Masters in Criminal Justice or Public Administration????

[dominicanops]

I'm currently in process of trying to join a number of PD's but it looks like it will be a while before I actually get to the academy so I was thinking about getting my Masters in the meantime since I would like to get it out of the way.

I will be graduating in May w/ a B.S. in Criminal Justice w/ Minor in Law and if the process is still going slow for whatever reason, which I suspect it will, then I want to get either a Masters in Criminal Justice or Public Administration. The Criminal Justice masters is 30 credits, while the Public Administration one is 42, so basically 1 year vs. 1.5 year respectively. Which one do you think I should choose? The CJ one seems like the easy way out since it is shorter but will having a Masters and Bachelors in the same field of study be okay? Seems a bit redundant. The PA one is longer though but I don't think it will take a year and a half to get hired and then I would have to leave the program if I get hired before I finished.

Anyways, whats your thoughts on this? MA Criminal Justice v. MA Public Administration? Forget about the length of time or amount of credits lol but which one is ultimately better to have. Thanks!!!

[CityOfChicago]

The classes you take in grad school will be different then those you had as an undergrad. The truth is, undergrad education is so watered down, some classes are worse than high school. An undergrad education has become big business for schools, so the goal is to get the bodies through the program to graduation. Grad school is more research focused, expecting you to do research and produce good work. So even classes that sound similar to your undergrad ones will be be more focused, more in-depth, and require more effort from you. Well, if you're lucky, that is.

The question is, What is your ultimate goal? Do you want to wok for a PD until you retire, or do you see LE as a stepping stone to other public service? Compare the course descriptions. Which program has the courses you are most interested in? Then make your choice.

[Kimble]

The question is, What is your ultimate goal? Do you want to wok for a PD until you retire, or do you see LE as a stepping stone to other public service? Compare the course descriptions. Which program has the courses you are most interested in? Then make your choice.

Couldn't have said it better than this.

[dominicanops]

The question is, What is your ultimate goal? Do you want to wok for a PD until you retire, or do you see LE as a stepping stone to other public service? Compare the course descriptions. Which program has the courses you are most interested in? Then make your choice.

I would like to be stay with a Law Enforcement career. If I had to pick one based on the course descriptions, the MA in CJ seems more interesting, but the PA one seems more useful just because its different from my BS. At this point of the game, all I care about is helping myself look like a better candidate in regards to hiring, and if a PA doesn't help that much then I'll just stick with the CJ, but if it does, then I would like to know based on your experience.

[CityOfChicago]

Well, see if this helps. I had an MS in physiology before I was the police, and I got hired. In my hiring process, all it did was raise eyebrows; it didnt help or hurt (CPD ony requires 60 hours of college). Currently I'm working on my MBA, and I plan on starting my PhD in CJ after that.

The point is, a BS in CJ is usually pretty close to pointless, because you typically find that academy training is the same. At least it was for us, as our academy is 6mo long. In my opinion, in my large dept the higher rank you attain, the less police work you are involved in and the more management you become. I dont mean that as a slander, but it's true. That's one reason I'm doing my MBA. The other is because I dont expect to ever be a commander, so I'm planning on being gone and running my own business in 20.

I thought about a PhD in PA, but dismissed it. I really like Policing, and all that it entails. I like theories of Policing, like broken windows, community, hot-spot, problem solving, pulling levers, etc., and I like to think about how to most effectively police a given area given the criminal concerns of that area. I'm less interested in state government and the political process. I'd rather be a master of one trade then a jack of them all.

So....I think you can gather what my choice would be in your situation. Again, the question for you is, "What is my ultimate goal?" Just remember this: Both look nice, but probably wont help you get hired too much. Neither will hurt.

[retdetsgt]

The CJ is more or less worthless IMO. I'd go for the PA. If you get hired and want to go up in rank, the PA will be quite helpful. I took a few grad courses in PA after I got my MS in sociology and immediately wished I'd gone for the PA instead. There was a lot of practical information there if you get into a command position.

If nothing else, if for some reason you don't become a cop, you can find a job a lot easier in a government management slot. Any CJ degree is going to limit your options.

[Ispbear]

I would definitely go with the MA is Public Administration. If you ever plan on moving up through the ranks it might help. Or look at it this way, if your injured and disabled on the Job, you will have more job options that pay well with that degree.

[dominicanops]

Yeah I decided on my Public Administration Masters since CJ really is some what pointless. However, if I get hired before I finish my masters, I'll drop my masters on the spot since the only reason I am getting is it so I can kill time and justify having a BS job since its better to be in school while working a BS job then just working a BS job and then going home....At this point of the game, I just want to get hired, hopefully a masters will a little. Thanks for the input!!

[BP348]

I wouldn't be so quick to drop out. Any education is beneficial & I don't know about the departments where you are but I know my local PD requires a Masters for any position above captain.

As far as which degree I would say pick the one that will most interest you so that you finish the degree. It doesn’t make any sense to take 12 hours in Pa and then quit when you would have finished a MA in CJ because you are more interested in that subject matter.

When it comes time to promote that far up the ladder the only thing that’s going to matter is the fact that you have a Masters. IMHO.

[dominicanops]

Well the public administration masters I'm applying for has different concentrations such as Court Administration, Criminal Justice Policy and Administration, Emergency Management, Human Resources Management, Law and Public Management, Management and Operations, and Urban Affairs. I'll be doing the Criminal Justice Policy and administration concentration, so I will still be interested in the subject matter.

Now in regards to dropping out if offered a job, I see people wait a long time for a position and considering how competitive it is to get on, I don't want to just say "Thanks but not now" cause then I don't think they will let me on later with out having to withdraw from the process since they have 10 other people who will just fill your spot. The way I look at it, you got to jump at the opportunity when it presents itself.

[BP348]

I don't think anyone is saying to pass up the job so you can go to school. I think it's more of a work & go to school thing. It's not easy but it can be done.

[CityOfChicago]

i don't think anyone is saying to pass up the job so you can go to school. I think it's more of a work & go to school thing. It's not easy but it can be done.

++1

[JRT6]

If one just wants to be cop then I think an associates is plenty especially considering most criminal justice degree programs these days are the touchy feely Arts degrees rather than Applied Science (BSAS Youngstown State Univ '93 thankyou). Plus CJ classes are very elective intensive as the principle is to expose you to people and ideas which can just be gained by watching the history channel.

If I wanted to be a police chief who starts trends instead of following them then CJ is the way to go. Anything else I would choose some other program.

[dominicanops]

I don't think anyone is saying to pass up the job so you can go to school. I think it's more of a work & go to school thing. It's not easy but it can be done.

Hmmmm, never thought about that. Do you think that if you start a masters one place and then decide to transfer over, that you would have to take the GRE's? I'm doing my masters where I got my undergrad degree so I don't have to take GRE's but if I decide to transfer will I have to even if I already have masters credits? I wouldn't mind working and going to school, but I go to school so I can one day have a job in LE.

As for the associates, it doesn't seem like being the bare minimum is the best way to go in these times when so many people have bachelor's degree. Just my 2 cents on that.

[JRT6]

As for the associates, it doesn't seem like being the bare minimum is the best way to go in these times when so many people have bachelor's degree. Just my 2 cents on that.

What are you talking about? The national average of cops with a four year degree is like 5%.