Master of Science in Criminal Justice with an Emphasis in Legal Studies
Overview
Gain Real-World Preparation for Career Advancement
Legal experts hold an important role in every society; established crime prevention, punishment and restorative justice systems are essential for a healthy community to preserve a sense of safety and security. Grand Canyon University’s (GCU) application-based Master of Science in Criminal Justice with an Emphasis in Legal Studies program focuses on building legal-related contemporary and practical skills in crime analysis and strategic planning to meet current community demands. Students develop skills necessary to consult in criminal justice organizations with an emphasis on real-world preparation, which may lead to networking, internship and career opportunities.
The College of Humanities and Social Sciences offers this advanced masters in legal studies degree program to help professionals in law enforcement and other decision makers address issues in public policy, social research and justice administration in the public sphere. Expand your specialized skills in order to move into positions of greater responsibilities and leadership, or gain essential information if you are law school-bound.
A capstone class concludes this masters in legal studies online degree and focuses on professional portfolio development and a final written proposal. The portfolio contains your curriculum vitae, examples of writing from graduate courses, a statement of criminal justice philosophy, a five-year plan for professional goals and a research topic paper and written proposal.
Degree Outcomes
Gain Expertise in Contemporary Legal Issues
As a student in this masters in legal studies degree, you will examine current legal topics, including research and methodological evaluation of criminal justice policy; historical and contemporary questions of constitutional criminal law; legal research; organization behavior; leadership; and law and public policy.
What You Will Learn
Serve Your Community as a Legal Expert
Students in the masters in legal studies online program will delve further into crime analysis, statistical analysis, critical reasoning and practical application beyond theory. Throughout learning experiences, students create artifacts to serve as a writing or analytical sample in preparation for career advancement. The highly rigorous curriculum also covers community correctional and legal program development, locating funding, grant writing and driving resources in different ways for diverse sectors.
Areas of study include:
- Relationship between psychology and the criminal justice system
- Interrelatedness of law and socioeconomic concerns
- Ethics in context of criminal justice settings and situations
- Criminal justice-related analysis of research and methodological evaluation
- Contemporary law enforcement management
- Comprehensive study of the constitutional system
- Legal research and communication
Career Outcomes
Lead in a Legal Career
Since legal issues are encountered in nearly every profession, the masters degree in criminal justice may help you seek employment in a variety of fields. Law enforcement officers and individuals in government positions may pursue this degree in order to gain the skills necessary for management or leadership positions. The curriculum and coursework in this legal studies degree also helps prepare you for law school or expand your career with the independence to pursue self-employment or entrepreneurial goals.
Course List
Program Core Courses
Course Description
This course is designed to prepare students for the graduate learning experience at Grand Canyon University. Students have opportunities to develop and strengthen the skills necessary to succeed as graduate students in the liberal arts. Emphasis is placed on utilizing the tools for graduate success.
Course Description
This course provides an examination of the relationship between psychology and the criminal justice system. Students develop an understanding of crisis intervention, criminal profiling, psychopathology, personality assessment, and related research methods.
Course Description
This course explores the interrelatedness of law and socioeconomic concerns and attempts to generate a holistic perspective of society and social control for those charged with the administration of justice.
Course Description
This course explores ethics in the context of criminal justice settings and situations. Various ethical questions are engaged to improve students’ decision-making skills. The responsibility of the individual to act ethically and legally when working in the criminal justice field is emphasized. Some attention is also given to the role of Christian Ethics in criminal justice.
Course Description
This course provides a fundamental analysis of research and a methodological evaluation of criminal justice topics. This course familiarizes students with aspects of statistical analysis and research design relevant to today’s justice environment using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The course focuses on the practical application of research rather than exclusively on the theoretical.
Course Description
This course explores contemporary law enforcement management by examining personality, values, groups, power dimensions, decision making, conflict management, change, and organization development.
Course Description
This course is designed to provide an overview of our constitutional system of criminal jurisprudence. The course provides a comprehensive study of various constitutional amendments and case law as they relate to criminal law. The importance of constitutional rights for the citizens of the United States is also explored.
Course Description
This course teaches students how to do legal research using both hardcopy and electronic resources. Presented from the perspective of a law specialist working for a client, this course allows students to consider a client’s legal issues and to discover how to locate resources that address the problem, including statutes, regulations, court orders, court decisions, and secondary sources.
Course Description
This course explores a variety of legal correspondence methods used to communicate with different persons and agencies within the legal community. The course provides practical application in legal communication methods. Prerequisite: JUS-635.
Course Description
This course is designed to assist students in exploring the different ways they will be able to capitalize on the legal knowledge and skills they have obtained. Various career options are explored, including consulting opportunities in the legal field.
Program Locations
Online
Evening
* The Department of Education defines how an institution must calculate a program's On-Time Completion rate for federal disclosure purposes. The On-Time Completion rate is based on a program's published required number of months to complete all degree requirements as provided in the institution's catalog. Completion statistics are updated every January and are based on the cohort of students who started the program in the same year and then graduated within the published program length.
Online and Evening program disclosures* Please refer to the Academic Catalog for more information. Program subject to change.