What to Expect Out of an Online Graduate Program in Criminal Justice
If shows like "Homeland" and "NCIS" make your heart flutter, it's possible an advanced criminal justice degree might be a good fit.
Years ago, aspiring law enforcement officers would have to relocate to campus if they wanted a degree in the field. But today, with the proliferation of online programs, it's easy for students to earn a degree from the comfort of their living room.
Criminal justice is one of the most popular degrees among online graduate students, according to a 2014 study by Aslanian Market Research and the Learning House, a company that helps colleges and universities develop and deliver online degree programs. Prospective students -- aspiring investigators that they are -- may want to probe exactly what they're getting into in an online master's degree in criminal justice. Below are three typical components of these programs.
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1. Weekly deadlines: Students in online master's programs will have the same classes as their on-campus counterparts -- courses in subjects such as white-collar crime, hate crimes, counterterrorism and alternative conflict resolution. Just like brick-and-mortar students, they will be required to read, watch videos, complete assignments and even take quizzes every week, says Mary Ellen Mastrorilli, faculty coordinator of the online master's in criminal justice program at Boston University, which tied for the No. 2 spot in the U.S. News rankings.
What's different for online students is that most are also required to post in weekly discussion boards. Those online class discussions, often monitored by faculty, typically tackle current events. In one of Mastrorilli's recent classes, for example, she asked students to weigh in on the use of license plate scanners in law enforcement.
"I try to use a rather controversial topic," she says. "You see a lot of learning on those discussion boards. Students come from a lot of different jobs, countries and cultures."
Online students shouldn't be under the impression that virtual learning is any easier than classroom learning, students and experts say.
"It was a lot of self-discipline and time management," says Stephanie Rattigan, who graduated in May 2011 from Boston's online program and is now working for the FBI. "You go in and if you didn't click something and missed a link, you are kind of out of luck. You really have to pay attention."
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2. Live interaction through video or text chats: "With the online program you don't get to have the kind of face-to-face experience that you do with a classroom course," says Steve Wiegenstein, graduate dean at Missouri's Columbia College, which has an online master's of science in criminal justice. "The instructors do everything they can to duplicate that experience, but that's one of those trade-offs."
While most online master's programs in criminal justice don't typically require students to log in at any specific time, some instructors try to hold live discussions that are optional for students.
For example, students in the program at University of California--Irvine, ranked No. 1, regularly have voluntary, real-time virtual classroom discussions, says Terry Dalton, co-director of the master's program in criminology, law and society. Instructors in the online graduate program in criminal justice at Florida's Nova Southeastern University are also encouraged to hold live chats through text, school officials say.
Mastrorilli also holds weekly live sessions, and even hosts a virtual wine and cheese party at the end of the semester.
Group projects are another way students can interact with each other in real-time. Though it's not always required, sometimes students will use Skype, Google Hangouts or similar technology to interact with classmates.
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During one recent group project, Dan Salerno, a police captain for the Santa Monica Police Department in California and a student in Boston's program, had to do a mental health assessment of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. He says he appreciated the chance to work with classmates from all over the world.
3. The need to leave your computer: While many students choose online degrees because they don't require a commute, that doesn't mean they'll never have cause to walk away from the keyboard.
Some programs, like Irvine's, require a brief visit to campus. "In our program, students have a five-day course they begin the program with," Dalton says. "They get a lot of socializing opportunities."
Other programs, such as Nova Southeastern's, offer electives that allow students to work for law enforcement agencies and other organizations across the country, says Tammy Kushner, executive associate dean.
Some programs will also require assignments that force students to interact with public safety officials in their area.
In one of Mastrorilli's classes, for example, she asks students to talk to police officers about code of ethics policies.
"I do try to get them to go out into their community," she says. "They are using the world as a laboratory."
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Devon Haynie is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering online education. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at dhaynie@usnews.com.
