DPA vs. DCJ?

Present arguments aside, I think one might argue that the DCJ could have value for the holder, for purposes of advancement in academia, if the holder also had good publications. The degree may be an unknown commodity in terms of its potential value, but if a holder had decent publications on their curriculum vitae, I think it would be a moot point. Absent any publications, then the degree's merits would more likely be questioned in an academic environment. I'm not so sure that a CC would make that distinction though.

In general, I think a person with a DCJ and publications would be far more likely to be hired than a DPA and CJ-related specialization and no publications at a 4 year school. At the CC level, there will not be as much expectation for publications, so teaching experience, a willingness to adapt to and thrive in the unique cc environment, previous experience in law enforcement (as practitioners), would be most helpful. One or two publications could set you apart, but ultimately may not matter too much at the CC level. CC's are looking for good teachers, not researchers who will regularly publish. It all depends upon the type of environment in which you hope to teach at.

If you hope to teach at a 4-year and do not plan to publish, then you probably could be a lecturer or instructor, and a DPA may be better if it has a dissertation and a DCJ does not.

 

dlbb,

Thank you for steering the conversation back in the right direction

I appreciate your feedback. I already applied for the D.CJ. program because my goal is to teach at a 2-year school so a doctorate more than likely won't be required. I am not opposed to teaching at a 4-year school as an instructor or lecturer. I just don't have any interest in publishing as it is now. I am very passionate about alternatives to juvenile detention/incarceration so that might be an area that I would like to do some advanced research on.

 

A program with a dissertation would more likely teach doctoral level writing and research, which would help more with potentially publishing. If you go with a more practitioner-based degree that lacks that element, you may not be exposed to that kind of learning that provides you with the skills and knowledge to do that successfully. That's not to say you couldn't learn it on your own.

And, to contradict myself, you potentially could go farther than a lecturer or instructor at a 4-year school with a DCJ and not publishing. It really depends on the school, location, your competition, the value placed on publishing by the school, etc. I do think either would serve you well at a CC. As with many careers, experience matters, so you will want to get that first teaching experience, more likely than not as an adjunct. A lot of people who go to traditional schools get that experience as graduate students, as TAs.

 

So I was unfortunately not admitted to the D.CJ. program at Cal U I am going to apply to the WCUPA DPA program.

"Thank you for applying for admission to the School of Graduate Studies and Research at California University of Pennsylvania. Your application for our Doctorate in Criminal Justice Program for summer 2018 has been reviewed.

Unfortunately, based upon the faculty committee review, we are unable to offer you admission at this time. The selection process was highly competitive with many qualified candidates for only 25 available openings for the summer 2018 cohort. We do invite you to reapply for future consideration.

If you wish to reapply for the summer 2019 cohort, please resubmit your application by February 15, 2019 for consideration.

Good luck with your future endeavors."

 

Sorry, that's unfortunate to hear.

 

Understood. Hang in there. That program is a diamond in the rough and once CJ practitioners find out about it, it could end up being one of the most popular RA online CJ doctorates in the nation.

 

Thank you guys! I will update you on the outcome of the DPA application at WCUPA. I really wanted to study CJ but I don't want to wait another year and not be accepted because I am not a mid- or senior level CJ practitioner like the DCJ program calls for. Nova Southeastern is too expensive and I am trying to stay away from Walden and Capella. I hope public administration isn't too boring and I don't know how well I will do with public admin courses.

 

Yesterday, Cal U awarded degrees to its first graduates of the Doctor of Criminal Justice (D.CJ). program. I watched the live stream because I know someone who was graduating with his D.CJ. He added the prefix Dr. to LinkedIn profile I'm so happy for him!

 

Here's another Cal U DCJ grad. https://www.mercyhurst.edu/faculty/leslie-guelcher

 

Weird seeing a doctoral degree come after Master degrees. I would have thought she would have put DCJ in front of MBA and MS.

 

Or weird that the website administrator listed it like that? Lol.. All faculty members' credentials on the department page are listed in that order (master's then doctorate or bachelor's then master's).

https://www.mercyhurst.edu/ridge-college-intelligence-studies-and-applied-sciences/department-intelligence-studies

 

How weird is that?! Lol I've never seen that before! Haha

 

Her bio reads like she is in the program even though she would have graduated by now. The principles of investigation tell me that she finished the degree and someone just added the dcj at the end of her degrees. This seems like a case of someone doing a bad job of updating the bio when she graduated.

 

Yes. Seems someone just added the degree to her name but forgot to update the bio portion.

 

DCJ Diploma

 

Here's a DCJ grad who is a chief of police in my great state of PA.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-kott-d-c-j-606a15ab

 

De’ear kindly Sgt. Krupke, ya’ gotta’ unda’stand . . .