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Online Master's Degree MS in Criminal Justice Public Safety Administration

Become a Strategic Leader with an Online Public Safety Administration Master’s Degree

With Southern New Hampshire University's online Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Public Safety Administration, you'll be prepared to advance your career in law enforcement, specifically in leadership positions that address public policy. A public safety administration master's degree will give you the know-how to take on challenges facing society today and learn how policy decisions are made and implemented at the national, state and local levels. Courses are designed with the present and future administrator or leader in mind: All have a direct application to the challenges of managing a criminal justice agency.

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See Yourself Succeed in Criminal Justice

Our specialized criminal justice master’s programs, such as the public safety administration master’s degree, focus on different areas of law enforcement. The coursework in this criminal justice online program deals with forecasting and public budgeting, police and community behavior, and scenario planning. You'll understand how to navigate the complexities of the American criminal justice system, and learn how to:

  • Assess political, social, economic and administrative realities as a public administrator
  • Identify key competencies, values and issues important to public-sector organizations
  • Conduct SWOT and stakeholder analyses for public-sector organizations
  • Design and implement a performance measurement and management system
  • Employ strategic management practices used by local, state, federal and nonprofit organizations

As a private, nonprofit university, SNHU has one mission – to help you see yourself succeed. The benefits of earning your public safety administration master’s degree online at SNHU include:

  • Affordability. Take advantage of some of the most affordable tuition rates in the nation
  • Convenience. Attend class when it’s convenient for you – online education means 24/7 access
  • Efficiency and flexibility. Complete your graduate degree in as few as 15 months, with two courses per 10-week term
  • Expert instruction. Learn from instructors with relevant, real-world experience
  • Minimal requirements. No GMAT or GRE required for admission
  • Networking. Tap into our nationwide network of alumni for internship and career opportunities
  • Student support. Count on the ongoing support of dedicated academic and career advisors specialized in your area of study

Admission Requirements


Acceptance decisions are made on a rolling basis throughout the year for our 5 graduate terms. You can apply at any time and get a decision within days of submitting all required materials. To apply, simply contact an admission counselor, who can help you explore financial options. Your counselor can also walk you through the application process, which involves completing a graduate application ($40 fee) and providing undergraduate transcripts.

Career Outlook

Graduates of the public safety administration master's degree program typically work for local, state and federal governments, as well as nonprofit and educational organizations. Many jobs fall into this category, but among the related occupations most in demand are city managers and county administrators, for which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 8% growth through 2026.* Earning a criminal justice master's degree online with SNHU can be a significant advantage in career advancement and promotion to senior responsibility roles in public safety organizations.

Curriculum

The curriculum for the public safety administration master’s degree combines the core of our criminal justice online program with the theories and analysis needed to take the reins in public safety. Experienced faculty will help you develop into a leader with strategic planning and management skills.

Courses May Include
CJ 500 Critical Issues in the Criminal Justice System

This course offers the Criminal Justice graduate student the opportunity to identify, analyze and discuss the most prevalent issues affecting the delivery of criminal justice and public safety services today. Students will examine the civic responsibilities of criminal justice professionals and the challenges facing our contemporary criminal justice system, while also developing an understanding of the key criminal justice theories.
CJ 510 Ethical Leadership in Criminal Justice

This course will emphasize the principles of strategic management, ethical leadership, and community involvement as they apply to a public safety organization within the criminal justice system. The course focuses on the student's development of leadership qualities that address the difficult questions, such as risk management and budgetary constraints, faced by public safety leaders.
CJ 520 Criminology and Public Policy

This course focuses on the relationship between prevailing criminological theories and the development and implementation of public policy. Students will learn how to evaluate policy recommendations and their effect on a range of public safety organizations.
CJ 550 Assessing Organizational Performance

Explore the techniques and methods used to evaluate the performance of a criminal justice organization by examining a real-world scenario. Students assess an organization to identify factors impacting the overall performance including its mission, goals, structure, policies, and processes. Students use applicable methods and data to determine effective resource and communication strategies for continuous improvement within criminal justice organizations.
CJ 560 Courts and Judicial Process

Explore the different roles of criminal justice professionals in navigating critical issues and challenges in the judicial process from the initial crime through the appeals phases. Students compare the procedural impact of local, state, and federal court systems through the examination of controversial court cases and inequalities within the judicial process.
CJ 675 Data-Driven Decision-Making in Criminal Justice

This course promotes the value of using both quantitative and qualitative research methods in leadership, planning and decision-making. Students learn how to forge data-driven strategies for effective criminal justice problem-solving.
CJ 790 Criminal Justice Capstone

This capstone course is the culminating experience for the M.S. in Criminal Justice program. The aim of the capstone is to assess students' ability to synthesize and integrate the knowledge and skills they have developed throughout their coursework, rather than introducing new concepts. This course is structured to support student success in fulfilling program requirements.
WCM 610 Introduction to Organizational Conflict Management

This survey course introduces the analysis, interpretation, and management of conflict in contemporary organizational settings. Using interdisciplinary lenses, the course explores systemic, interpersonal, and other causes of conflict; conflict's influence on workplace communication and decision-making; and the relationship between conflict, leadership, and career advancement.
PAD 630 Foundations of Public Administration

This course is designed to introduce students to the foundations and constraints that form the environment of the public administration. It will encourage and enable the view of governance issues through the eyes of a public administrator. The course is structured to provide basic skills and set the context of contemporary political, social, economic, and administrative realities. It explores responsive, equitable, effective, efficient, and accountable governance processes, public policies, and institutional-based programs. It also examines, from a multidisciplinary perspective, those essential competencies, values, and issues important to public service organizations and the importance of public policy at the local, state, national and international levels.
PAD 631 Strategic Management in Public Service

This course is designed to provide an academic foundation to applied strategic management in public service. Identifying the factors that differentiate public service from the private sector, strategic planning and the implications those differences have for managers. Emphasis is placed on applied strategic planning and management including how to create a mission statement, conduct a SWOT analysis, conduct a stakeholder analysis, writing goals and objectives, and how to design and implement a performance measurement and management system. Current approaches to strategic management used by federal, state, local, and non-profit organizations are emphasized.
OL 600 Strategic Human Resource Management

Examine key regulatory procedures and human resource requirements as they relate to applications in organizations. Analyze the strategic role of the human resource manager in performing functions of recruitment, hiring, training, career development and other contemporary processes within the organizational setting. Study concepts aligned with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Body of Competency and Knowledge (BoCK).
CJ 650 Public Safety Administration

This course examines the key functions and responsibilities of a public safety administrator, including management of organizational structure, strategic decision-making, fiscal responsibility, and coordinated public safety approaches to address fiscal, political, and social challenges. Students examine fiscal management, the problems of governmental funding, service and equipment cutbacks, cost comparison, and accessibility of federal grants. Additionally, the course reinforces ethical foundations in public safety, critical thinking and analysis, and innovative solutions to contemporary public safety problems. Students also explore administrative opportunities within public safety, and career paths to reach these positions.

Total Credits: 12

Program Outcomes

Tuition & Fees

Tuition rates for SNHU's online degree programs are among the lowest in the nation. We offer a 25% tuition discount for U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty.

Online Graduate Programs Per Course* Per Credit Hour*
Degree/Certificates $1,881 $627
Degree/Certificates
(U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty) 		$1,410 $470

*Tuition Rates are subject to change and are reviewed Annually.

Additional Costs:
$40 Application Fee, $150 Graduation Fee, Course Materials ($ varies by course)

University Accreditation

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as several other accrediting bodies. More...

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, on the Internet, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm#tab-2 (viewed online December 13, 2017). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.