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The Master of Justice Administration program
is no longer offered.
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MJA Curriculum Overview
The MJA program is 36 credits of graduate studies, consisting of six consecutive seminars of six credits each. When students complete the core seminars 1, 2, 3, and 4 they elect to enter one of seven electives for Seminar 5. After completing Seminar 5 students enter Seminar 6. All six seminars are taken sequentially, with two-week breaks between each seminar. The date of graduation is 18-24 months from the date of enrollment. All students attend Norwich University for one week of academic and social activities in June at residency in the year of graduation.
Core Seminars
Elective Seminars
Semester 1:
Foundations in Criminal Justice, Administration and Criminology
Seminar 1 - Core
Review of the development of criminal justice and the evolving societal responses to crime as a matter of policy. The connection between the science of criminology and policy is explored insofar as it affects policies and programs administered for law enforcement, corrections, jails and juvenile facilities. Students are introduced to researching journals and academic resources and applying research to practical exercises. (6 credit hours)
Organizational, Management and Human Resources Concepts
Seminar 2 - Core
An overview of major theories concerning management of complex organizations, including a study of leadership, use of human resources, employee morale, and organizational development. This seminar presents students with opportunities to apply principles of organizational management to the administration of the criminal justice organization. (6 credit hours)
Semester 2:
Research Methods and Statistical Applications
Seminar 3 - Core
A review of major research method designs with a focus on their application to policy development and program evaluation. The goal of the seminar is to provide students with the knowledge and skills in order to understand the kinds and roles of research and the application of statistics to policy formulation and program design/operation. (6 credit hours)
Legal and Ethical Issues
Seminar 4 - Core
An overview of the role of ethics in the administration and leadership of the justice organization with an emphasis on abuse of authority, corruption and conflicts of interest, and an examination of the principal sources of legal authority for legislation and rule-making as well as the strategies for reducing organizational vulnerability to civil liability in the areas of public employment, collection and maintenance of personal information and civil rights. (6 credit hours)
Semester 3:
In seminar 5 students may choose any of the listed electives below (or any of the listed electives in the MPA program guide) to fulfill their program requirements for the Fifth Seminar.
Justice Administration, Information Systems and Assurance
Seminar 5 - Elective
Review of personnel management, budgeting and public finance with an emphasis on the contemporary challenges facing managers of complex organizations. Students will also study the role of technology and integrated justice systems and the various ways to protect information systems. (6 credit hours)
Law Enforcement Administration
Seminar 5 - Elective
An overview of the operation and administration of the law enforcement agency with an emphasis on police leadership, workforce development and staffing, accountability to communities. Students will also review internal affairs, special units, creating and managing budgeting systems, building support for resources, integration and protection of information systems. (6 credit hours)
Corrections Administration
Seminar 5 - Elective
An overview of the operation and administration of corrections agencies from local jails to state and federal institutions with the focus on core competencies as they apply to personnel management, budgeting and fiscal management. Students will also study corrections work force development, staffing, productivity, managing special units, integration and protection of information systems. (6 credit hours)
Public Safety and Crisis Management
Seminar 5 - Elective
A study of public safety and crisis management with a focus on managing emergencies at different levels of government. Other topics include external threats, emergency preparation, prevention, and response/recovery processes. Additional topics of study include budgeting for crisis management and public safety, crisis management planning and the central aspects of information assurance and information system security. (6 credit hours)
Human Services Administration
Seminar 5 - Elective
A review of the administration and management of the human service organization. Areas of study include interactions between human service organizations and their environments, and human resource issues such as job classification and compensation administration, fiscal management of human services organizations and strategic fiscal planning. Students also study labor relations, information management, managing information systems and assurance programs, e-government, and the use of data to inform decision-making. (6 credit hours)
Nonprofit Administration
Seminar 5 - Elective
A review of the administration and management of tax-exempt organizations. Topics include the legal framework of nonprofit organization, organizational design, fiscal management, fundraising, grants, contracts, assessment and planning. Students will study best practices for supervision and leadership, nonprofit governance and the effective use of volunteers. Finally, students will review the role of technology with special attention to information integration and assurance. (6 credit hours)
Emergency Management and Business Continuity
Seminar 5 - Elective
A study of the administration of the public service organizations in the context of continuing operations while responding to natural or non-natural emergencies. Special attention is paid to the development of flexible and responsive operational structures and the need for implementing appropriate control/mitigation strategies.
Additional topics of study include public safety work force development, fiscal management, staffing, and the role of technology and information assurance. (6 credit hours)
Justice Policy and Planning
Seminar 6 - Core
A study of policy and planning development in the criminal justice organization. Students are exposed to the process and various models of policy formulation, policy implementation methods and evaluation components typically associated with planned change in individual entities. One-half of the seminar is dedicated to completion of the capstone paper/project. (6 credit hours)
Capstone Paper or Project:
An important learning component of the MJA online program is the capstone paper/project exercise. The capstone paper/project exercise requires students to exhibit all of the skills developed over the course of the program: critical analysis, integration of relevant concepts and principles, research, use of recent and important information, and effective writing. During the various phases of the capstone exercise in seminars 5 and 6 students work under the guidance of program staff and faculty. Each student has the opportunity to present the capstone paper/project to peers and faculty at residency at Norwich University prior to graduation.
Many students find that their capstone paper/project becomes an important part of their journey to becoming a leader in their criminal justice organization. Some integrate their projects into their jobs, while others publish their papers in professional journals and magazines. It is often basis for professional recognition, promotion, the assignment of additional duties or the beginning of a program or operation in the workplace.
Residency:
The culmination of the 18 months of study is the one-week residency at the beautiful campus of Norwich University, nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Residency is held in June of each year.
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