General lurker, first time poster. DCJ/PhD

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by MiracleWhipz, Mar 2, 2021.

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  1. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    Hi everyone,

    In the non-creepy way I have always lurked around this Board and now I come to you in hopes of receiving your advice. I currently work for the state so as a government employee I have no money or anything of value to offer you so I hope that you'll just help a gal out without making too much fun of me. I also know this post is going to have a very "cheapest, quickest, best and also throw in free massages for a year" vibe but that is totally not my intent. Minus cheapest cause again government worker.
    I have a BS in Business Management and an MS in Management and Leadership. I had enrolled at Columbia International University in their IO PhD program which is a 24month program and less than 30k seemed like a good fit for me...until I started... and the Christian world view there is front and center, which I don't have a problem with a particular world view but I mean I at least would like to maybe have one conversation that isn't about the Bible. I digress.. I ended up dropping out of the program and started intensely lurking here for a new program when it occurred to me thanks to quite a few "leadership degrees are the laughing stock of academia" posts that what I really wanted was to get a DCJ or a PhD in Criminal Justice.
    I've worked for Corrections, I've done investigations for the last 6 years, I'm actually interested in it not like the other degrees I have because I thought they would help me promote, it seems like a solid fit. I lurked here and saw Cal U which I would love to get into. I would have to wait until next year because the application period just closed. I started obsessing and basically they take the best of the best (I think they had an FBI profiler and the Chief of Police of LA one year) not your average joe corrections analyst. Now I plan to still try because I always preach to everyone never say never but I'm also not dumb the only other programs I have found have been Liberty, Nova, St. Leo, and your usually suspects like Capella Walden. I don't want to do public admin because I just find policy dry. sorry to the folks with public admin degrees. I guess I am wondering two things: Does anyone have any other suggestions on schools that maybe I didn't see or look into and if not of the schools with DCJ or Criminal Justice PhDs which one would be a good program based on personal experience or on the good stuff that everyone here seems to know about (status, price, etc) but I don't.
    I appreciate the help, I do promise to pay it forward one day if I am on and see someone else losing their marbles trying to figure out what to do.
     
    SteveFoerster likes this.
  2. not4profit

    not4profit Active Member

    Hi Miraclewhipz,

    I know someone who is in the DCJ at Cal U. We have talked in depth and they have some highly qualified cohort members but some of them make you scratch your head as to how they got in. So DO NOT sell yourself short. You seriously have as good a chance as anyone because they have boxes they want to fill. FYI though that program is VERY law heavy and light on the research side of things. Don't expect to feel confident as a researcher with the DCJ from Cal U. Not at all saying it is a bad program but it is not designed to produce researchers, but senior practitioners and managers.
     
  3. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    I am curious about what it is that you like about CJ? I've spent most of my career in criminal justice whether I liked it or not and I admit there's a lot to like. But what facet is particularly interesting to you? Law enforcement? Corrections? Psychology? Law (Heaven forbid)? And do you already possess the required fedora, .32 automatic and half empty whiskey bottle?
     
    Maniac Craniac likes this.
  4. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    This makes me very happy to hear, my average joe self has high aspirations that next year I too can be someone others scratch their heads about. We will see, much like everything else in life it all depends on who else applied, your app package etc. If your friend has any wonderful advice on anything for the application it would be greatly appreciated.
     
  5. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    I definitely have a passion for corrections, I've been in social services for a long time too and would want to do some sort of work around juvenile corrections and early interventions or working with incarcerated women and how early trauma impacts women in corrections and early interventions for women. I don't want to be a correctional officer or anything like that I definitely would want to be in admin but either juveniles or women in corrections would be the niche I would like to fill. I don't think the fedora .32 and half empty whiskey bottle are needed in admin just a general love of screwing most people over probably doesn't hurt so I'll work on that..or so I've heard ;)
     
  6. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Well, based on my own depressingly extensive involvement with criminal justice, I'd suggest an MSW. Forget the doctorate unless you are interested in policy and research.
     
  7. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    The licensure requirements in my state are pretty extensive and I would be going backwards pay wise if I were to do the licensing requirements because a lot of it is in internships and accruing hours and most of them are either non paid or paid substantially lower than what I make now because it's a place to gain hours. This was my plan before I got my MSML but even the MSW interns with corrections make nothing. I'm not financially able to take a pay cut at this time. I'd be interested in research and policy I just wouldn't want to get a DPA or PhD in Public Admin. I appreciate the feedback and help! I think I'll apply to Cal U next year and see where life takes me in the meantime. Sometimes I become hyper focused and it's all I can think about and I think I'm in one of those moments where not having a lot of options is sort of making everything worse and making my hyper focus worse. This must be adulting and it's awful LOL
     
  8. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
     
    MiracleWhipz likes this.
  9. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    If you are a Californian and intend to STAY in the Golden State, you might think of completing a cheap correspondence J.D. and taking the California Bar. I would not recommend becoming a lawyer any other way in California (or anywhere else) unless someone else bankrolls the effort. This effort would not forestall the other options you are considering but it would give you a very valuable credential in criminal justice, a law license. The problem with doing this is that the credential is not easily portable to any other state and the law school curriculum is almost entirely not devoted to the criminal law. Criminal law is a narrow subset of American law and jurisprudence and most law students end up taking just a few relevant classes. But a law license is after all a law license and if you get yours cheaply enough there will be endless opportunities for you to pursue your interests.
     
  10. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    Stung again, by heaven! I wish they'd rename their stupid school!:mad:
     
  11. Dustin

    Dustin Well-Known Member

    @chrisjm18 - can you provide some info? You're focusing on youth corrections in your Liberty PhD.
     
    chrisjm18 likes this.
  12. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    I do think you should reconsider the fedora, though.
     
    MiracleWhipz likes this.
  13. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    You're probably right, I will probably get one this weekend and then add that into my application packet so they know I'm serious about my career. If Brittney Spears can pull one off in the early 2000s there's no reason I can't in 2021.
     
  14. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Miracle Whipz: It wouldn't hurt you to do a search on chrisjm18's posts, many of which deal directly with Lliberty and his program there (he's now in the dissertation phase for a Ph.D. in CJ).

    Basic impression: Liberty has more name recognition than Columbia International U. That said, CIU is a very credible program, and they've been involved in distance education for a lot of years. However, I think you'll find that they're on a par with Liberty in terms of religious content - no less, no more. Chris' posts cover this, among other things.
     
  15. nosborne48

    nosborne48 Well-Known Member

    B.S. herself, hunh? Maybe a Homburg instead. They're "cop-like" enough but they usually come with cigars and you don't want to go there, I don't think.
     
  16. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Let me know if you have any questions about juvenile justice. I worked in the field and it is my area of research.
     
  17. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    I don't want to appear like I have anything negative to say about CIU, it just wasn't for me. For those who find themselves wanting a religious or faith based school I highly encourage them to look into CIU more so than Liberty (it's cheaper, quicker and you won't be bombarded with robo-calls, enrollment was great they would even text me because they knew I was working, never had an issue with anything, they send their books to you it's just really a good place). I think of myself as a spiritual person and a Christian though by no means am I the gold standard. I did not find my knowledge of religion sufficient for this program. If that makes sense? Basically I found that I felt left out of discussions and then thought that I would be able to contribute to aspects of courses that weren't religious and that just really didn't happen so it just wasn't a good fit. This is also why I will not apply to Liberty, I just don't want to attend a faith based or religious school that incorporates that into the curriculum but yes CIU was good to me it just wasn't for me.
     
  18. MiracleWhipz

    MiracleWhipz Member

    Thank you, I am truly very excited for you! CA is doing away with much of their juvenile justice programming (transferring it to county and putting it under health and human services instead of corrections) the way CA is going I anticipate that much of juvenile justice here will now be rehabilitative programming. I really liked Nova's behavioral science concentration track, I am all over the place lol I am planning to apply to CalU, West Chester for their DPA (even though I said I wouldn't go public admin lol) Nova and NCU. We will see what happens. Enjoy your next exciting chapter!
     
  19. TEKMAN

    TEKMAN Semper Fi!

  20. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    I really like California University of Pennsylvania's DCJ program. Despite the dissertation being optional, I saw graduates on LinkedIn with teaching positions. I heard they're kind of selective, and it's probably to play the U.S. News game. It worked because they're now a top criminology program in the U.S.
     

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