Criminal Justice (MS)

This program is offered by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. It is available online and at select U.S. campuses, but it is not available at the St. Louis main campus. However, there are select courses available at the St. Louis Main Campus. Please see the Campus Locations and Offerings section of this catalog for a list of campuses where this program is offered.

Program Description

The master of science in criminal justice provides students with a multidisciplinary approach to the wider criminal justice system, with particular emphasis on enhancing technical skills, critical thinking skills, decision-making processes, and increasing analytic capabilities to provide students with the ability to explain, predict, and prevent crime and victimization. Students also have the ability to further focus their studies in five areas: Administration of Justice, Cybersecurity, International and Regional Security, Re-entry and Restorative Justice, and Security Management and Leadership.

Learning Outcomes

• Apply theories of crime to the extent, causes, and prevention of crime, the processes of criminalization, and the practices and reforms of the criminal justice system, in the U.S. and globally.
• Identify quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze crime and crime control systems.
• Articulate ethical implications of decision making in the criminal justice system.
• Explain the interdependence of institutions in the criminal justice system and broader social, legal and socioeconomic environments.
• Articulate the ways issues of diversity affect the operation of criminal justice organizations and actors, including differences by race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, sex, gender, age and so on.
• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills.

Program Curriculum

36 Credit Hours

Required Courses

• CRIM 5000 Ethics and Decision Making in Criminal Justice (3 hours) 
• CRIM 5100 Theories of Crime and Justice (3 hours)
• LEGL 5480 Criminal Actions (3 hours)
• CRIM 6000 Capstone (3 hours)

Electives

• At least 18 elective hours from the lists below.
• Up to 6 hours of any approved graduate-level elective courses.

Administration of Justice

• CRIM 5050 Organization and Administration of Criminal Justice (3 hours)
• CRIM 5060 Policing and Law Enforcement (3 hours)
• CRIM 5070 Institutional and Community Corrections (3 hours)
• LEGL 5450 American Constitutional Law (3 hours)

Note: Students completing all four courses qualify to earn a graduate certificate in administration of justice, where the certificate is available. To gain the certificate, students must pay a second graduation fee.

Cybersecurity - Threat Detection

• CRIM 5350 Computer Crime and Fraud (3 hours)
• CSSS 5000 Introduction to Cybersecurity (3 hours)
• CSSS 5120 Cybersecurity Infrastructures (3 hours)
• CSSS 5210 Cybersecurity Law & Policy (3 hours)
• CSSS 5220 Cybersecurity Threat Detection (3 hours)

International Regional and National Security

• IRSS 5590 International Security (3 hours)
• IRSS 5550 War and Diplomacy (3 hours)
• IRSS 5890 Terrorism in World Politics (3 hours)
• IRSS 5560 US Foreign Policy (3 hours)
• IRSS 5595 Energy Security (3 hours)
• IRSS 5860 Issues in International Politics (with security focus) (3 hours)
• IRSS 5625 Middle East Area Studies* (3 hours)
• IRSS 5635 Western European Area Studies* (3 hours)
• IRSS 5645 Asian Area Studies* (3 hours)
• IRSS 5655 African Area Studies* (3 hours)
• IRSS 5665 South and Central Asia Area Studies* (3 hours)
• IRSS 5675 Central and Eastern European Area Studies* (3 hours)
• IRSS 5685 Latin American Area Studies* (3 hours)

Note: Students who complete IRSS 5590 and three other courses listed in international and regional security qualify to earn a graduate certificate in international and regional security, where the certificate is available. To gain the certificate, students must pay a second graduation fee.

*No more than two area studies courses can count toward the certificate.

Rehabilitation and Re-entry

• CRIM 5070 Institutional and Community Corrections (3 hours)
• EDIN 5622 Restorative Justice: Learning Communities (3 hours)
• COUN 5185 Ecological Counseling Seminar (3 hours)
• COUN 5190 Women's Issues in Mental Health (3 hours)
• COUN 5450 Trauma, Crisis, and Emergency Relief Counseling (3 hours)
• COUN 5630 Addictions and Substance Abuse Counseling (3 hours)
• COUN 5480 Addictions and Substance Abuse Counseling (3 hours)

Security Management and Leadership

• CRIM 5300 White Collar Crime (3 hours)
• SECR 5000 Security Management (3 hours)
• SECR 5010 Legal and Ethical Issues in Security Management (3 hours)
• SECR 5020 Security Administration and Management (3 hours)
• SECR 5060 Emergency Planning (3 hours)
• SECR 5150 Terrorism and Extremist Activity (3 hours)

Dual Degree Option: MA in International Relations and Security Studies/MS in Criminal Justice

This program is only available at select U.S. campuses.

48 Credit Hours

Upon completion of the 48 credits, two separate diplomas are issued at the same time. The two degrees cannot be awarded separately or sequentially under this arrangement.

Required Courses

• CRIM 5000 Ethics and Decision Making in Criminal Justice (3 hours)
• CRIM 5100 Theories of Crime and Justice (3 hours)
• LEGL 5480 Criminal Actions (3 hours)
• IRSS 5000 Introduction to International Relations and Security Studies (3 hours)
• IRSS 5100 Research Methods and Perspectives (3 hours)
• IRSS 5590 International Security (3 hours)
• CRIM 6000 Capstone (3 hours)
  or IRSS 6000 Capstone (3 hours)
  or IRSS 6250 Thesis (6 hours) 
  

The six credit hours for IRSS 6250 are drawn from the 3 hours reserved for the IRSS 6000 capstone and 3 elective credit hours in the program. 

Electives

• Four (4) courses from the following:
  • Any course with CRIM prefix
  • One of the courses can be LEGL 5450
• Four (4) courses from the International and National Security Cluster in the MA in International Relations and Security Studies
• One (1) additional course drawn from electives in either the MA in International Relations and Security Studies or the MS in Criminal Justice

Sequential Degree in Criminal Justice

A student who holds an MA, MS or an equivalent graduate degree from Webster University or another regionally accredited college or university (or its international equivalent) may earn a sequential MS in criminal justice from Webster University. Transfer credit may not be applied toward the sequential MS.

The student must take a minimum of 27 credit hours to earn the sequential MS in criminal justice. This includes the 12-hour degree core, as well as 15 elective hours. The elective hours may come from the Administration of Justice,  Cybersecurity - Threat Detection, International and Regional Security, Re-Entry and Restorative Justice, or Security Management and Leadership areas.  

Admission

See the Admission section of this catalog for general admission requirements. Students interested in applying must submit their application online at www.webster.edu/apply. Transcripts should be sent from your institution electronically to transcripts@webster.edu. If this service is not available, send transcripts to:

Office of Admission
Webster University
470 E. Lockwood Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63119 

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are admitted to their graduate program upon completion of all admission requirements. Students are advanced to candidacy status after successfully completing 12 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. In specialized programs, courses required as prerequisites to the program do not count toward the 12 credit hours required for advancement.