Department Information and Typical Discipline-Specific Academic Degree & Qualifications1 of faculty within Criminal Justice

The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) in the College of Arts and Sciences brings together many of Florida International University's internationally oriented disciplines to provide cutting-edge research, first-rate teaching, and innovative training necessary for the globalized world of the 21st century. SIPA includes four signature departments: Politics and International Relations, Global and Sociocultural Studies, Public Administration, and Criminal Justice.

The Department offers both bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice on-site and fully online and a criminal justice administration specialization in the doctoral program in public management. A joint JD/master's degree program is also offered in collaboration with FIU's College of Law. Internship opportunities are plentiful for our undergraduate students, as we have internship placement agreements with over 45 local, state and federal agencies. Our combined bachelor's/master's degree program is also popular among our undergraduate students. This program affords qualified undergraduate students the opportunity to take 12 credit hours of approved graduate courses, which can then be counted as dual credit for both the undergraduate and graduate degrees in criminal justice.

Degrees offered

The Criminal Justice department offers these programs:

  • BS in Crime Science
  • BS in Criminal Justice
  • Combined BS in Criminal Justice/MS in Criminal Justice
  • MS in Criminal Justice
  • Combined MS in Criminal Justice/Master of Public Administration
  • Combined MS in Criminal Justice/ Juris Doctor
  • PHD in International Crime and Justice

Terminal Degree2 for each discipline taught in Criminal Justice

  • Ph.D. in Criminal Justice/Safety Studies (43.0104)

Related Disciplines3

  • Criminology (45.0401) - all courses
  • Sociology (45.1101) - all courses

Related Disciplines3 for specific courses

  • Law (22.0101) - all CJL courses, CCJ 2020, 3024, 3501, 3666, 4497, 5106, 5288, 5422, CJC 3010, CJE 3110, 4174 

Other Teaching Qualifications (Description of Required Academic Degree and Justifications4 for the programs in Criminal Justice)

Consideration of other teaching qualifications in lieu of academic credentials is made on a case-by-case basis and accepted in special cases where evidence of exceptional experience, research or other qualifications can be documented and are directly applicable to the course being taught.

Notes

1Whenever instructors are not credentialed by their advanced degree or by an approved CIP relationship, they must be credentialed through a narrative justification of the instructor's qualifications to teach this/these course(s). Such credentialing is based on the proposed instructor's academic and professional preparation; diplomas, certificates, or relevant licensures; publications and presentations in the field; honors, awards, and professional recognitions; and other demonstrated competencies, skills, and experiences which the instructor brings to the University. These must be clearly tied to the specific courses to be taught and should establish beyond doubt that the instructor is qualified to teach the specific courses they are to be assigned.

The Office of the Provost reviews all such justifications and where the justifications warrant the instructor's teaching the courses proposed, it will either approve the justification for the appropriate period (seven years for full-time faculty members, or four years for part-time faculty members) or employ one of two additional clearance categories beyond the advanced degree and related-discipline categories which it may use to credential some instructors where their accomplishments warrant this:

Active Research Clearance in the Discipline or Active Artistic/Special Talent Clearance in the Discipline

2The level and discipline of the terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D., MS, MFA, doctorate) that is required to teach graduate courses in the discipline

3For each discipline, all strongly-related degree(s) and/or equivalent names for the discipline (include level) that would also be appropriate for teaching at the graduate level

4(1)The appropriate academic degrees and justifications for each related degree above if not obvious; (2) the justification for why the terminal degree is not a doctorate in a discipline, e.g., specific examples of best practice in the discipline and accrediting association language; and (3) any other criteria used to determine appropriate academic qualifications to teach specialty courses in the program.

Current/Effective Date 04/02/2020