Master of Arts in Criminal Justice

The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program allows students to apply for the program and begin classes in any semester. Prospective students should submit all application materials at least one month prior to the entry date sought.

Students must be apply for Graduate Studies online (requires a non-refundable application fee of $40). 

Click Here to Begin the Process

Admission to the program will require a minimum undergraduate grade point average of 2.5 from an accredited college or university. Continuing students must maintain an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher to complete the MACJ.

Courses in the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice are taught by tenured and tenure-track faculty employed full-time by the University of Southern Indiana. All faculty have PhDs and a variety of research and teaching experience. Please visit our faculty websites to learn more about us. 

Criminal Justice Faculty

Required Courses | 18 Credit Hours
CRIM 601 - Criminal Justice Policy and Practice
CRIM 602 - Criminal Justice Administration
CRIM 603 - Research Methods
CRIM 604 - Quantitative Methods
CRIM 605 - Criminological Theory
CRIM 675 - Synthesis

Electives | 18 Credit Hours
CRIM 611 - Ethics in Criminal Justice
CRIM 612 - Law and Procedure
CRIM 620 - Seminar in Corrections*
CRIM 630 - Seminar in Policing*
CRIM 640 - Special Topics in Criminal Justice*
CRIM 650 - Seminar in Criminal Courts*
CRIM 691 - Thesis 1
CRIM 692 - Thesis 2
CRIM 689 - Internship**

*Repeatable with different topic, no limit. **Maximum of 6 Credit Hours total.

To see an expansive list of course descriptions, please click below.

MACJ Course Descriptions

All MACJ courses are offered online using the Blackboard course management system and are seven (7) weeks in duration. Courses are designed using the Quality Matters Rubric Standards based on best practices and research for course design.

• Students will build skills relevant for leadership in their field and the community including critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and effective communication.
• Students will describe the theoretical foundations of criminology and criminal justice institutions and be able to apply these theories to inform criminal justice policy.
• Students will demonstrate the ability to utilize social scientific research methods and statistics in order to study crime, criminal justice institutions, and criminal justice policy.
• Students will articulate the historical, legal, and practical nature of criminal justice policy and how policy is related to the functioning of criminal justice institutions.

Students who wish to receive credit for prior learning should submit a portfolio of experience to the MACJ program director. The portfolio should be received after they are accepted to the program but prior to the completion of 6 credits. The six-credit deadline refers to those graduate classes taken after acceptance to the program. The portfolio will be evaluated by a committee of faculty of the program. Portfolios are reviewed on a rolling basis. The decision of the committee or their designee is binding and there is no appeal.

The total number of combined transfer credits and PLA credits may not exceed 12.

Students who have completed graduate work at accredited universities will be able to transfer in up to 12 credits toward the MACJ, based on their grades and the similarity of their previous work to that at USI. These determinations will be made by the program director and the members of the MACJ evaluations committee based on best practices in the field.

The total number of combined transfer credits and PLA credits may not exceed 12.