Another 100% online RA MS in CJ

I got this email from the University of Louisville (RA) because they just developed a 100% online MS in Criminal Justice, although they call it Administration of Justice, which is the same thing:

They also host the Southern Police Institute, which trains law enforcement executives from all over the southern portion of the United States, but that part isn't online.

 

me again,

I am currently enrolled in this degree program and hope to graduate this next December. I've been taking classes at the University of Louisville since Fall 2007 and have completed all but one of my classes online, so the degree program isn't exactly new but they have increased the marketing of the program quite a bit since I started. This is my second semester taking the accelerated/block courses in the 6-week format and the workload has definitely increased due to the shortened length of the courses but is still manageable. I don't know if I could take more than one course at a time right now in the accelerated format while working full time with family responsibilities, two courses each semester is about my limit. So far I am happy with the program and would recommend the University of Louisville to anyone looking for a quality master's program in CJ/Criminology/Administration of Justice.

You are correct that it is essentially a Criminal Justice master's degree but the U of L calls their program a M.S. in Administration of Justice. I believe that when Louisville began offering the degree back in the late 1960's the term Administration of Justice was utilized quite frequently for these types of degree programs. Over the years many colleges and universities have renamed these degree programs and Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Criminology & Criminal Justice have now become the standard titles for these types of programs. I recently discovered that both the University of Southern Mississippi and Southern Illinois University-Carbondale have changed their Administration of Justice degree programs to Criminal Justice degrees. Indiana State University also changed the name of their M.S. degree from simply Criminology to Criminology and Criminal Justice in the last year or two.

abnrgr275

 

I agree 100%. When I was in graduate school, I found it easier to take one class at a time because it allowed me to focus more, learn more and enjoy the overall experience more, simply by focusing on one course at a time. When I took two courses, it was somewhat confusing and distracting.

In the old days, it was simply a sociology degree e.g. the study of people. However, we've seen a myriad of evolutionarily name changes over the last century, to include:

• Sociology
• Police Science
• Police Administration
• Administration of Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Homeland Security

I have a Criminology specialization at the Masters level and a Criminal Justice specialization at the Doctoral level -- but they're both the same thing! Technically, Criminology is supposed to lean more towards the criminological theory of criminological behavior, but both of my degree programs had almost identical focuses. It's almost like trying to make differences between the MA, MS or MCJ!

Since the University of Louisville also runs the Southern Police Institute, it will be interesting to watch the growth of their 100% online MS in Administration of Justice.