Criminal Justice

• MET CJ 612: Crime and Intelligence Analysis
  How do crime analysts turn complex data into insights that guide investigations and crime prevention strategies? Explore the analytical techniques used by contemporary law enforcement and public safety organizations to identify crime patterns, assess emerging problems, and inform operational decisions. You will examine the principles and practices of crime and intelligence analysis, including how analysts collect, interpret, and communicate information that supports investigative, tactical, and strategic decision-making. The course also considers the role of analysts within justice organizations and the legal and policy frameworks that shape their work. Through applied exercises and case-based simulations using real-world data sources, you will develop practical analytical skills used to address common crime problems and support effective public safety strategies.
• MET CJ 620: Cyberterrorism and Cyber Defense
  How can cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure be identified, analyzed, and prevented? In this course, you will examine the evolving nature of cyberterrorism and the risks posed to national security, public safety, and critical systems. Drawing on cyber intelligence methods and real-world case studies, the course explores how malicious actors conduct information attacks, target infrastructure systems, and exploit digital technologies to advance extremist or criminal objectives. Working in a laboratory environment, you will analyze cyber incidents, examine attack strategies, and develop defensive and policy responses. By the end of the course, you will understand how cyber intelligence, digital investigation, and security strategies are used to detect, assess, and counter cyber-enabled threats to critical infrastructure.
• MET CJ 632: Financial Crimes in the Digital Age
  Why do financial crimes continue to evolve as technology advances? Examine economic and corporate crime in today’s digital world, where fraud, corporate misconduct, fintech systems, and cryptocurrency reshape how financial offenses are committed and investigated. You will explore how organizational behavior, regulatory structures, and technological change influence fraud risks and enforcement challenges, while gaining practical insight into how investigators, regulators, and organizations detect, prevent, and respond to financial crime. By the end, you will better understand how financial crime operates in the digital age and how these insights apply to careers in investigation, compliance, and cybersecurity.
• MET CJ 640: Performance Management Analytics
  How can justice organizations use data to strengthen performance, accountability, and public trust? Explore how analytical tools support modern management and decision-making across policing, courts, corrections, and community-based organizations. You will examine contemporary performance management approaches and learn how data can be used to assess effectiveness, fairness, transparency, and responsiveness within justice systems. Working with real-world data sources, you will develop skills in identifying meaningful performance measures, organizing and analyzing datasets, and interpreting findings in organizational contexts. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to translate data into clear analytical products—such as reports and dashboards—that inform management decisions and support accountability to both agency leadership and community stakeholders.
• MET CJ 650: Terrorism
  This course will include a general introduction to the overt as well as underlying ideology, history, reasons and causes of terrorism. Both domestic and international terrorism will be discussed. Domestic hate groups will also receive particular attention. The roles of politics and the media will be discussed. Students will be exposed to the philosophies of terrorists and terrorism. Counter terrorism will also be discussed at length. Students are expected to participate actively in the course. There will be written assignments, a midterm, a class presentation, and a final paper.
• MET CJ 660: Gender and Justice
  This course examines the role of gender in both criminal behavior and the societal response to crime. Gender affects criminal behavior, structures our responses to crime, and presents unique challenges for the criminal justice system. While the course examines the role of gender in these ways for both men and women, the course focuses on the limitations of research, policy and practice that has focused traditionally on male offenders. The course also examines the role of gender in criminal justice organizations and processes.
• MET CJ 705: Threat Assessment
  How can potential acts of violence be identified and prevented before they occur? Explore the principles and practices of behavioral threat assessment, a structured approach used to identify, evaluate, and manage individuals who may pose a risk of targeted violence. Drawing on insights from criminology, psychology, psychiatry, and law enforcement practice, you will examine how threat assessment teams analyze behavioral indicators, contextual factors, and warning signs associated with potential acts of violence. Through case studies and research on school shootings, targeted violence, domestic violence, and lone-actor terrorism, the course explores how professionals assess risk and develop prevention strategies. The course reflects contemporary practices used by multidisciplinary threat assessment teams working to prevent targeted violence in schools, workplaces, and communities.
• MET CJ 710: Cybercrime Investigation
  How is digital evidence recovered and analyzed during cybercrime investigations? In this course, you will develop practical skills for conducting forensic examinations of computers, digital devices, and networks. Working in the Virtual Security Lab, you will learn how investigators identify, preserve, analyze, and document digital evidence related to cybercrime incidents. The course introduces industry-standard digital forensic tools and methods used in criminal investigations and legal proceedings. Through hands-on exercises and case-based scenarios, you will examine digital artifacts, reconstruct events, and prepare forensic documentation suitable for investigative and legal contexts. By the end of the course, you will understand the principles of digital forensic investigation and how digital evidence supports cybercrime enforcement and prosecution.
• MET CJ 711: Planning and Implementation
  How do justice leaders turn ideas and policies into real-world initiatives? Explore how criminal justice agencies and community organizations plan, launch, and manage programs designed to address complex public safety problems. You will learn how to conduct structured problem analysis, develop clear goals and objectives, and translate policy ideas into actionable implementation plans. The course focuses on the practical realities of planned change, including organizational resistance, political constraints, and operational challenges that shape whether initiatives succeed or fail. You will also examine strategies for monitoring and assessing new initiatives using performance and evaluation frameworks. By the end of the course, you will be better prepared to design and implement effective policies and programs in justice-system settings.
• MET CJ 720: Trauma and Crisis Intervention
  What happens when someone experiences trauma, and how can understanding those impacts help you make a difference in your community? In this course, you will explore the psychological, social, and cultural dimensions of trauma while developing practical trauma‑informed approaches for work in community, mental health, and criminal legal settings. You will examine the science of traumatic stress, the many forms trauma can take across the lifespan, and the ways individuals and communities adapt, cope, and heal. Through case studies, interdisciplinary readings, and real‑world examples, you will analyze crisis response, resilience, and the ethical complexities that arise when supporting people who have experienced harm. Throughout the semester, you will also learn from guests who are actively advancing this work. These voices bring field‑based insight, lived experience, and current practice directly into our conversations. This course equips you with skills for responding to crisis, supporting survivors, reducing vicarious trauma, and contributing to person‑centered trauma‑informed practice across diverse professional settings.
• MET CJ 725: Forensic Behavior Analysis
  What if you could better understand the “why” behind complex human behavior, especially when it brings people into contact with the justice system? Explore how insights from psychology and related behavioral sciences help justice professionals understand and respond to the diverse individuals who interact with policing, courts, corrections, and community-based programs. Examine how trauma, social context, neurodevelopment, and lived experience shape behavior and influence interactions with justice institutions. Through real-world examples, you’ll analyze topics such as risk assessment, victimization, trauma-informed practice, and the behavioral dynamics associated with serious violence. Learn how behavioral evidence and expert analyses inform investigations, court decisions, supervision strategies, and policy debates. The course prepares you to interpret behavioral information critically and apply behavioral science insights to justice-system decision-making and professional practice.
• MET CJ 750: Policing in a Democratic Society
  How can policing remain effective, legitimate, and accountable within democratic societies? Explore the complex role of policing in democratic systems, where agencies must balance public safety, constitutional authority, community trust, and political accountability. You will examine how policing strategies, organizational practices, and leadership decisions are shaped by law, public expectations, and evidence about what works to reduce crime and improve public safety. Drawing on research, policy analysis, and real-world examples, the course considers contemporary approaches to crime prevention, problem-solving, and police accountability. By the end of the course, you will be better prepared to critically evaluate policing policies and practices and understand the leadership and governance challenges facing modern police organizations.
• MET CJ 801: Special Project in Criminal Justice
  Individual faculty supervision of an independent student project demonstrating application of previous program coursework to a selected topic, issue, or theme in criminal justice. Approval of program director required prior to registration.
• MET CJ 810: Master's Thesis 1
  This is the first of two courses in the two-part thesis option available to Master’s degree program candidates in the Department of Applied Social Sciences. You must have completed at least four courses toward your degree and have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher. You are responsible for finding a thesis advisor and a principal reader within the department. Please refer to the Department for further details on the application process. Both MET CJ 810 Master’s Thesis 1 and MET CJ 811 Master’s Thesis 2 must be completed within 12 months.
• MET CJ 811: Master's Thesis 2
  This is the second of two courses in the two-part thesis option available to Master’s degree program candidates in the Department of Applied Social Sciences. You must have completed at least four courses toward your degree and have a grade point average (GPA) of 3.7 or higher. You are responsible for finding a thesis advisor and a principal reader within the department. Please refer to the Department for further details on the application process. Both MET CJ 810 Master’s Thesis 1 and MET CJ 811 Master’s Thesis 2 must be completed within 12 months.
• MET CJ 840: Applied Crime Analysis Project
  Students in the Crime Analysis (CA) concentration or certificate program are encouraged to engaged in a supervised project as part of their degree. The project is supervised by an instructor, typically the concentration area coordinator. It can be used to fulfill a 4-credit elective course within the concentration or certificate. Project-based and experiential learning activities are central to graduate professional education and to our own program's learning outcomes. The project gives students an opportunity to enhance and synthesize skills learned in other courses, apply skills to real-world problems and settings, and make connections into the professional field. Projects in the CA concentration or certificate will focus applied research and analytical methodologies and/or organizational processes connected to analysis within criminal justice or related agencies.