Online Criminal Justice Master's Program Available

The Online Criminal Justice Master's program and is enrolling students for Spring 2024 and Fall 2024. Learn more here.

Educating Leaders for a Just and Humane World

Seattle University’s Department of Criminal Justice, Criminology, and Forensics offers study in leading-edge interdisciplinary social sciences involving the study of crime and the societal responses to crime. Our department offers undergraduate, graduate, certificate and continuing education programs that apply theory and research to inform initiatives, policies and practice with a laser focus on ethics, diversity and leadership.

All of our programs provide you with conceptual and empirical knowledge to enhance your study of Criminal Justice, while also offering valuable hands-on experience through opportunities for applied field learning such as police ride-alongs, prison tours courtroom observations and academic/criminal justice collaborative research opportunities. With our campus located in the heart of Seattle, we help foster these professional relationships for students throughout all the local halls of justice.

Our Degrees

The graduate and undergraduate curricula include criminal justice and criminology, organizational theory and criminal justice ethics, and research methods and statistics with focused coursework in a particular specialization area.

Ours is the only program west of the Rockies certified by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.

Download our program brochure

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Connecting you with the best

Our Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, with more than 100 members, includes key professionals from more than 50 agencies in local, state, federal and private criminal justice agencies. All members make important contributions to our Department through assisting with program development, internships and collaborative research and service initiatives, preparing for employment trends, and determining the best ways to serve your needs as student.

Leadership And Justice In Practice

Among Your Faculty

William Parkin, PhD

Associate Professor: research specialization in ideological violence, domestic terrorism and extremism, homicide victimization, media social construction of criminal justice issues, and mixed methods research.

Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD Faculty
Jacqueline Helfgott, PhD

Professor: research specialization in criminal behavior, psychopathy, copycat crime, corrections and offender reentry, forensic psychology, and community/restorative justice.

 

Criminal Justice adjunct professor Mac Pevey
Mac Pevey, MA

Adjunct Faculty: teaching courses in corrections and offender reentry. A Seattle U graduate, he received his MA from Washington State University. He is currently an Assistant Secretary with the Washington Department of Corrections.

Elaine Gunnison, PhD

Professor and Director, Master of Arts in Criminal Justice: research specialization in criminology, female offending, life-course criminology, persistence and desistance in offending, and corrections and offender reentry.

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Welcome to Criminal Justice, Criminology & Forensics from Department Chair Matthew Hickman, PhD.

Crime and Justice Research Center

Recognizing that crime and its prevention, response, and reparation are community concerns, we bring together researchers, academics, law enforcement personnel, judges, psychologists, sociologists, and others involved in the study of crime and the administration of justice. We also conduct public events, engage in service initiatives, and serve as a referral resource for individuals affected by crime.

  • Ranked in top 5%

    Ranked in top 5%

    For Criminal Justice

  • Top 15% Highest Paid

    Top 15% Highest Paid

    Criminal Justice Graduates

  • College Factual 2020

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

2022 Report on DEI Initiatives

Contact Us

  • Matt Hickman, PhD

    Chair
    Email
    206.296.2484

  • Elaine Gunnison, PhD

    Program Director
    Email
    206.296.2430

Graduate Program

Information Sessions

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