The program in Criminal Justice is designed to enhance student's skills in understanding, gathering, processing, and analyzing research in the areas of criminology and criminal justice. The topical curriculum is geared to understanding, critiquing, and analyzing the criminal justice system with an orientation toward urban issues as they impact crime and criminal justice. The curriculum consists of foundation courses in theory, policy, and research methods, plus three substantive areas: 1) criminology, 2) policing, and 3) corrections. Students have their choice of specializing in one of the three. Students also will be afforded course work in learning how to teach a college course.

Graduates will find an expanding and terrific academic job market available as well as professional employment in the criminal justice policy and research sector. There are currently fewer than 40 Criminal Justice Ph.D. programs operating on a national level, so students graduating with a Criminal Justice Ph.D. will be competitive for the 350 positions available annually in academic units.