Master of Science [M.S] [Administration of Justice - Leadership and Administration] From Wilmington University

The Master of Science in Administration of Justice is designed to meet the educational needs of emerging managers and scholars who will be challenged by the many complex issues in criminal justice and private sector settings in the future. Emphasis is placed on producing scholarly practitioners who have the theoretical, operational, and practical educational foundation to be successful in their professional fields. The concentrations in Leadership and Administration, Criminal Behavior, and Homeland Security provide the opportunity for specialized studies. There is also a more general approach for those with other interests.

The core of the program is anchored in the identified disciplines of research, theory, and ethics. This core will provide the student with the academic quality and rigor required as a base from which to build, according to individual interests and needs. Elective course offerings provide the students with the flexibility to choose from topics that will best prepare them to meet their own goals and aspirations. Faculty provides individual attention which gives each student the opportunity to design a personal plan of study within the program. Courses have been carefully selected and designed in consultation with professional practitioners to ensure that the most current issues and topics are included in the curriculum. The faculty is carefully recruited from the field to ensure that the class presentations are as current as the events in the profession that day.

Additionally, the program has a built-in flexibility that respects the professional and personal commitments and responsibilities that today’s learners have while pursuing their goal of advanced academic studies. The MAJ program offers classes in semester, block, and weekend modular formats. These formats can be scheduled as face-to-face, hybrid, or Online Learning. The program can be completed using a variety of formats to conveniently fit the busy schedules of our students. This program is designed to be completed in two years of continuous study but may be accelerated by some students. Students will build a personalized schedule in consultation with their individual faculty advisor.

Program Competencies

• Exercise critical thinking strategies, including reasoning, problem solving, analysis, and evaluation and apply them to defined criminal justice issues.
• Demonstrate flexible thinking while maintaining a results-oriented outlook.
• Develop advanced written and verbal communication skills.
• Incorporate the use of technology and computer-based research in a variety of applications that are necessary for modern criminal justice practitioners.
• Recognize the relationships between the theoretical and practical approaches to the study of criminal justice that are associated with the explanations of crime and criminal behavior.
• Foster an environment that encourages students to actively engage in research and critically evaluate, synthesize, and analyze information that is necessary in the decision making process.
• Design and interpret research in criminal justice.
• Develop an understanding of the professional, ethical, social, and legal issues that challenge the criminal justice system.
• Respond to a rigorous, challenging, and comprehensive curriculum that will deliver the learning experiences necessary to prepare participants to succeed as scholarly practitioners in their chosen endeavor.
• Demonstrate a commitment to self-directedness, self-discipline, and lifelong learning in the field of criminal justice.
• Recognize how personal choices, attitudes, behaviors, and the ability to work in teams affect self and others in a professional environment.
• Apply the principles associated with a pluralistic society to increase respect for our multicultural society in the administration of justice.