Doctoral Programs

I just found this site and thought I would throw out my quandry and see what people have to say...

I have a B.S. Criminology/Law Enforcement from the University of Maryland - European Division and a Masters of Justice Administration from Norwich University (DL).

I have worked in the Criminal Justice Field since 1986 - starting in law enforcement in the U.S.A.F. and with the Department of Corrections (Probation/Parole/Hearings).

What I really want to do is go to law school. But that is out of the picture because the closest is 2 hrs away and it doesn't have a part-time or evening program. I've looked at DL Law Schools - but I would want to be able to practice in my state (Washington) so they are out. I have kids at home for 6 more years so I can't quit working to go fulltime.

So, I've been ruminating about doing an online doctoral program with the idea that I could teach in other online programs in Criminal Justice until/when/if I get to go to law school.

In doing searches it looks like my only options are Walden or Capella - both of which are pretty expensive. I was wondering if anyone has any other suggestions?

 

Northcentral University offers both a Ph.D. and a D.B.A. in Business Administration, with a concentration in Criminal Justice Administration.

There is also the Union Institute & University, where you could design a CJ-related major in the Interdisciplinary Studies Ph.D. program.

In a related field, check out the "Cop Doc" program at Saybrook Graduate School, which is a Ph.D. in Police & Public Safety Psychology.

 

thanks

for the information - I will be looking into these programs.

 

If cost is an issue, I suggest NCU.
Union & Saybrook are just as expensive as Capella and Walden if not more.

 

Since your master's degree is in a CJ-related field and you have roughly 20 years of CJ work experience, you may already have the qualifications to teach undergraduate CJ courses for several online universities. I believe Bruce currently teaches undergrad CJ courses with a master's degree so he can probably help you out with some suggestions on how to get your foot in the door as an adjunct online instructor.

None of the schools you are currently looking into offer an actual CJ-specific doctoral program, however one of them may meet your needs and could possibly be worth looking into. Nova Southeastern University is in the process of developing a nontraditional CJ doctoral program and will be well worth a look when it starts up in the next year or two, however they tend to run a bit high with their tuition rates.

abnrgr275

 

Don't forget that Capella University also has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice.

See link: http://www.capella.edu/schools_programs/human_services/phd/criminal_justice.aspx

 

Actually Capella's program is a Ph.D. in Human Services with a CJ specialization...similar to NCU's Ph.D. in Business Administration with a CJ emphasis, both are doctoral degree programs in a primary field with CJ classes included in the degree plan.

Neither degree is actually a true doctorate in CJ and it's hard telling how someone with one of these degrees would compare against a traditional Ph.D. in CJ when applying for a teaching position. As I pointed out, NSU is in the process of developing a Ph.D. in CJ program and it will probably be oriented towards both nontraditional students and practitioners looking into further doctoral study in the fields of CJ and criminology.

abnrgr275

 

Thanks for the info...

I actually have applied to several online programs to teach and so far only one has responded positively to the fact that I just have the Masters and that's Liberty University. If anyone has any info regarding other online programs that hire adjuncts with the Masters degree to teach I'd love to here about it.

I've heard of Nova - my Capstone advisor and now friend has mentioned that Nova is a good school. I would probably be more interested in that program than the others that have CJ as an emphasis rather than the focus of the program.

I'm still somewhat on the fence of whether to wait to do a JD or to plunge in and do a doctoral program...

 

Is there a news release or a source of additional information about the Nova program? I'd really like to see this happen and have an opportunity to continue my cj studies. There's not a doctoral cj program in the entire state of Georgia, and I have yet to find an online cj program in the US, other than NCU's, Walden's and Capella's concentrations in the field.

 

Norwich

If you are interested in an online Masters of Justice of Administration I would suggest that you look at Norwich University. I completed this program in June 2005 and was very pleased with it. It is all online except for a week long residency at the end in Vermont.

http://www.graduate.norwich.edu/

 

that is unless you are looking for a

doctoral degree- I hadn't thought that you might already have a masters degree...

 

allenfammom,

Check out South University (www.southuniversity.edu), they started an online CJ bachelor's degree program in Sept. 05 and are probably actively looking for adjunct instructors to teach in the program. I looked into their adjunct requirements and the information on their website indicated that each course is 5.5 weeks long and you are paid $1,500 per course if you have a master's degree with at least 18 semester hours of CJ courses.

anthonym,

I e-mailed the director of Nova's Criminal Justice Institute early last year inquiring about any future plans for a Ph.D. in CJ at Nova. To my surprise I received an e-mail advising that they were in the process of developing a Ph.D. in CJ degree program and that the initial specializations would be in juvenile justice and organizational leadership.

Late last year I received an e-mail advising that Nova's doctoral CJ program was in the curriculum development stage and that they were hoping to offer the degree in late 2006 or early 2007. If you look at page 4 & 5 of the following document you will see a couple of references to the proposed Ph.D. in CJ program at Nova:

www.cji.nova.edu/HTML/psychology/brochure-residency.pdf

I'm also interested in possibly pursuing a doctorate in CJ myself, and as a side note last week I received an e-mail from the head of Tiffin University's CJ program advising that they will be offering a Ph.D. in CJ in approximately 3-4 years. I'm not sure if it will be offered completely online, however their MS in CJ degree program is available at a distance and the Ph.D. in CJ will potentially be offered to nontraditional students as well.

abnrgr275

 

Here's a website for those interested in researching various U.S. doctoral programs in criminal justice and criminology:

American Association of Doctoral Programs in Criminology and Criminal Justice - www.aadpccj.org

abnrgr275

 

Thanks for the information! I am going to start tracking both programs' progress to be at the front of the line.

 

South University

I checked and South University's requirements for online adjunct instructors include: "a Masters Degree and 18 hours graduate work from a regionally accredited institution in the area you would be teaching....and...at least one year on ground teaching at South University or other higher education institutions".

So - that's out as I just have the Masters and not an additional 18 hours or the year experience...

 

allenfammom,

I believe South's requirements of 18 hours in the field you'd be teaching in is a SACS requirement and is more oriented towards someone with a master's in a certain field who is interested in teaching in an entirely different subject. For instance, if you had a master's in business management but wanted to teach in their CJ program you would need an additional 18 semester hours of CJ courses to qualify. Since you already have a master's in a CJ-related field you would qualify to teach, unless they are dead set on requiring at least one year of prior teaching experience.

If I were you I'd throw my hat in the ring and see what happens, since their online CJ bachelor's program just began a few months ago you might be able to start teaching right away.

abnrgr275

 

Very good to know, thanks! I'll also be watching this closely, as I think there is a real market for a DL doctoral program in straight Criminal Justice, not just a concentration.

 

good to know

- I thought that maybe I'd read that wrong - I sent them an email asking for more information. It will be interesting to see if the one year experience requirement is hard and fast. I will let everyone know when I hear back!

 

allenfammom,

South University is a good start. You should also check with the bigger, online for-profit schools. Here's a list to get started:

American Intercontinental

University of Phoenix

Colorado Tech

Kaplan University.

You might also check with your local community or technical college. I've found that if you send an email to the department head offering your services you will sometimes hear back from them at the last minute to fill a slot.

 

I'll check -

those schools - although Phoenix wants a PhD - I haven't looked into the others yet. Thanks.