The Doctor of Criminal Justice (DCJ) program was developed to prepare practitioners capable of making contributions to the criminal justice field in the academic and applied components of the discipline. The curriculum is designed to ensure that graduates are well equipped to participate in criminal justice positions emphasizing research, theory, evidence-based practice, and the administration of justice.
Candidates best suited for this program are current criminal justice practitioners or military personnel with at least two years of experience in the areas of law enforcement, probation, corrections, parole, security, juvenile justice, government or investigations who want to demonstrate academic and leadership preparedness in the pursuit of career advancement opportunities.
What Can You Expect to Learn: The DCJ program offers the highest level of educational value in order to help students be successful in today’s law enforcement communities. Coursework is designed to equip students with tools for:
Rooting out causes of crime and applying effective intervention and prevention strategies;
Evaluating the ability of an agency to meet the safety needs of a community, including corrections, law enforcement, homeland security and administration of justice;
Analyzing a criminal justice discipline for deficiencies or gaps;
Effectively and ethically leading criminal justice organizations;
Investigating criminal justice systems and their policies and practices;
Pursue careers as university researchers and teachers or for senior positions in business or government;
Developing an Applied Doctoral Project that makes a theoretical and practical impact in the criminal justice field.
Program Outline
To receive a Doctor of Criminal Justice degree, students with a master’s degree must earn 44 graduate semester credit hours as described below. Depending on the transfer of credit and scheduling variables, the DCJ program can be completed in as little as 24-30 months or less. Completion of an applied doctoral project is required.
Career Pathways in Criminal Justice: Upon graduation of our advanced criminal justice program, you will have earned a Doctor of Criminal Justice as well as gained the abilities you need to: Research and apply evidence-based practices involved in criminal justice, Manage and lead CJ efforts in public and private sectors, Identify and assess the safety needs of a community, And more.
Through this doctorate in criminal justice program, you will gain practical hands-on skills for positions in criminology as well as a deeper academic understanding of criminological theory. You will be prepared to pursue pracademic (practical and academic) leadership roles or promotions within: Law Enforcement, Military Forces, Corrections, Security Organizations, Investigations, Probation & the Courts Systems, Juvenile Justice, University Faculty, Emergency Management, Threat Assessment, Government Consulting.
Online study mode available campuses: Graduate School.
