Graduate Certificate in Strategic Management in Criminal Justice

Available on campus and online, the Graduate Certificate in Strategic Management in Criminal Justice at Boston University’s Metropolitan College offers an interdisciplinary curriculum designed to provide the skills needed to face contemporary criminal justice challenges and lead reforms.

Effective leadership in the increasingly complex field of criminal justice requires a strong footing in ethics, management, and analysis, as well as the ability to keep pace with issues that include the realities of terrorism, the emergence of cybercrime, questions of police legitimacy, and stagnant correctional outcomes in terms of recidivism among offenders. The Strategic Management certificate will help students to develop valuable skills that enhance the ability to analyze diverse problems and develop sound, sustainable policies that are guided by logic, evidence, and analysis—making it the ideal credential for experienced, mid-career criminal justice professionals who seek to advance into the policymaking ranks in their agencies.

This program requires an average of 8–12 months to complete. Students may begin the program in the fall, spring, or summer term.

Learning Outcomes

  • Expertise in organizational structures and processes of the criminal justice system along with the classical and contemporary theories of organizations, planning, and change.
  • The ability to apply planning, implementation, monitoring, assessment skills, and knowledge to criminal justice policy, programs, and practices.
  • Proficient comprehension of quantitative and qualitative practices that enhance organizational decisionmaking, evaluation, and accountability.

Admissions Information

For current admissions information, please visit the Metropolitan College website.

Certificate Requirements

A total of four courses (16 units) is required, as follows:

  • MET CJ 571 Criminal Justice Administration and Ethics
  • MET CJ 640 Performance Management Analytics
  • MET CJ 711 Planning and Implementation
  • One course selected from the list below:
    • MET AD 612 COO–Public Emergency Management
    • MET CJ 511 Rehabilitation and Re-Integration
    • MET CJ 512 Sexual Violence
    • MET CJ 520 Violence and Trauma
    • MET CJ 531 Youth Crime Problems
    • MET CJ 610 Cybercrime
    • MET CJ 612 Crime and Intelligence Analysis
    • MET CJ 620 Cyberterrorism and Cyber Defense
    • MET CJ 625 Victimology
    • MET CJ 632 White-Collar Crime
    • MET CJ 650 Terrorism
    • MET CJ 660 Gender and Justice
    • MET CJ 705 Threat Assessment
    • MET CJ 710 Applied Digital Forensic Investigation
    • MET CJ 720 Trauma and Crisis Intervention
    • MET CJ 725 Forensic Behavior Analysis
    • MET CJ 750 Policing in a Democratic Society
    • MET CJ 775 Seminar in the Law and Criminal Procedure
    • MET CJ 801 Special Project in Criminal Justice
    • MET UA 507 Law and Justice in the City

    With advisor approval, students may choose to take courses outside of the electives list.