Beginning in the fall 2012 semester, out-of-state distance learning students can benefit from reduced tuition rates at Florida State University’s (FSU) nationally recognized College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. All distance learning graduate students enrolled in the Master of Criminal Justice Studies program will pay the in-state tuition rate of $513.34 per credit hour – a savings of more than $600 per credit hour compared to the College’s current out-of-state tuition rate, and a rate that is competitive with other online criminal justice programs throughout the United States.
“The new tuition rate will provide more working professionals residing outside of Florida the opportunity to advance their criminal justice education,” said Thomas Blomberg, Dean of the FSU College of Criminology and Criminal Justice. “Moreover, the new rate will allow additional distance learning students the opportunity to learn from the top-ranked research faculty in the nation.”
The College’s distance learning Master of Criminal Justice Studies program courses are taught by faculty members who have received national recognition for their research in the field criminology and criminal justice. In May, FSU Associate Professor Kevin Beaver, Director of the College’s distance learning program, was ranked No. 1 when measured by the number of articles published in a year by the “Criminology and Criminal Justice Hit Parade: Measuring Academic Productivity in the Discipline” study. Two other FSU assistant professors, Abigail Fagan and Brian Stults, were also named among the top in the nation of scholarly productivity in their field. The study was published in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.
“The best education is provided to students when they are taught by professors who are at the forefront of research in their field,” said Professor Beaver. “I am passionate about my research and diligent in ensuring my students are informed and educated on the most current research available.”
FSU’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice also was ranked No. 1 nationally by the Journal of Criminal Justice Education for scholarly productivity of its graduates (in 2000) and for research productivity of its faculty (in 2011).
The distance learning Master of Criminal Justice Studies program requires a total of 36 hours of graduate credit. The core courses include:
- CCJ5606 Survey Criminological Theories: provides students with a deeper understanding of criminological theory. Physiological, genetic, psychological, and psychiatric theories of criminal behavior.
- CCJ5285 Survey of Criminal Justice Theory & Research: provides an overview of the theoretical issues and research on the law and legal control of deviance in society.
- CCJ5078 Computer Applications in Criminal Justice: provides an introduction to the use of the computer and the Internet within the criminal justice system.
- CCJ 5705 Research Methods in Criminology I: teaches research design for criminological studies with an emphasis on data collection methods and measurement of validity and reliability.
- CCJ 5706. Applied Statistics in Criminology I: focuses on the use of statistical techniques in criminology.