Master of Public Administration (MPA), Administration of Justice (AJ)

The Administration of Justice track is designed for students who are both already employed in the criminal justice system as well as those with aspirations to do so.  The administration of justice program, as opposed to a traditional criminal justice program, focuses on issues related specifically to justice administration in the 21^st century.  Areas of focus within the program include leadership, organizational theory, management of criminal justice organizations, and a strong emphasis on “thinking globally, and acting locally.”  In this regard, students have the opportunity to focus on international issues, including terrorism, transnational crime, organized crime, and globalization theory.  Each area of focus is strongly grounded in practical and theoretical applications.

One of the most exciting developments within the Justice Administration program is implementation of the Graduate Certificate in Justice Administration.  This certificate, as with the MPA degree in Justice Administration, can be obtained fully on-line and requires 18 hours of coursework (as opposed to the 36-hour requirement for the Justice Administration degree).  Because of this, students can literally be anywhere in the world and complete this certificate in less than a year.


Course Requirements

Core Curriculum (General MPA Degree) 21 Hours
PUAD 5133	Public Administration
PUAD 5023	Quantitative Methods in Public Administration
PUAD 5923	Organizational Theory and Behavior
PUAD 5943	Public Budgeting and Fiscal Administration
PUAD 5933	Human Resource Management
PUAD 6053	Seminar in Public Policy Analysis
PUAD 5963	Capstone: Case Studies in Decision Making
Administration of Justice Specialization
PUAD 5363	Administration of Justice
PUAD 5373	Management in Criminal Justice Agencies
PUAD 5383	Justice and Society
PUAD 5253	Comparative Administration of Justice
OR
PUAD 6033	Seminar in Administration of Justice
Electives	3 Hours

* A Graduate Certificate in Administration of Justice can be earned by completing the 15 hours required for Administration of Justice (including both 5253 and 6033) plus one additional PUAD elective.

Graduation Requirements

Oral Exam

A comprehensive oral exam is required of all degree candidates.

Thesis/Research Paper

All Thesis students must follow the requirements for a thesis as described in the MSU Graduate Catalog and those found in the MPA Graduate Handbook. All non-thesis and GCAJ students must complete a file paper.  If a research paper is not completed during regular course work, students must enroll in PUAD 5003 until the paper meets standards.