Program Director: Gerardo Mares Aguilera, M.S.
Criminal Justice Data Analytics website

Degree Offered

Master of Science, Plan B only

Program Description

The master of science in criminal justice data analytics (CJDA) is an interdisciplinary program designed to bridge Marquette's data science program and criminology and law studies program. Computer science (COSC) courses compose the program's data analytics core and provide instruction and training in computer science, data science, and working with large data sets. Criminology and law studies (CRLS) courses provide the context for applying the analytical skills developed in the data analytics core to criminal justice-related topics. The culminating experience of the CJDA program takes place within a practicum. The practicum provides students with the opportunity to work independently with a local nonprofit or government agency through a community-engaged learning experience.  

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the CJDA program will be able to:

1. Identify crime analysis opportunities that can be responsibly and ethically addressed through an understanding of crime, criminal offending, the operations of criminal justice organizations, and the U.S. criminal justice system.
2. Design and implement strategies for analyzing crime data using appropriate methods, tools, and analytical approaches.
3. Analyze crime data to create actionable information, and use it to establish priorities, make decisions, and solve problems that are deemed important by community partners.
4. Display and explain the results of CJDA class projects using effective written, visual, and oral communication.
5. Use advanced data processing tools incorporating regulatory, data governance, master data management, data profiling, parallel and distributed processing best practices.

The master of science in criminal justice data analytics (CJDA) is an interdisciplinary program designed to bridge Marquette's data science and criminology and law studies programs. Computer science (COSC) courses compose the program's data analytics core and provide instruction and training in computer science, data science, and working with large data sets. Criminology and law studies (CRLS) courses provide the context for applying the analytical skills developed in the data analytics core to criminal justice-related topics. The culminating experience of the CJDA program takes place within a practicum. The practicum provides the student with an opportunity to work independently with a local non-profit or government agency through a community-engaged learning experience.  

Program Requirements

To graduate with a master of science in criminal justice data analytics, students must successfully complete 31 credits of course work.

Required Course  work

MASTER'S DEGREE WITH THE DATA SCIENCE CERTIFICATE

The Department of Computer Science offers a data science certificate. If a criminal justice data analytics master's student chooses to also earn the certificate, admission to both programs may be concurrent. The same courses may be used to satisfy the requirements of the master’s program and certificate, as outlined in the university bulletin for each program. Students are expected to be admitted into all programs they intend to complete, although course work completed prior to admission may be allowed to apply toward program requirements. 

Students who are dually enrolled in the master’s and the data science certificate may enroll in a secondary master’s that also accepts the data science certificate and complete the remaining requirements for that degree.

Details on the data science certificate can be found in this bulletin.

Accelerated Bachelor's-Master's Degree Program

Accelerated degree programs (ADPs) allow current Marquette University undergraduate students to continue on for a master's degree after completing their bachelor's degree. With proper planning, most students can complete a master's degree in one additional academic year. The ADP is designed to give Marquette University undergraduate students a more efficient means of obtaining a master of science in criminal justice data analytics (CJDA). Undergraduate students have an opportunity to enter the CJDA ADP. ADP students take classes during their senior year that meet requirements for both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. ADP students are granted early admission to the Graduate School and are allowed to take specific graduate-level courses. Students in their junior year must meet the following criteria in order to be admitted into the ADP:

• A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.000. 
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.200 in CRLS courses. 
• Completion of a computer programming course (e.g., COSC 1010 Introduction to Software Development) and a statistics course (e.g., MATH 1700 Modern Elementary Statistics, SOCI 2060 Social Statistics, or equivalent at Marquette).

Contact the Graduate School Admission Office for further clarification on any of these required courses or to discuss other options.  

University Policies

Graduate School Policies