Criminal Justice Policy and Administration

Overview

Criminal justice organizations are becoming increasingly evidence-based in their practices and administration. This shift creates a growing need to hire educated professionals with sound, in-depth knowledge of the criminal justice system and criminal behavior, coupled with an understanding of the research methods necessary to evaluate criminal justice policies and practices at the local, state, and national levels. 

In this Criminal Justice Policy and Administration master's degree program at Pennsylvania State University, you will study with highly regarded faculty from Penn State's College of the Liberal Arts — Department of Sociology and Criminology, and the Penn State Harrisburg School of Public Affairs. Your diploma will look no different from the one earned by students on our physical campus. And you will be part of a Penn State community that includes the largest dues-paying alumni network in the world.  

Careers

As a graduate of this program, you can be qualified to bring about change in any number of criminal justice or legal organizations in the public sector, including: 

• state departments of corrections

• state sentencing commissions and parole boards

• local, county, and state law enforcement, especially in administration sector

• local court administration, especially drug, DUI, and restorative justice courts

• local, probation, parole, and community corrections agencies

• public and private offender treatment agencies

• state policy agencies focused on criminal justice (e.g., the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and similar agencies in other states)