Online MS in Criminal Justice—Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity

At a Glance

Completion Time

8–16

Months

Credits Required

Tuition

$25,452

Part-Time*

*Based on 2025–2026 Boston University tuition and fees. Merit scholarship may reduce cost.

Gain Expertise in Digital Crimefighting

The online Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ) concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity allows students to develop competency and practical knowledge, enabling them to work with various issues related to cybercrime. By participating in the program, students will gain insight into cybercriminology and the practical digital investigative knowledge, legal practices, and policies related to cybersecurity risk assessment. In addition, going beyond understanding practical and essential knowledge of cybercrime and cybersecurity, students who successfully complete the concentration are eligible to take the forensic examiner exams.

BU MET’s Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity program is the recipient of a grant from the US Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) supporting the Student Computer Forensics and Digital Evidence Educational Opportunities Program—designed to enhance current capacities of law enforcement agencies in the areas of computer forensics and digital evidence.

Curriculum

The online Master of Science in Criminal Justice concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity consists of a total of eight courses (32 credits): four required courses and four concentration requirements.

The Boston University online Master of Science in Criminal Justice will provide you with an in-depth examination of crime and justice, including theories, trends, and policies, in fewer than two years of study. Online students pursuing a Concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity must satisfy the MS in Criminal Justice core requirements and the concentration requirements.

Core Courses

MET CJ 570 Criminology and Crime Policy

4 credits. Fall and Spring

This course explores potential answers to complex and important questions about criminal behavior by drawing on the social science of criminology. Criminology is the interdisciplinary study of the development of law, criminal phenomena and societal responses to crime. The course has two primary focuses: 1) to explore and evaluate major explanations or theories of crime and 2) understand and evaluate the policy implications of major crime problems. Because criminology is interdisciplinary, students will examine theories that are grounded in a range of academic perspectives, including sociological, biological, political, psychological and economic explanations for crime. These theories will be centered on important public policy debates about a host of contemporary problems, including: firearm violence, high post- incarceration recidivism, opioid use disorder crisis and human trafficking. Course lectures and discussions focus on the historical development of the theories, their major assumptions and propositions, their relevance for public policy and practice. As the course progresses through each explanation for crime, students will have the opportunity to critically evaluate the validity of different explanations for crime as well as criminal justice policies and practices that they support.

Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Thomas	Independent	T	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	MCS B33

Section O1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Oct 20th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Thomas	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CJ 571 Criminal Justice Administration and Ethics

4 credits. Fall and Spring

This course introduces students to the concepts of criminal justice administration and ethics. Students learn about: the management of justice system organizations, and the various debates as to how best operate the organizations making up the system. Topics covered include: organizational theory and structure, professional ethics, leadership and management styles, organizational deviance and socialization, employee motivation, and management responses to stress and burnout. The course helps students understand the characteristics of effective leadership and policy implementation in the field of criminal justice. Students also have the opportunity to analyze ethical dilemmas commonly confronted in criminal justice work.

Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Cadigan	Independent	R	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	MCS B33

Section O1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Oct 20th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Cadigan	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CJ 590 Research and Evaluation Methods

4 credits. Fall and Spring

The skills used in research method have become central to many positions within criminal justice administration and related areas. Not only are professionals required to understand and critically evaluate the program and policy science in their field to make decisions, they often employ methodological skills in program and policy development, implementation, management and assessment. This course takes students through the research process from question development to administration and reporting. It emphasizes applied research situations and settings and specifically program evaluation and assessment. After examining various research design models, the course focuses on specific techniques that inform both quantitative and qualitative evaluation studies. These include sampling procedures, survey design, interview techniques, participant observation and case studies and process evaluations.

Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Ballou	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	PSY B53

Section O2, FALL 2025 Oct 28th to Dec 15th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Silver	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CJ 591 Applied Analytical Methods

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Evidence-based and data-driven approaches to crime problems are the industry standard among criminal justice agencies and non-governmental organizations. This course will cover a variety of statistical "tools" from three broad areas: (1) descriptive statistics, (2) inferential statistics and hypothesis testing, and (3) measures of association. Students will learn how to develop research questions, describe and draw conclusions from quantitative data, and interpret statistical research findings, and be able to present these findings to a variety of audiences in a clear and accurate way -- to be able to "tell a story" with numbers. In addition, students will develop a proficiency working with large data sets and conducting analysis with a critical lens, using the analytical software -- Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) -- commonly used in criminal justice and related fields.

Section O2, FALL 2025 Oct 28th to Dec 15th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Holt	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Concentration Requirements

MET CJ 610 Cybercrime

4 credits. Fall and Spring

This course is designed to help students understand and apply the nature of computer crime in the criminal justice field. Several theories (both micro-level and macro-level) will be presented and will be analyzed in depth and applied to computer crime cases both past and present. Students will see how major theories have been re-developed to be applied to computer crime, and by using these theories, students will both develop and explore different strategies for future law enforcement. Students will be presented with common types of fraudulent schemes, as well as several laws that have been enacted and developed specifically for computer crime. In addition, causes, victimization, legal issues, control strategies, and societal costs regarding the cybercrime problem will be explored and evaluated.

Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Choi	Independent	M	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	CAS B20

Section O1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Oct 20th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Choi	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Plus two courses from the following list:

MET CJ 620 Cyberterrorism and Cyber Defense

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Cyber-terrorists continuously leverage sophisticated techniques in efforts to attack the nation's critical infrastructures by damaging their functionalities and stealing highly sensitive intellectual property, private information, and valuable assets. This course is designed to explore a new explanatory angle for studying cyberterrorism issues from a cyber- intelligence perspective. Major cyberterrorism cases will be empirically analyzed and applied into a lab environment for gaining hands-on-experience and to develop defensive strategies and counter measures. This course aims to examine three main types of cyberterrorism 1) Information Attacks, 2) Infrastructure Attacks, and 3) Technology Facilitation for building both technical capability and a set of policy recommendations to counter these potential threats.

Section O2, FALL 2025 Oct 28th to Dec 15th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Choi	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CJ 632 White-Collar Crime

4 credits. Fall and Spring

This course introduces students to the concept of white collar crime as an area of scientific inquiry and theory formation. It critically examines the latest scholarship on the subject by looking at white collar crime through a multiplicity of perspectives and reference points. These range from focus on the offense, offender, legal structure, organizational structure, individual, and organizational behavior, to victimization and guardianship, with special attention on the interaction between these components. The course also assesses the nature, extent, and consequences of white collar crime nationally and internationally. To enhance the understanding of white collar crime in today's Information Technology development, the course will pay special attention to roles of IT including fintech and cryptocurrency connections within white collar crime. It will also introduce rapidly emerging cybercrime issues while discussing various challenges of cybercrime investigation and limited digital forensics tools. Finally, the course examines current criminal justice system efforts at controlling white collar crime. Given the relative ineffectiveness of traditional criminal justice responses, alternative systems of control will be examined, ranging from compliance and regulations, private security, and public opinion, to prevention. Students will visit the websites of various government agencies or professional organizations to explore their functions and their current efforts to fight white collar crimes. Finally, many tangible research- based suggestions will be made regarding actions that organizations and businesses can take to reduce losses accrued due to white collar crime.

MET CJ 812 Cybersecurity Capstone

4 credits.

Information systems and data protection continue to be a challenge on a global scale. Devastating cyber-attacks have increased and show no sign of slowing down. This course is designed to enhance the student's capabilities and potential to identify and mitigate cybersecurity threats through the application of relevant threat modeling as well as the application of best practice tools and techniques to reduce the threat to organizations, users, and systems. The course aims to enhance the current capacities of higher education to better serve students of cybersecurity, leading to improved cybercrime investigations and successful prosecutions. This course is a three-phased approach to educating students in the development of a hacker mindset to better understand adversarial cybersecurity threats, attacks, and techniques. The three-phased approach for this course includes 1) Cybersecurity Threat Modeling, 2)Cybersecurity Tools and Techniques, and 3) Cybersecurity Practical Exercises. Classroom activities, discussions, and assignments will address all three phases and progressively prepare the student to perform at a high level in a culminating applied final project.

MET CS 684 Enterprise Cybersecurity Management

4 credits. Fall and Spring

This course covers important topics that students need to understand in order to effectively manage a successful cybersecurity and privacy program, including governance, risk management, asset classification and incidence response. Students are first introduced to cybersecurity & privacy policy frameworks, governance, standards, and strategy. Risk tolerance is critical when building a cybersecurity and privacy program that supports business goals and strategies. Risk management fundamentals and assessment processes will be reviewed in depth including the methodology for identifying, quantifying, mitigating and controlling risks. Asset classification and the importance of protecting Intellectual Property (IP) will prepare students to understand and identify protection mechanisms needed to defend against malicious actors, including industry competitors and nation states. Incident Response programs will cover preparation and responses necessary to triage incidents and respond quickly to limit damage from malicious actors.

Section A1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Campbell	Independent	W	06:00:00 PM–08:45:00 PM	CDS 263

Section O2, FALL 2025 Oct 28th to Dec 15th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Pak	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

MET CS 693 Digital Forensics and Investigations

4 credits. Fall and Spring

Provides a comprehensive understanding of digital forensics and investigation tools and techniques. Learn what computer forensics and investigation is as a profession and gain an understanding of the overall investigative process. Operating system architectures and disk structures are discussed. Studies how to set up an investigator's office and laboratory, as well as what computer forensic hardware and software tools are available. Other topics covered include importance of digital evidence controls and how to process crime and incident scenes, details of data acquisition, computer forensic analysis, e-mail investigations, image file recovery, investigative report writing, and expert witness requirements. Provides a range of laboratory and hands-on assignments either in solo or in teams. With rapid growth of computer systems and digital data this area has grown in importance. Prereq: Working knowledge of windows computers, including installing and removing software. Access to a PC meeting the minimum system requirements defined in the course syllabus.

Section E1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Dec 10th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Arena	Independent	S	09:00:00 AM–12:00:00 PM	MET 101

Section O1, FALL 2025 Sep 2nd to Oct 20th
Instructor	Type	Days	Times	Location
Navarro	Independent	ARR	12:00:00 AM–12:00:00 AM

Dates & Deadlines

View BU MET’s academic calendar for online programs, including important dates and deadlines.

Application Requirements

Learn about application requirements for BU MET graduate degree and certificate programs.

How You Benefit from a
Boston University Education

A BU credential can help lay the foundation for career advancement and personal success.

Benefit from a 24:1 average student-to-instructor ratio
Engage with case studies, simulations using real data, and hands-on problem solving to develop practical skills you can immediately apply on the job.
Collaborate with faculty who have subject-matter expertise, research-based insight, and extensive field experience in law enforcement, corrections, cybercrime investigation and digital forensics, research and policy, forensic mental health, the judicial system, strategic management, and many other areas.
Network with a global community of criminal justice professionals.
Learn from the best—BU MET has offered criminal justice education since 1973, introducing the master’s degree in criminal justice in 1980, which became BU’s first fully online program in 2002.

All graduate students are automatically considered for merit scholarships during the application process and nominated based on eligibility. Learn more.

Rankings & Accreditations

U.S. News & World Report - Best Online Programs - Criminal Justice 2025

#6 in 2025, and top 6 since 2015

MET’s online master’s degree in criminal justice is ranked #6 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report for 2025.

U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs - Veterans - Criminal Justice 2025

#10, Best Online Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs for Veterans

MET’s online master’s degree in criminal justice is ranked #10 in the nation for veterans and active-duty service members by U.S. News & World Report for 2025.

Graduate with Cybersecurity Expertise

In addition to the knowledge gained in the MSCJ core, students who complete the Criminal Justice master’s degree concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity will be able to:

Understand various criminological perspectives, including cybercriminals’ mindset and the motivational factors that contribute to the committing of illegal activities.
Evaluate enforcement and sanctioning issues particular to the nature of cybercrime, and identify specific problems with the use of new technology in international jurisdiction.
Formulate criminological strategies for the prevention of cybercrime.
Comprehend issues around the legal admissibility of digital evidence and recognize various cybercrime environment issues in the course of a cybercrime investigation.
Exhibit comprehensive knowledge of cybercrime-focused digital forensics and develop the ability to apply digital forensic knowledge to cybercrime cases.
Use state-of-the-art digital forensic tools of the industry with an adequate degree of proficiency and gain essential preparation for the Digital Forensic Examiner certification exams.
Understand the process of conducting computer crime investigation and indicating security characteristics, threats, and responses via security measure assessment from technology; policy and practice; and education, training, and awareness dimensions.
Practice risk management—identification, quantification, response, and control—and disaster recovery procedures and countermeasures for the business enterprise.

“I believe my degree will make me more competitive for advancement within my agency…what I learned has made me sharper and more familiar with progressive policing strategies. Most importantly, my degree has provided me with additional cyber and investigative skills that I can use to contribute to my work as a member of the Rhode Island State Police.” Read more.

Matthew Moynihan (MET’19)
Captain, Rhode Island State Police
MS, Criminal Justice, concentration in Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity

Advance Your Career

With cybercrime occurring globally, and across jurisdictions, the challenges for police are real, as is the need for specialized resources and expertise in cybercrime investigation training. The Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity concentration of BU MET’s MS in Criminal Justice focuses on developing the competency and practical knowledge needed to work with various issues related to cybercrime. In this program, you will gain insight into cybercriminology and the practical digital investigative knowledge, legal practices, and policies related to cybersecurity risk assessment. As a graduate, you will be eligible to take the forensic examiner certification exams.

You also have the option to complete both the Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity concentration and the Crime Analysis concentration by completing just ten courses (40 credits). See Dual Concentration for more information.

Recent graduates have found job opportunities and career paths in organizations such as:

Louisiana State Police
Pennsylvania State Police
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
Wilmington Police Department
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Capital One
Roger Williams University

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
United States Army
Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC)
United States Department of Justice (DOJ)
United States Department of State (DOS)

Take Advantage of Career Resources at BU MET

You will find the support you need in reaching your career goals through MET’s Career Development office, which offers a variety of job-hunting resources, including one-on-one career counseling by appointment for online students. You can also take advantage of tools and resources available online through BU’s Center for Career Development.

Criminal Justice Faculty

Shea W. Cronin

Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice

Chair, Applied Social Sciences

Kyung-shick Choi

Professor of the Practice, Criminal Justice

Director, Cybercrime & Cybersecurity

Danielle Rousseau

Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice

James M. Silver

Visiting Associate Professor, Criminal Justice

View All Faculty

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Online Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Cybercrime Investigation & Cybersecurity Concentration

At a Glance

Gain Expertise in Digital Crimefighting