Criminal Justice, M.S.
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Program Description
Students benefit from small class sizes and instruction by a diverse faculty of full-time professors, attorneys, and active or retired law enforcement officers. This environment fosters one-on-one mentorship and networking opportunities crucial for professional advancement. The program is designed with flexibility in mind, offering courses in-person, online, or in a hybrid format to accommodate working professionals. It is ideal for those currently employed in the field seeking career advancement, as well as those transitioning into the criminal justice sector.
Program Information
Christopher Maggio, Ph.D., Program Director
cmaggio@mercy.edu
Curriculum: The curriculum is a structured sequence of core and specialized courses designed to build expertise in analysis, management, and contemporary justice issues.
Core and Foundation Courses: Students establish a strong academic base with courses such as Criminal Justice Foundations, Criminology, and Criminal Justice Ethics. The curriculum emphasizes analytical skills through Research Methods and Statistics, preparing students for data-driven decision-making.
Management and Policy: To prepare for administrative roles, students engage in coursework like Law and Management, Organization Theories in Criminal Justice, and Program Planning and Evaluation, which includes experiential learning components.
Specialized Topics: The program addresses modern challenges in the field with advanced coursework in Cybercrime, White Collar Crime, Terrorism & Political Violence, and Victimology, ensuring graduates are equipped to handle complex, 21st-century criminal justice issues.
Additional Program Information
Advisement
Students in the Master of Science in Criminal Justice program must meet with the program director, or other full time faculty to plan their courses and to review the plan of study prior to course registration each semester.
Transfer Credits
Graduate courses taken at other institutions prior to admission at Mercy University may, if pertinent to the plan of study, be credited to the graduate degree. Permission to transfer credits must be requested in writing at the time of admission and official transcripts and course descriptions must be submitted to the Program Director for evaluation. Transfer credit will be granted only for courses taken in the five-year period prior to acceptance in the Mercy University program and for courses in which the student earned a grade of B or above. Students may request transfer credit for up to six credits. Course with a grade of B- are not acceptable for transfer.
Maintenance of Matriculation
It is expected that students will fulfill the requirements for their graduate degree by registering over successive sessions. For cohort programs, registration is required during summer session(s). For non-cohort programs, summer registration is not required. Registration is accomplished by either enrolling in classes or maintaining matriculation. The Maintenance of Matriculation fee is $100 per session and is processed as a registration.
Students who have not maintained matriculation and wish to return to their program within one year after their last course registration will be charged the Maintenance of Matriculation fee of $100 for each missed session. Maintenance of matriculation without attending classes is limited to one year. Activated U.S. Military Reservists are not required to pay the Maintenance of Matriculation fee.
Maintenance of Good Academic Standing
The cumulative GPA for both good academic standing and degree conferral is a 3.0. A student admitted as a Special Matriculant is required to achieve a 3.0 average or better after completing a certain number of credits as stipulated by their respective program. Any course in which a student receives a B- or below must be re-taken.
Grades are subject to review by the faculty advisor and program director at the end of each term. If the academic average falls below 3.0 the student will be placed on academic probation.
Academic Probation
All students who have a cumulative GPA of below 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. If a student will not be able to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 within a reasonable time, the student will be dismissed from the program. If a student receives a grade of F or FW in any course the student may be subject to dismissal from the University. For all students on probation, future registrations must be reviewed and approved by the director of the student’s program as well as the school dean.
In all subsequent terms in which the student is on probation the student is required to achieve a term GPA of 3.0 or better. If the 3.0 or higher is not achieved the student will be dismissed. Students who receive a grade of less than B may be required to repeat the course. Students will be allowed to repeat a course only once. Plagiarism is grounds for dismissal from the program.
Time Limit
Requirements for the Master of Science in Criminal Justice must be completed within five years from the date of the candidate’s admission (exclusive of time spent in the Armed Forces). Exceptions will be made only if a student requests an extension of time in writing and in advance and receives the approval of the director.