MACJ Student Handbook

PDF Version Available here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1) WELCOME TO THE MACJ PROGAM!

Criminal Justice is an interdisciplinary social science involving the study of crime and societal responses to it. Criminal Justice is a broad and fascinating field of study encompassing the study of criminal behavior, the administration and management of justice, policy and practice in policing, courts, and corrections, victimology and victim services, juvenile justice, crime prevention, and public safety and security. The Master of Arts in Criminal Justice program, founded in 2006, provides students with the opportunity for advanced intensive study of crime and justice issues with emphasis on the application of theory and research to criminal justice policy and practice. The MACJ program is designed to meet the needs of students who are preparing for careers in criminal justice, for students who already have careers in the criminal justice field and desire the advancement of their knowledge and skills, and for students who plan to pursue doctoral work.  

Criminal Justice is an academic discipline that enjoys a high job placement rate and criminal Justice graduates at the undergraduate and graduate levels pursue many career routes. While many positions in the criminal justice system require the BA degree or in some cases a high school diploma, increasingly positions in today’s competitive job market require the Master’s degree and/or provide salary increases commensurate with education level. Students who complete the MA degree in criminal justice generally seek careers in law enforcement, private security, community and institutional corrections, court services, victim services, social services, academia, and/or investigation in a range of public and private agencies. We are proud to say that past graduates of our undergraduate program include law enforcement officers, corrections officers, community corrections officers, offender transition counselors, public defenders, prosecuting attorneys, private security supervisors, forensic scientists and technicians, medico-legal death investigators, victim advocates, juvenile detention and probation officers, and others who are making important contributions to the field of criminal justice. We expect that graduates of our Master’s program will be equally successful in obtaining positions and developing their careers in the criminal justice system. MACJ graduates will be additionally prepared at the more advanced level for positions that require the MA degree such as teaching positions in community colleges or as university-level adjunct faculty, research analyst positions in criminal justice agencies, and positions in law enforcement and corrections at the federal level that require the advanced degree.

2) Program MISSION

The mission of the criminal justice department is to produce graduates who approach their roles in the criminal justice field with knowledge, empiricism, innovation, humanism, and with a deep concern for justice issues faced by offenders, victims, citizens, and governmental and private agents affected by and charged with responding to crime. We hope to instill in students a responsibility to integrate and evaluate conceptual and empirical contributions to the field of criminal justice. MACJ graduates are prepared for positions and advancement as practitioners, administrators, victim advocates, and/or research analysts in law enforcement, courts, corrections, social service, and research agencies at the private, county, state, and federal levels. The MACJ program provides foundation for understanding organizational relations in criminal justice, the ability to critically analyze and evaluate criminal justice policy and practice, and the necessary skills to conduct methodologically sound research in specialized areas in criminology and criminal justice. The program is designed to accommodate professionals in the criminal justice field who desire graduate education for advancement purposes as well as students entering upon completion of their bachelor’s degree who seek advanced education in criminal justice prior to seeking employment in the criminal justice field and/or as preparation for Ph.D.-level studies. The specific objectives of the criminal justice master’s program are to:

• Develop in students the knowledge, insight, critical thinking skills, values and ethical consciousness essential to becoming responsible practitioners, researchers, and leaders in criminal justice.
• Provide comprehensive, rigorous, analytic, focused study of crime and justice issues with emphasis on the application of theory and research in criminal justice to criminal justice initiatives, policies, and practices.
• Provide a strong foundation in criminology, research methods, statistics, organizational theory, criminal justice ethics, issues of diversity in criminal justice, and broad-based analysis of the criminal justice system with focus on law enforcement, the adjudication process, and corrections.
• Prepare students for positions and advancement in law enforcement, courts, corrections, social service, and research agencies in private, county, state, and federal agencies.

The MACJ Program focuses on cultivating knowledge in the areas of police, courts, corrections, ethics, and contemporary issues in criminal justice. Emphasis is also placed on advancing the research skills of students so that they are capable of both understanding existing literature and executing research on their own. A unique component of Seattle University’s MACJ Program is that students have the option of designating a specialization area in one of the following content areas:  Criminal Justice Research & Evaluation, Investigative Criminology, and Victimology. The specialization areas provide specialized coursework in the application of criminology and criminal justice theory to key areas of criminal justice research and practice. The specialization areas are designed to prepare students for career-routes respectively in research, investigation, and victim services and/or to provide focused exposure to subfields within the discipline of criminal justice. 

3) PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The MACJ Program is designed to be completed in two years or less with full-time enrollment (6-9 credits per quarter, including summers). The MACJ curriculum consists of 55 Credits: 18 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course. Students are required to take ten foundation courses (28 credits) and nine elective courses (27 credits), four of which (12 credits) can be selected as concentration area courses. The foundation courses are:

Students who work full-time and/or have other obligations may prefer to complete the program on a part-time basis over a longer time period. Students are welcome to complete the program on a part-time basis over a three or four-year period or longer. During the first year of the two-year program, students generally take required foundation courses. After the completion of the first year, students take a capstone course in the summer quarter to prepare for the comprehensive exam and/or thesis. Students who plan to complete the degree over a three year period may choose to split up the foundation courses over a two-year period. The comprehensive exam covers content from the foundation courses. The program offers a broad range of elective courses as well as internship and research and teaching assistantship opportunities. The elective courses include:

(Note: Several of the elective courses – designated with an asterisk - are jointly offered as undergraduate/graduate courses. Students are permitted to take up to 6 credits of the jointly offered undergrad/grad electives)

In the second year of the program, students concentrate on general MACJ elective courses, courses in one of three specialization areas (i.e., Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation, Investigative Criminology, Victimology), and begin working on a thesis if this option is selected. The “typical” schedule is as follows:

The MACJ program without an optional specialization can be completed in 1 ½ years or 6 quarters taking 9-10 credits per quarter. The MACJ program with a specialization can be completed in 2 years or 8 quarters taking 3-9 credits per quarter (with most quarters 6-9 credits). Students may choose to complete an internship and/or teaching or research assistantship for 1-3 credits to fulfill some of the elective requirements. See Appendix A for the 1-Year Course Schedule for 2014-2015.

4) Choosing an optional Specialization area

Beyond the foundation courses, students must take 27 elective credits. Of these, 12 credits of designated courses may be selected as one of three optional specialization areas:

• Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation
• Investigative Criminology
• Victimology

Students may select a specialization area or choose not to concentrate. You are not required to select a specialization area. The advantage of not choosing a specialization is flexibility in selecting elective credits. The advantage of concentrating in a particular area is that a set of courses will be required and identified on your transcript and diploma as an official specialization. This may stand out to employers who seek expertise in a specific area (e.g., a victimology specialization may be an asset in applying for positions in victim services, research and evaluation for research analyst positions, and investigative criminology for investigative positions) or to graduate admissions and selection committee for Ph.D. programs.

A few tips/factors to think about in determining whether or not to concentrate:

Choose the MACJ with no specialization if:

• • If you want flexibility in your schedule and the freedom to choose an individualized set of elective courses.
  • You want to take your time completing the program over 3 or 4 years and don’t want to be tied to successive course offerings (i.e., taking a series of courses in a 4 quarter block).
  • You want both flexibility and a traditional criminal justice master’s degree.
  • You would like to pursue research at the Ph.D.-level but are unsure at this point what specific area of criminal justice you would like to focus on.

Choose the MACJ with Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation specialization if:

• You seek a career in victim advocacy/victim services.
• You believe that traditional criminal justice education does not sufficiently focus on victims and victimology and want your MACJ degree to include coursework specifically devoted to research, theory, and issues focused on victims of crime.
• You currently work with victims of crime and want to enhance your knowledge of theory and research in victimology and victimization and take coursework that will enhance your skills as a victim advocate.
• You would like to pursue research at the Ph.D.-level that focuses on Victimology, violence and victimization, and/or restorative/community justice.

If you are unsure whether or not you would like to concentrate in a particular area, the best approach is to look at what your schedule will look like if you select the specialization and which courses you will be required to take. Keep in mind that you can select a specialization and/or change your mind at any time prior to your last quarter (although changing or adding a specialization area late in the program may affect your date of completion). To change or select a specialization, contact the CJ Graduate Director and/or your faculty advisor.

5) CHOOSING THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAM OR THESIS OPTION

All MACJ students are required to either pass a comprehensive examination or complete a thesis. Students wishing to pursue the thesis option must obtain approval from the Graduate Director by submitting a thesis proposal and identifying a thesis chair and committee.

Here are a few tips/factors to consider when deciding which option to choose.

Choose the comprehensive exam if:

• You are interested in gaining a broader understanding of various criminal justice topics and issues.
• You are interested in completing your degree in a faster fashion.
• You have no desire to pursue a Ph.D. degree or conduct research either on your own or in your profession.
• The completion of a thesis will have no bearing on advancement or promotion in your profession.

Choose the thesis if:

• You are interested in specializing in one research area of criminal justice.
• You are interested in conducting and analyzing research.
• You have solid skills in methods and statistics and want to apply them.
• You plan to enter a Ph.D. program upon graduation.
• You plan to obtain a job as a research analyst.
• You plan to continue to conduct research after graduation.

Comprehensive Examination Requirements

The comprehensive exam covers content areas encompassed by the foundation courses in the MACJ curriculum and readings included in the comprehensive reading list. Much of the required reading for the foundation courses is included on the comprehensive reading list. The list also includes additional classic and recent key texts and research articles in criminology and criminal justice beyond what is required or recommended for the foundation courses. See Appendix B for MACJ Comprehensive Reading List.

The comprehensive exam may be taken as soon as the foundation courses and comprehensive exam readings are completed and must be taken within 1 year of completing all foundation courses during the department designated (fall or spring) examination periods. Students must register to take the comprehensive examination during one of the two sessions offered during the year at least two weeks prior to the exam.  The exam must be completed prior to the last quarter of the program.  The three components of the comprehensive examination that students will be tested on are as follows:

1. Criminal Justice
2. Criminology
3. Research Methods and Statistics in Criminology and Criminal Justice

A student will have a choice of answering 1 of 2 questions proposed for each section. The comprehensive exam is offered twice per year during Fall and Spring quarters and will last 6 hours. The exam is graded as follows:

Once a student is registered for the comprehensive exam, he/she must take the exam on the date registered for. Students may cancel their registration no later than two weeks prior to the exam date. No additional cancellations after the time frame will be accepted unless documentation of an extreme circumstance is provided.  If a student fails to sit for the comprehensive exam at the required time or does not cancel in the required timeframe, it will automatically count as a failed exam attempt. 

A student may retake the comprehensive exam once. Students retaking the examination will be required to answer questions only in areas not passed in the first exam. A student may retake the comprehensive exam once. Students retaking the exam will be required to answer questions only in areas not passed in the first exam.  If the student fails a second attempt, the student can petition to the Graduate Director for a third chance.  When a student petitions for a third, and final, attempt, the Graduate Director will assemble a committee to determine if a third attempt will be permitted.  Factors that will contribute to the committee’s decision include, but are not limited to, GPA and the performance on previous exams.  The committee decision is final.  Students will not be allowed to apply for subsequent attempts or to switch over to thesis tract.  If the student fails a third attempt, the student will be dismissed from the program.

If a student has a documented disability, he/she may be able to receive additional time for taking the comp exam.  The student must make a formal written request to the Graduate Director requesting more time on the written comp exam.  Documentation from Seattle University Disabilities Services is required to be considered for this option.  It is at the Graduate Director’s discretion as to the decision.

Appeal Policy Note: The MACJ Comp Exam is graded by a committee of three faculty members and results are final.  If a student feels that an error has been made in the grading of the results, he/she must first notify the Graduate Director and meet to discuss the grading of the particular section in question with both the Graduate Director and a faculty representative who is a subject matter expert in that area within two week of the comp exam results being issued.  After meeting with both the Graduate Director and faculty expert, the student may write a formal memo outlining why he/she believes the answer was graded incorrectly and provide a rationale for another grading outcome. This memo is due to the Graduate Director two weeks after the meeting with the Graduate Director and faculty expert.  Upon receipt of the memo, the Graduate Director will assemble an appeal committee of three faculty members who will review the memo and exam answers in question.  The Graduate Director will provide the student with the results of the committee decision within 30 days.  The appealed decision from the committee is final and cannot be further appealed.

Thesis Requirements

Students planning to go on to a PhD program or who are interested in completing an independent research project may select the thesis option in lieu of completing the comprehensive exam. Students wishing to pursue this option must apply to do so to the Graduate Director.  The Graduate Director will assemble a thesis selection committee to determine whether the student will be granted permission to pursue the thesis.  Students may apply for consideration of the thesis option after completing 12 credits of coursework in the MACJ program.  In order to be eligible to apply for the thesis option, students must have completed a minimum of 12 credits in the MACJ program with a 3.70 GPA or higher and have demonstrated superior writing and analytical skills in their classes. Upon applying for the thesis option, the student will need to outline their topic, plan of research, and timeline for completion in a 5-6 page proposal for the committee.  After being granted approval from the committee, the student will need to submit a thesis proposal, identifying a thesis chair and committee, to the Graduate Director. The thesis committee must include at least two criminal justice faculty members and one external member with expertise in an area relevant to the thesis topic. The proposal must include:

• Importance of research to the field of criminal justice
• Literature Review
• Method

After receiving formal approval to pursue a thesis from the Graduate Thesis Committee, the student will need to produce the first three chapters to his/her Thesis Chair 6 months after Graduate Director approval date.  Failure to meet the timeline will result in being switched over the comp exam track. Additionally, failure to revise chapters to the Thesis Chair to his/her satisfaction within a three month period will result in the student being switched to comprehensive exam track. 

After writing a thesis proposal, students are required to defend their thesis proposal in an oral examination and question/answer session with their committee. The thesis proposal must be approved by the thesis chair and committee members. After the prospectus defense, the student has 6 months to complete thesis and defend or student will be switched to comprehensive exam track.  The final thesis document will be formatted as follows:

1. Title Page
2. Abstract
3. Acknowledgments
4. Table of Contents
5. Chapter 1: Importance of research to the field of criminal justice
6. Chapter 2: Literature Review
7. Chapter 3: Method
8. Chapter 4: Results
9. Chapter 5: Discussion/Conclusion
10. References

Students completing the thesis must enroll in CRJS 599 (1-3 credits per quarter for a total of thesis 3 credits which fulfill elective credits). Students may first register for thesis credit after completing the core MACJ courses and receiving departmental approval. Students are required to turn in two unbound copies, one bound copy, and one electronic copy of their completed thesis to the Graduate Director.  Additionally, students should consider providing a bound copy of their completed thesis to their Thesis Chair and to all members of the thesis committee.**Note:  For an exceptional thesis manuscript and final defense, students may receive an Honors Distinction in the form of a letter from the Graduate Director.

6) SELECTING YOUR FACULTY ADVISOR, THESIS CHAIR, AND THESIS COMMITTEE

Faculty Advisor/Thesis Chair

Upon acceptance into the program, you will automatically be assigned to the Graduate Director for advising. If you pursue a thesis project, once your thesis chair is identified, your faculty advisor will be your thesis chair. If you plan to complete a thesis, it is a good idea to become familiar with the department faculty and discuss your plans with one or more of the faculty members whose research interests appear closest to your own. You should discuss your interests with the faculty member you’d like to work with and with the Graduate Director. You may initiate this process at any time in the first year of the program, the sooner the better. Once you have identified a faculty member you’d like to work with in consultation with the Graduate Director, you will be assigned to this faculty member for advising. Regardless of whether or not you plan to do a thesis, you may request a specific faculty member as an advisor. Otherwise, you will either be advised by the Graduate Director and/or assigned to another faculty member.

Thesis Committee

If you opt to complete a thesis, you will need to assemble a thesis committee. The committee should consist of a thesis chair, another faculty member in the CJ Dept, and an external member. The thesis chair must be a full-time faculty member in the CJ Department. The external member may be a member of the CJ Advisory committee, a CJ professional in a local agency, a faculty member in another department and/or in another university. Your committee should be comprised of individuals who have some knowledge of the research you will conduct for your thesis project. The thesis committee should be identified in consultation with your thesis advisor no later than the end of Fall quarter in the last year of the program during which the thesis will be completed (Fall quarter of the second year of the program unless you are completing the MACJ program over a longer period of time).

7) PROGRAM DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

During the first year of the program, students take required foundation courses. After the completion of the first year, students take a capstone course in the summer to prepare students for either the comprehensive exam or thesis. In the second year of the program, students concentrate on elective courses and/or courses in one of three specialization areas (i.e., Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation, Investigative Criminology, Victimology) and begin working on their Master’s thesis if choosing this option. The MACJ curriculum consists of 55 Credits: 18 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course. Students will take ten foundation courses (28 credits) and nine elective courses (27 credits), four of which (12 credits) can be selected as specialization area courses.

Degree Requirements – Master of Arts in Criminal Justice (without specialization):

The MACJ curriculum consists of 55 Credits: 18 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course. Students will take ten foundation courses (28 credits) and nine elective courses (27 credits):

I. MACJ Foundation Courses: 28 Credits

II. MACJ Elective Courses: 27 Credits

Choose seven to nine courses (21-27 credits) from the following:

With no more than two courses (0-6 credits) from the following joint undergraduate/graduate courses:

III. MACJ Comprehensive Examination OR Thesis Option

MINIMUM CREDITS REQUIRED FOR THE MACJ DEGREE     55

Degree Requirements -- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice with Specialization in Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation

The MACJ with Specialization in Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation curriculum consists of 55 Credits: 18 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course. Students will take ten foundation courses (28 credits), five elective courses (15 credits), and four specialization area courses (12 credits):

I. MACJ – Research & Evaluation Foundation Courses: 28 Credits

Choose three to five courses (9-15 credits) from the following:

With no more than two courses (0-6 credits) from the following joint undergraduate/graduate courses:        

III. MACJ – Research & Evaluation Specialization Area Courses: 12 Credits

MINIMUM CREDITS REQUIRED FOR THE MACJ – Research & Evaluation DEGREE    55

IV. MACJ –Comprehensive Examination OR Thesis Option

Degree Requirements - Master of Arts in Criminal Justice with Specialization in Investigative Criminology

The MACJ with Specialization in Investigative Criminology consists of 55 Credits: 18 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course. Students will take ten foundation courses (28 credits), five elective courses (15 credits), and four specialization area courses (12 credits):

I. MACJ – Investigative Criminology Foundation Courses: 28 Credits

II. MACJ – Investigative Criminology Elective Courses: 15 Credits

Choose three to five courses (9-15 credits) from the following:

With no more than two courses (0-6 credits) from the following joint undergraduate/graduate courses:

IV. MACJ – Comprehensive Examination OR Thesis Option

MINIMUM CREDITS REQUIRED FOR THE MACJ – Investigative Criminology DEGREE 55

Degree Requirements - Master of Arts in Criminal Justice with Specialization in Victimology

The MACJ with Specialization in Victimology curriculum consists of 55 Credits: 18 3-credit courses and one 1-credit course. Students will take ten foundation courses (28 credits), five elective courses (15 credits), and four specialization area courses (12 credits):

II. Elective Courses: 15 Credits

Choose three to five courses (9-15 credits) from the following:

With no more than two courses (0-6 credits) from the following joint undergraduate/graduate courses:

III. Specialization Area Courses: 12 Credits

IV. MACJ – Comprehensive Examination OR Thesis Option

MINIMUM CREDITS REQUIRED FOR THE MACJ – victimology degree 55

Degree Requirements - Master of Arts in Criminal Justice/Juris Doctorate

Credit Requirements

Students in the joint program are required to complete 90 semester credits for the JD degree and 55 quarter credits for the MACJ degree.  In the joint degree program, students can satisfy the requirements for each degree by using a specified number of crossover credits to be chosen from a list of approved courses in each school.  This allows the student, whether full-time or part-time, to complete the two degrees in a shorter period of time than if the student sought to obtain the JD and MACJ degrees independently.  Of the 90 semester credits required for the JD degree, 12 semester credits can be satisfied by 18 quarter credits chosen from a list of specified courses from the MACJ program (listed below).^[1]  Of the 55 quarter credits required for the MACJ degree, a student enrolled in the joint degree program may satisfy up to 18 of the quarter credits required for the Law concentration with 12 semester credits earned in the law school from a list of approved courses (listed below). 

Joint MACJ/JD Degree Summary

1. Students must be admitted to both programs under the programs’ standard requirements.
2. Students may be admitted to the joint degree program before beginning any studies and may then take their first year in either program. Alternatively, students in their first year in either the School of Law or MACJ program may apply for admission to the joint degree program during the fall term of their first year at Seattle University.
3. Candidates for the joint JD/MACJ program must satisfy all of the requirements for the MACJ degree and for the JD degree. This includes either a comprehensive exam or a Master’s Thesis for the MACJ.
4. During the first two semesters in law school, joint degree students may not take courses in the Criminal Justice Department.
5. Joint degree students who begin in the law school and who have completed their first year may take one course each semester in the law school so long as they are not taking more than 3 courses each quarter in their first year of the MACJ program.
6. The JD Degree for joint MACJ/JD students requires 90 semester credits, consisting of at least 78 semester credits earned in the law school and up to 12 semester credit equivalents (18 quarter credits) earned in the MACJ program. Of the 18 crossover quarter credits accepted, 9 credits will be from the list of approved elective courses and 9 credits will be from the list of approved foundation courses (including the Criminal Justice Capstone Seminar).
7. The MACJ degree for joint MACJ/JD students requires 55 quarter credits, consisting of 28 quarter credits of foundation courses, 18 quarter credits of concentration courses, and 9 quarter credits of elective courses. Up to18 quarter credits (12 semester credits) may be earned in the School of Law to satisfy the concentration credits for the MACJ degree.

MACJ Courses Given Crossover Credit for JD Degree^[2]

Foundation Courses:

Elective Courses:

8) MACJ COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

10) TEACHING AND RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS

Students may work as a Teaching Assistant (TA) or Research Assistant (RA) for CJ Faculty for academic credit.  Both positions offer students an excellent opportunity to acquire proficiencies in pedagogical and research skills.  For those students who are considering entering into academic positions or doctoral programs upon graduation, working as a TA or RA is great work experience. TAs assist the graduate faculty member in teaching responsibilities for undergraduate criminal justice courses.  Typical responsibilities of TAs include:  acquiring recent research for the course, assistance in grading, classroom support, and perhaps the opportunity to make a mini-presentation in the course.  RAs assist in the research of the graduate faculty member.  Typical responsibilities of RAs include: conducting literature searchers, acquiring research articles, and assistance in data collection and analysis. Students who would like to work as a TA or RA must first contact the CJ faculty member that they are interested in working with to determine the work requirements and the needs of the faculty member.  Once an agreement has been reached between the student and faculty member, the student will need to see the department chair for final approval.

11) ATTENDING PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES

Students should make every effort to attend professional conferences for the purposes of learning, networking, and even presenting their own research. National research conferences that attract both faculty and practitioners include the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the American Society of Criminology, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy, Law & Society, The American Psychology-Law Society, the American Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology, The Society for Police and

Criminal Psychology, and other professional organizations. Students are also encouraged to attend smaller regional conferences such as the Western Society of Criminology and the Western and Pacific Association of Criminal Justice Educators. Attending conferences is a great educational opportunity as students will be able to interact with faculty in the field and keep abreast of current research in criminal justice. Students are also encouraged to present their research.  For those students pursuing a thesis, it is strongly recommended that you present an aspect of your research from your thesis at a national conference.  In addition, students planning to pursue a doctoral program upon graduation are also strongly encouraged to attend and present research at a national conference.

12) EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENT CONDUCT

Upon entering the MACJ program, it is expected that students will conduct themselves in a professional manner both in and outside of the classroom.

1. Classroom:
   • Students are expected to work hard, read assigned material, and actively participate in class discussions.
   • Attendance in class for the full class time and for all class sessions is expected. Absences from class should be minimal. If you miss class sessions, the professor reserves the right to drop you from the course.
2. Cheating:
   • Academic dishonesty (e.g., working on individual assignments with others, cheating on an exam) and plagiarism (i.e., turning in another’s writing as your own, failing to cite sources in your writing) is unacceptable and unethical. Students found to be engaging in academic dishonesty will be removed from the MACJ program.
3. Outside the classroom:

• When students are off-campus, they are still representing the university and criminal justice department. Thus, students are expected to be professional when in the community whether or not they are working with a criminal justice agency in a university capacity.
• Students should make every effort to attend CJ Department colloquiums.

13) ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Students are required to earn a C grade or better in their courses.  If a student earns a grade of C- or lower, the student is required per SU policy to repeat that course.  Additionally, students are required to maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0 or higher in the MACJ program in order to graduate.  Students who earn less than a 3.0 cumulative G.P.A. in any given quarter will be placed on Academic Probation from the Dean’s office in the College of Arts and Sciences.  After being placed on academic probation, students who fail to raise their G.P.A will be dismissed from the MACJ program per SU policy.

14) ENROLLMENT STATUS

In order to maintain your active status as a MACJ student, you need to be aware of the policy on enrollment status for graduate students at Seattle University. If you are not enrolled in any courses over four consecutive quarters, you will be dropped from the MACJ program.  When this occurs, you would be required to reapply to the MACJ program with all new application materials.  In addition, you lose access to your SU e-mail account, SU on-line, and library privileges.  To avoid this, be sure that by the mid-point of the third consecutive quarter of non-enrollment, you register for at least one credit for the next quarter of classes.  Be sure to note this policy whether you are studying for the comp exam or writing the thesis.

15) UNIVERSITY RESOURCES

16) Criminal Justice Department Faculty & Staff

The Criminal Justice Department faculty consists of seven full-time faculty members who have terminal degrees (Ph.D.) in the field of Criminal Justice/Criminology, SU faculty in departments other than criminal justice, and adjunct faculty members who have graduate degrees in criminal justice, law or related disciplines and/or are professionals in the criminal justice field.

Full-Time Faculty:

Dr. Collins earned his Ph.D. in criminal justice from Washington State University in 2011 with a focus on corrections, cost-benefit and evaluation research, and criminal justice organizations. His research interests include issues surrounding the death penalty, the intersection of criminal law and criminal justice policy, public policy analysis, and criminology within the context of popular culture. His research has been published in The Journal of Criminal Justice, The Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, Criminal Justice Studies, Western Criminology Review, Police Quarterly, The Prison Journal, Criminal Justice Policy Review, The Journal of Crime and Justice, and The Seattle Journal for Social Justice, as well as several other outlets. He has had four books published since becoming a part of the CJ faculty at SU Fall 2011, one focused on criminal justice management and organizations with Routledge Press (2013), an anthology entitled Crime, Justice, and Politics in the City as seen through The Wire, with Carolina Academic Press (2013), one focused on substance abuse treatment and cost-benefit analysis with LFB Scholarly Publishing (2014), followed by his most recent text focused criminal justice statistics with Oxford University Press (2015). He has completed statewide studies in Washington (2015), Oregon (2016), and Oklahoma (2017) on the economic costs associated with seeking the death penalty. His current research focus remains on the intersection on public policy and the law, with particular emphasis on bail and bond, jury selection, and sentencing practices. 

Dr. Connor received a Ph.D. in Justice Administration from the University of Louisville in 2015.  He also holds a Master of Science in Justice Administration from the University of Louisville and a Bachelor of Arts in Radio/Television Broadcasting from Northern Kentucky University.  His research interests include sex offender policy and treatment, institutional corrections, probation and parole, inmate reentry, social deviance and stigma, and qualitative methodology.  Primarily recognized as an expert on sex offender legislation, Dr. Connor is regularly consulted by correctional agencies and interviewed by media outlets about such laws.  His work often focuses on the experiences of individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system, including employees, offenders, victims, and their families.  Dr. Connor’s most recent publications are found in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Children and Youth Services Review, and Corrections: Policy, Practice, and Research. He is an active member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, American Society of Criminology, and Western Society of Criminology.  Dr. Connor also serves as a board member for Interaction Transition, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people find employment and other supports after incarceration. 

Elaine Gunnison received her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati in 2001 with a specialization in life course criminology, female offending, and corrections. Her research interests include understanding female offending patterns such as desistance and persistence, the applicability of criminological theory to females, understanding community corrections officers, and ex-offender reentry. Her research has been published in Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law, and Society, Federal Probation, The Journal of Criminal Justice, The Journal of Community Corrections, The Journal of International and Comparative Criminal Justice, The Journal of Crime and Justice, Women and Criminal Justice, The Journal of Prison Education and Reentry, The Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, The Journal of Interpersonal Violence, The Western Criminology Review, Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, Academic Exchange Quarterly, the Qualitative Report (forthcoming) the Encyclopedia of Community Corrections, the Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, the Encyclopedia of Criminological Theory, the Encyclopedia of Street Crime, Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women in Today’s World, the Encyclopedia of Crimes of the Century, and the Encyclopedia of Juvenile Delinquency. She has conducted primary research in a variety of corrections’ spaces (e.g., prisons, day reporting centers) and secondary research examining life course criminology and in corrections on the topic of work release centers. In 2013, she completed a book with Jacqueline B. Helfgott for Lynne Rienner Publishers entitled, “Offender Reentry: Beyond Crime and Punishment.”  In 2016, she finished a book (with Fran Bernat and Lynne Goodstein) for Wiley-Blackwell Publishers entitled, “Women and Crime:  Balancing the Scales.” In 2017, she completed a book entitled, “Community Corrections” for Carolina Academic Press, and she is beginning work on a book (with Jacqueline B. Helfgott) entitled, “Successful Women in Criminal Justice” for Routledge.  She is currently co-principal investigator on collaborative academic-practitioner research initiatives including evaluation of the Seattle Women’s Reentry Project. She is also currently serving as Co-Editor (with Jacqueline B. Helfgott) of Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.  She is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the American Society of Criminology, and the Western Society of Criminology. She has served as graduate director of the criminal justice Master’s program since 2008 (with the exception of 2010-2011).

Jacqueline Helfgott is Professor and Chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Seattle University. She has a PhD and MA in Administration of Justice with graduate minor in psychology from Pennsylvania State University and BA from the University of Washington in Psychology and Society & Justice. Her research interests include criminal behavior, psychopathy, copycat crime, corrections, offender reentry, community and restorative justice, and victim impact in criminal justice decision-making. She is author of Criminal Behavior: Theories, Typologies, and Criminal Justice (Sage Publications, 2008), Editor of Criminal Psychology, Volumes 1-4 (Praeger Publications, 2013), and coauthor of Offender Reentry: Beyond Crime and Punishment (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2013). She is currently working on a book No Remorse: Psychopathy and Criminal Justice (Sage Publications). Her work has been published in journals including Aggression and Violent Behavior, International Journal of Law & Psychiatry, Criminal Justice & Behavior, International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, International Review of Victimology, Crime Victim’s Report, Federal Probation, and Criminal Justice Policy Review. She has been involved in applied research and service in criminal justice since 1987. She has served as principal investigator on projects including evaluation of the crisis intervention team (CIT) model in law enforcement at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, the Seattle Police Department’s Officer/Mental Health Practitioner Partnership Pilot Program and implementation of the Crisis Intervention Team model, and development, implementation, and evaluation of "Citizens, Victims, and Offenders Restoring Justice" (CVORJ) a prison-based encounter program at the Washington State Reformatory. She is currently principal investigator on collaborative academic-practitioner research initiatives including evaluation of the Seattle Police Department’s Micro-Community Policing Plans, Seattle Women’s Reentry, and the Research Network on Misdemeanor Justice with John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She has served on the Advisory Board for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island that houses civilly committed sexually violent predators and on the Board of Directors for Interaction Transition (a non-profit ex-offender transition agency), and Board of Directors for Virginia Mason Separation and Loss (support services for family members following violent death). She facilitated a prison-based public art program called the “Creative Expressions Project” at the Washington Corrections Center for Women from 1993-1998 and at the Washington State Reformatory from 1993- 2010. She currently serves on the Seattle Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Committee (CIC), and is a volunteer with Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy, a non-profit organization that provides resources and support for victims of psychopathy. She is a member of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), American Society of Criminology (ASC), Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy (SSSP), International Academy of Law and Mental Health (IALMH), and the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP). Outside of her professional affiliations she is a member of Marathon Maniacs and the Seattle Urban Sketchers.

Matthew J. Hickman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Seattle University.  In addition to conducting research in the general areas of police integrity and ethics, forensic evidence processing, and quantitative research methods, he teaches a variety of both undergraduate- and graduate-level courses including statistics, research methods, criminology, forensic science, ethics, and crime mapping.  Prior to joining the faculty at Seattle University in 2007, he was employed as a statistician at the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the statistical research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, for seven years.  There, he specialized in the development and analysis of national data collections relating to law enforcement operations as well as forensic crime laboratories and medicolegal death investigation systems in the United States.  Hickman’s research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals including Criminology, Criminology & Public Policy, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Sociological Methods and Research, Crime & Delinquency, Police Quarterly, and Policing.  He authored over 20 governmental reports on law enforcement and related issues while at BJS.  Books include a recent introductory policing textbook, Policing for the 21st Century: Realizing the Vision of Police in a Free Society (Kendall/Hunt, 2016), and edited volumes Forensic Science and the Administration of Justice (Sage, 2014) and Police Integrity and Ethics (Wadsworth/Thomson, 2004). He has written several book chapters for edited volumes including: Race, Ethnicity and Policing; Rational Choice and Criminal Behavior; and Encyclopedia of Police Science.  Hickman is the immediate past President of the Western Society of Criminology, and he has also served as an Executive Counselor for the American Society of Criminology Division of Policing.  He is a member of the American Society of Criminology and the Western Society of Criminology.

Dr. King Stargel grew up in Honolulu, HI, and became one of the Honolulu Police Department’s first female police officers.  She finished the second half of her 25-year police career working for the Kent (WA) Police Department. Trisha holds a master in Organizational Ethics, and a doctorate in Educational Leader with focus on police training from Seattle University.  She has been an adjunct instructor for the Department of Criminal Justice at Seattle University since 2003.  Trisha served on the Citizen Review Panel for the Tacoma Police Department, and is a hearing panelist for the Decertification Hearing Board of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. Trisha works for the U. S. Department of Justice as a Senior Police Advisor with the ICITAP program.  Her duties have taken her most recently to Ukraine.  She and a team of leaders and trainers helped the Ukrainian government set up and train the new National Police Force.

Al O’Brien grew up in Seattle.  He enlisted in the Marine Core right out of high school and fought in the first two major land-battles of the Vietnam War, in August and September of 1965.  Al joined the Seattle Police Department where he served for twenty-nine (29) years.  He received his MA in Public Administration from Seattle University in 1976.  Al wrote policy for the chief of police.  Some of the policy issues he wrote include, ‘the use of drugs and alcohol by on-duty officers, use of firearms against moving vehicles, and police use of choke holds.’  Al worked on the streets of the city for twenty-one (21) years as a police officer and supervisor.   In 1984, he arrested a man who had just shot and killed a police officer at a location just north of the Seattle University campus.  Al began teaching in 1986 at City University of Seattle where he taught all of the Public Administration courses (i.e. Introduction to Public Administration, Public Policy Writing, Public Budgeting and Finance, and Intergovernmental Relations).  In addition, he taught Managing Organizations, Organizational Behavior, Introduction to Economics, and The Humanities of the Western World at City University.  Al was elected to the Mountlake Terrace City Council in 1991 where he served for five (5) years.  He was elected to the Washington State House of Representatives in 1996.  He served fourteen (14) years in the legislature and chaired the Criminal Justice & Corrections Committee for ten (10) years.  Al was a member of the Board of Directors at the ARC of Snohomish County (working on issues regarding Persons with Developmental Disabilities), and The Council on Aging (working on senior citizen care and food programs).  Al was a volunteer staff member for twenty (20) years with the American Legion Boys’ State program where he taught high school seniors about state and local government.  He began teaching at Seattle University in 2006, teaching a Graduate-level class entitled, ‘Criminal Justice Legislation & Policy.’  He now teaches Undergraduate courses in ‘Law, Justice, and Society and Crime Scene Investigations.  He also teaches Graduate courses in Crime Scene Investigation and Restorative Justice.  Al is a registered lobbyist and has lobbied the state legislature regarding Human Trafficking.  He has recently worked on legislation requiring a review of sentencing for juveniles, sentenced to life in prison without parole.  He is now working on repeal of the determinate sentencing law and restoration of the parole system, and on repeal off the death sentence.        

Dr. Parkin received his Ph.D. in criminal justice from the City University of New York, Graduate Center.  His research interests include domestic extremism and terrorism, homicide victimization, the media’s social construction of criminal justice issues, and community public safety. Currently, he is working on research related to misdemeanor offenses and community policing in Seattle. Dr. Parkin is also a co-principal investigator on the Extremist Crime Database, a multi-institute project examining domestic extremism funded by the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland.  His research has been published in The Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Homicide Studies, Terrorism & Political Violence, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Sociological Spectrum, Journal of Interpersonal Violence and Economics Letters. In addition, Dr. Collins and he are working on an edited volume related to the portrayal of crime victims in the New York Times.

Stephen K. Rice is Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at Seattle University. He studies cooperation and defiance in individuals’ interactions with the justice system (procedural justice, restorative justice; perceptions of racial profiling; police legitimacy; radicalization; final statements of the condemned); sentinel events; social media and criminal justice; evidence-based law enforcement. He is co-editor of Race, Ethnicity and Policing (NYU Press, 2010) and Envisioning Criminology: Researchers on Research as a Process of Discovery (Springer, 2015) and author of articles on topics to include guardian policing (Harvard Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety), radicalization, the variability of anger cross-culturally, and profiling of African Americans, Latinos, and Muslim Americans. His publications have appeared in outlets to include Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Deviant Behavior, Policing, and the Journal of Quantitative Criminology. He is a member of the Academy of Criminal Sciences and is Counselor-at-Large of the Western Society of Criminology. He received his master's degree from Florida State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. 

Jonathan Bechtol grew up and finished high school in Redmond, Washington.  He attended The University of Arizona before moving to California to be close to family and attend community college there.  Jonathan returned home to Washington in 2014 and worked for three years at Costco Wholesale in Woodinville.  He’s excited to be back in the college environment and looks forward to learning about Criminal Justice and Economics. 

Andrew, Gutzmer

Criminal Justice Department Graduate Program Coordinator

Office: Casey 335

Phone: 206-296-2139

Email: gutzmera@seattleu.edu

Andrew (Andy) is joining Seattle University to begin a new chapter in his career in higher education administration and student services.  After completing his Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction at University of Denver, as well as his Bachelor’s in History and Spanish, Andy spent two years teaching English abroad at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestro in Santiago, the Dominican Republic, as well as at the Maptaputpanpittayakarn School in Rayong, Thailand.  Most recently he was a founding high school history teacher at Summit Olympus High School in Tacoma, but is excited to make the switch from the classroom teaching to university services.  He is an avid listener of the “Criminal” podcast and loves all things that encourage you to question justice, equity, history and truth.  He enjoys cooking, hiking, and sketching in his free time.

Part-Time Adjunct Faculty and SU Faculty in other Departments

Note: The list of faculty members below includes CJ Dept part-time faculty members who teach in the undergraduate program, graduate program, or both. Most of the CJ Department adjunct faculty teach in the undergraduate program, but some teach graduate foundation courses, regularly offered joint grad/undergrad elective courses, or graduate special topics courses. If you see an adjunct faculty member on the list from whom you have not had the opportunity to take a course, but would like to meet to discuss a thesis, undergraduate teaching assistantship, or research project, contact the Graduate Director or email faculty member directly. All adjunct faculty member email addresses are available on the department website: https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/criminal-graduate/faculty-and-staff/

17) CRIMINAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Our department is fortunate to have a large advisory committee consisting of key professionals from local, state, and federal criminal justice agencies (See Appendix C). Advisory committee members serve the department by providing ideas for curricular and program development, assisting in developing internship and practicum opportunities, coordinating tours of local criminal justice agencies and facilities, serving as guest speakers in classes and/or as instructors for elective and specialization course offerings. In some cases, advisory committee members may be willing to serve as external members on thesis committees and/or in other capacity to assist MACJ students. If you are interested in connecting with an advisory committee member, contact the Graduate Director.

[1] One quarter credit is the equivalent of .67 semester credits.  So, for example, a 3 quarter credit crossover MACJ course could be used to satisfy 2 semester credits for the J.D. degree.

[2] All credits shown in this section are quarter credits.

[3] All credits shown in this section are semester credits.