Doctor of Criminal Justice, DCJ

Doctor of Criminal Justice

Description of Program

The Doctor of Criminal Justice (DCJ) explores the multicultural network connecting distinct legal traditions and codes in a global setting. The University’s DCJ is designed to prepare scholar/practitioners to actively and effectively engage all facets of the criminal justice system so they can contribute to the critical tasks of leading and managing programs aimed at administering equitable justice to all persons. The program will prepare students to effectively collaborate, plan, organize, budget and carry out large scale operations designed to ensure safety of citizens, communities and the United States. In addition, students will also be well trained to carry out research involving the application and analysis to address issues of professional practice.

The DCJ is designed to prepare students to effectively collaborate, plan, organize, budget and carry out large scale operations designed to ensure safety of citizens, communities and the United States. In addition to the application of justice, our students will also be well trained to carry out research involving the application and analysis to address issues of professional practice.

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**Note: Program availability may vary by state - please contact the Enrollment Office for more information**

Learning Outcomes

Develop policies and budgets to support effective administration of criminal justice agencies
Evaluate risks and opportunities in criminal justice agencies based on legal, professional, and ethical expectations
Integrate management and leadership theories into criminal justice practice
Generate independent research to address issues in criminal justice and inform professional practice

Basis for Admissions

Admission to the Doctor of Criminal Justice program will be determined by the degree used to meet the basis for admission. In order to enter the doctoral program, applicants are required to have a conferred master’s degree from a nationally or regionally accredited academic institution.

Degree Requirements

Admission to the Doctorate programs requires a master’s degree from an accredited institution.

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the doctoral degree for graduate coursework completed at an accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better.

The DCJ degree programs have the following graduation requirements:

A minimum of 45 credit hours of graduate instruction must be completed through the University
Grade Point Average of 3.0 (letter grade of “B”) or higher
Satisfactory completion of the DCJ Prospectus
University Approval of Dissertation Manuscript and Oral Presentation completed
Submission of the approved final dissertation manuscript to the University Registrar, including the original unbound dissertation manuscript and an electronic copy
Official documents on file for basis of admission: a conferred master’s degree from an accredited academic institution
Official transcripts on file for all transfer credit hours accepted by the University
All financial obligations must be met before the student will be issued their complimentary diploma

Dissertation Completion Pathway

The University’s mission is dedicated to assisting students in achieving their academic aspirations and helping them become valuable contributors to their community and profession. To support our mission, the University now offers a dissertation completion pathway for students who have successfully completed their doctoral coursework and achieved doctoral candidacy at a previous institution but were unable to complete their dissertation. The University’s Dissertation Completion Pathway (DCP) offers a unique opportunity for students to complete their doctorate in one of the doctoral programs offered at the University (excluding the PhD-MFT and DNP). Students successfully meeting the entrance and application requirements will complete a minimum of 23 credit hours to earn their doctorate.

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Dissertation Completion Pathway.

Time to Completion

The University allows 7 years to complete all doctoral programs of 60 credits or less.

The median time to completion for this program is 45 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most students are working adults, balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic and finance counselors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

Students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 36 months.

Dissertation Process

Faculty assists each Doctoral student to reach this high goal through a systematic process leading to a high-quality completed dissertation. This process requires care in choosing a topic, documenting its importance, planning the methodology, and conducting the research. These activities lead smoothly into the writing and oral presentation of the dissertation.

A doctoral candidate must be continuously enrolled throughout the series of dissertation courses. Dissertation courses are automatically scheduled and accepted without a break in scheduling to ensure that students remain in continuous enrollment throughout the dissertation course sequence. If additional time is required to complete any of the dissertation courses, students must re-enroll and pay the tuition for that course. Continuous enrollment will only be permitted when students demonstrate progress toward completing dissertation requirements. The Dissertation Committee determines progress.

Course Sequence

This program can be completed with a minimum of 54 credit hours, but may require additional credit hours, depending on the time required to complete the dissertation research. If needed, additional courses will be added to the student degree program in alignment with the SAP and Academic Maximum Time to Completion policies. Students who do not complete their program in accordance with these policies may be dismissed.

Homeland Security Specialization

Specialization prepares the next generation of leaders within the areas of public administration, law enforcement, public safety, and emergency medical care and disaster preparedness agencies for senior level positions in the field of homeland security. This specialization focuses on exploring advanced concepts and methods, and applying theory and emerging concepts in terrorism/intelligence through innovative approaches to complex problems. This specialization also assists in providing our doctoral graduates with the knowledge to more effectively respond to a wide array of issues, challenges and threats that our nation may face and that the student may face as a leader within the homeland security enterprise.

Specialization Courses - 9 credit hours

Organizational Leadership Specialization

This specialization serves to enhance the understanding and practice of organizational leadership using an interdisciplinary approach between business and education theory and research. This specialization has broad appeal among practicing professionals (middle and upper management, and military personnel) with a background in business administration, human resources, nonprofit administration, and related fields, whose professional goal may be organizational consulting or a generalist leadership position in corporate, government, not-for-profit, educational or community organizations.

Specialization Courses – 9 credit hours

Select 3 courses from the following:

Policing Specialization

This specialization provides students with a broad academic exposure to effective police tactics and techniques, public policy issues, and leadership theories. The specialization is keenly suited for students interested in advancing their careers law enforcement, private security, and public safety. Students will examine current police issues within today’s multicultural and digital environment.

Specialization Courses - 9 credit hours

Public Administration Specialization

In this specialization, students engage in the application of theoretical knowledge to the practice of public administration. Course content centers on public management and policy, public budgeting, and public/government relations. The purpose of this specialization is to aid students in refining the skills necessary to excel in public sector administration at the local, state, and federal levels. Whether interested in practice or academia, professionals across all public sector organizations, including military personnel, along with those in related fields such as nonprofit management or administration will benefit from this specialization.

Specialization Courses – 9 credit hours

Select 3 courses from the following: