Graduate Learning Outcomes

Program Description

The MA in Criminal Justice and Public Policy (CJPP) is a program jointly run by the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Department of Political Science. This interdisciplinary program offers a unique opportunity for students to pursue advanced research in crime and the criminal justice system.

Course material combines criminological, sociological, and political science approaches to help students understand the institutions and policies that comprise the Canadian criminal justice system, the theoretical determinants of crime, and the diverse methodological approaches to studying crime.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Public Policy program will demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Articulate the functions of major criminal justice institutions (e.g., police, courts, and corrections), the Canadian legal system, the activities of actors within these institutions, and how they relate to one another as well as the broader social, political, and economic world.
  2. Explain the mechanisms, correlates, theoretical underpinnings, and situational contexts of crime, criminal behaviour and opportunity, and techniques for prevention and treatment.
  3. Evaluate how sociological, political science, and criminological theories and approaches help explain crime, control, and policy developments in criminal justice.
  4. Examine diverse perspectives about local, national, or transnational criminological issues from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.
  5. Conduct criminological, legal, and/or public policy research, and present those findings in a clear, accessible manner in written and oral forms.
  6. Formulate a research proposal and assess the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches.
  7. Analyze primary materials concerning criminal justice policy, including judicial decisions, legislation, and the Criminal Code of Canada.
  8. Evaluate criminal justice programs and policies, develop policy alternatives, and participate in social, political, criminological, and economic debates.