This masters program incorporates the coursework of the Program on Domestic Violence (PDV), which includes a specialization in Domestic Violence Organizational Management and Policy Development.
Greater numbers of specialized services within legal systems, including police units and the courts, are devoted to reducing the occurrence of interpersonal violence. These systems require well-educated professionals who carry a strong awareness of domestic violence into public policy making, law enforcement, correctional rehabilitation and judicial arenas.
The PDV within the Master in Criminal Justice (MCJ) degree provides an interdisciplinary perspective on crime and the formulation of laws and codes, criminology, the criminal justice system and women and violence. Graduates take career routes into areas of the justice system such as police administration and probation, juvenile crime and drug rehabilitation agencies. The degree is ideal for criminology and criminal justice system practitioners, advocates, counselors, social workers, victim service providers and managers in related fields who are strengthening their knowledge in the justice system’s perception of domestic violence, its policies and services.
This degree plan requires a total of 36 credit hours of study that includes six MCJ core courses, four PDV domestic violence courses, an elective, and a capstone/thesis. The domestic violence courses, which combine online learning with five, week-long intensive courses in Denver over two years, are as follows:
- Women and Violence: A Sociological Perspective
- Psychology of Domestic Violence
- Battered Women and the Legal System
- Social Justice, Advocacy and Social Change
Students are accepted into the program once each year as a cohort, a group that takes courses in tandem and participates in organized events and activities featuring local practitioners and national experts. Cohort sessions explore practical applications to classroom knowledge and build a personal and professional network for students to rely on throughout their degree program and their careers.
Degree Requirements
Application