Founded in 1974, Marshall University’s Criminal Justice and Criminology Program was among the first in the state of West Virginia to offer degrees in this field.
For nearly 50 years, we have offered undergraduate coursework intended to provide a thorough understanding of the criminal justice system and its interrelation with society. A foundation curriculum is offered to assist students planning to enter graduate school, law school, research, government service, or social services including law enforcement, corrections, probation/parole, juvenile justice and victim services.
In addition to the undergraduate program, graduate study is offered at the master’s level. Our graduate program is designed to prepare pre-service students for criminal justice careers and to enhance the knowledge and skills of individuals who have already initiated their careers in the fields of law enforcement, corrections, or legal studies. The graduate program is also designed to prepare our graduates for further graduate or professional education.
We are committed to
- providing students with the conceptual and research skills needed to undertake advanced analyses of the criminal justice system;
- serving criminal justice professionals and others who are interested in pursuing professional careers in management and administration;
- furnishing law enforcement, corrections and court practitioners with knowledge of justice administration, theoretical perspectives of human behavior, policy analysis and criminal justice theory; and
- preparing social scientists to pursue careers in university and research settings.