally defined within the field of criminal justice/criminology which includes the meaning of laws, the creation of laws, the breaking of laws, social reactions to deviant and criminal behavior and how individuals are processed over time.
The program is structured to focus on the areas of criminal justice policy, policing, corrections, criminological theory, legal issues, research design and statistics and ethics. After the completion of the program, graduates will be able to critically analyze criminal justice policy and practices in relation to functioning in a democratic society. The goal of the program is to prepare graduates to assume roles as ethical, responsible citizens and professionals in the field.
Some students in the MSCJ program are already employed in the public sector and are interested in the MSCJ program for reasons of career development and mobility. In-service students come from practically every possible public sector setting and every level of government. Pre-service students will have available to them the information and assistance of the Georgia College Career Services Office. Faculty will work with students in exploring career options. Many students have found their classmates to be valuable sources of networking information. Students should understand, however that the purpose of graduate education in criminal justice is to prepare one to be a better manager of a criminal justice agency or to pursue further education.
Admissions Requirement
For general information regarding Graduate Admissions, please see Graduate Admissions.
ALL APPLICANTS
Must have completed requirements for a Bachelor’s degree from a college accredited by the proper regional accrediting association.
Submit a current resume detailing relevant work experience.
REGULAR ADMISSION
A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale in undergraduate work.
Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 are not required to submit exam scores.
Applicants with an undergraduate GPA 2.75 - 2.99 must submit official scores on either the Graduate Record Exam (GRE), Miller Analogies Test (MAT) or Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT) scores. Scores must be within the last five years.
THE APPLICANT MUST HAVE:
GRE: A combined score of 290 (verbal and quantitative) or GMAT: 450 or MAT: 395
Applicants may make a formal request to waive these requirement only when the applicant has completed another graduate degree program and an appropriate transcript is submitted in support of the request.
NOTE: Applicants with an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.0 - If using a paper application, please indicate in the test score area that you are requesting a test waiver based on undergraduate GPA. If applying online, please send an email to grad-admit@gcsu.edu notifying Graduate Admissions that you are requesting a test waiver based on undergraduate GPA.
PROVISIONAL ADMISSION
Provisional admission may be granted to applicants with at least a 2.75 GPA who have scored:
GRE: 280-289 or GMAT: 400-449 or MAT: 380-394
Provisional admission will be considered for applicants who do not meet the academic requirements if strong evidence of ability to perform well in graduate work is provided through reference to work experience or other means.
Provisional status may be granted for a maximum of one academic year. All students admitted under provisional status must maintain a 3.00 or higher GPA during the probationary period.
At the completion of the provisional period of time, a decision will be made as to accepting the student as a regular admission.
To gain regular admission, a provisionally admitted student must take in that status the equivalent of a semester’s full load (9 to 12 hours) of Criminal Justice courses and maintain a 3.00 GPA in all graduate coursework).
TRANSFER CREDIT
Up to 9 hours of graduate work from other accredited institutions may be transferred. To be transferred course work from other institutions must correspond to Georgia College’s Criminal Justice curriculum. Students will need to provide course descriptions and syllabi wherever possible, and the amount of credit granted will be determined by the program director. Such course work may be no more than five years old.
The test date must be within the past five years. You do not need to submit scores from a subject achievement test. The GRE is now only given electronically at Sylvan Learning Centers, located throughout the U.S., including a site in Macon. The MAT is administered in Milledgeville 478-445-5016.
