Who We Are:

The Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime and Justice is designed for professionals and university graduates wishing to specialize in the fields of comparative criminal justice, international criminology, cybercriminology, international criminal law, international policing, human rights, and transnational crime.

The focus of our program is on illegal cross-border activities including drug trafficking, arms smuggling, wildlife crime, money laundering, and human trafficking; serious violations of human rights such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression; factors that facilitate and shape transnational and international crimes, including technology; the impact of cybercrimes on society; and the process of preventing and responding to international, transnational and cyber organized crime in a global context.  It introduces students to the legal and institutional frameworks and measures used to facilitate international cooperation.

Through a combination of core and elective coursework totaling 36 credits, students admitted to the Master of Arts Degree Program in International Crime and Justice:

• Integrate interdisciplinary knowledge to explain the causes and consequences of international, transnational, and cyber organized crimes, and to analyze and assess the workings of institutions, mechanisms, and processes of international criminal justice, as well as related developments in law and policy worldwide.
• Critically analyze and apply research techniques in international crime and justice to the planning and execution of applied research projects.

Our Mission:

Graduates of the program will enter the job market equipped with advanced, substantive knowledge and the analytical and research skills necessary to pursue careers that include the fields of investigation, policing, counterterrorism, crime analysis, financial crimes, international human rights, anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, and doctoral programs.

Our Program

The Master of Arts in International Crime and Justice reflects the College’s commitment to the internationalization of criminal justice education and builds on the strengths of our undergraduate degree in international criminal justice by opening the possibility of graduate education in this field. This is the first program of this nature in the United States. 

The MA in International Crime and Justice combines advanced substantive knowledge of international crime challenges and domestic and international responses, with analytic and research techniques in an interdisciplinary framework. It examines new forms of transnational crimes and emerging security threats and aims to produce graduates with a truly global outlook on criminal justice, a moral commitment to international justice, and professional competence in the increasingly multicultural workforce. 

Modality and Timeframe

This program is offered fully on campus and fully online. Thirty-six (36) credits are required to complete your graduate program. Students should be able to complete the coursework in two (2) years if they maintain full-time status (defined as 9 credits per semester over two years) or in four (4) years if they study part-time. Winter and summer courses are available, enabling faster progress toward graduation. Students have up to eight years to complete their coursework and are allowed a maximum of 60 credits.

On-campus:

• Spring and fall semesters are 15 weeks long.
• On-campus classes are 15 weeks: 14 weeks of classes and one exam week.
• Due to the difficulty of graduate courses, on-campus students are recommended to take no more than 9 credits per semester. They may take 12 credits if authorized by the Program Director, and up to 15 credits with special authorization from the Program Director and the Dean of Academic Programs.
• On-campus students are allowed to take five online classes throughout their time in the program.

Online:

• Online classes divide the 15-week semester into two sections that consist of 8-week-1 and 8-week-2.
• Example: 8-week-1 would run from January 26 to March 22, and 8-week-2 would run from March 29 to May 23.
• Online students are NOT allowed to take on-campus classes unless they permanently switch their learning modality to on campus and complete their Immunization documenation with the Admissions Department.
• Students are allowed only two 8-week-1 and two 8-week-2 courses per semester; no authorization will be given to circumvent this regulation.   
• Summer classes may be offered in 8-week-1 and 8-week-2, 5-week-1 and 5-week-2, or 3-week-1 sections, depending on availability.
  • Students may take one class per 8-week-1 and one per 8-week-2 session; one class per 5-week-1 and one per 5-week-2 session; one 3-week.
• Winter classes are three weeks long. Students are allowed only one course per winter term.

Admission Requirements:

1. Must have completed a bachelor’s degree with GPA of 3.0 or higher
2. Provide at least two letters of reference (academic references highly recommended and preferred)
3. Personal statement
4. Submit an online application
5. For foreign students: Proof of English language proficiency

How to Apply:

For more information regarding the application process, please visit the Graduate Admissions website at www.jjay.cuny.edu/graduate

Check for application deadlines at: www.jjay.cuny.edu/application-deadline

Required Courses

Current List of ICJ Core Courses (updated February 3, 2025)

The Master of Arts in International Criminal Justice requires 36 credits consisting of seven (7) required CORE courses (21 credits) and five (5) ELECTIVES courses (15 credits; see the list of courses below).

• ICJ 700     International Crime and Justice Theory    
• ICJ 701     Illegal Markets and Economic Justice    
• ICJ 702     Comparative Criminal Justice Systems    
• ICJ 703     International Criminal Law
• ICJ 706     Transnational and Cyber Organized Crime    
• ICJ 715     Applied Research Methods in International Crime and Justice    
• ICJ 770     Capstone Course in International Crime and Justice

Electives may be selected from the list below or from any of the graduate courses offered at John Jay and CUNY, subject to the approval of the graduate program director. Students may use their elective credits to complete courses toward the Advanced Certificate in Transnational Organized Crime Studies or Terrorism Studies, or students can take a combination of different electives chosen from the list of approved electives below. 

Students who have completed at least one semester in the IC&J MA Program (min 6 credits) and have a GPA 3.0 or above are eligible to take the following electives: Internship (6 credits) & Thesis I & Thesis II (6 credits). The thesis elective is taken over a period of two semester sequence (ICJ 791 and ICJ 792).  The Internship course (ICJ 780) is an online course which is accompanied by a mandatory 180 hours in an internship site. Placements in internship sites are arranged at the initiative of the student in consultation with the Center for Career and Professional Development Center and the program director.  Students interested in the internship elective should start their search for an internship site at least a semester in advance. Students are encouraged to pursue one or more internships during their graduate studies, even if they are not taking the Internship elective course, potentially as an Independent Study (3 credits). If students are interested in these options, they should contact the Program Director early in their programs.

Approved Electives

Current List of ICJ Approved Electives (updated February 3, 2025)

International Crime & Justice Courses

• ICJ 704     Crime, Justice, and Cultural Struggles
• ICJ 705     Human Rights and Counterterrorism
• ICJ 720     Crime and Justice in the Balkans
• ICJ 721     International Perspectives on Women in Criminal Justice
• ICJ 723     Digital Technologies and Wildlife Crime
• ICJ 725     Environmental Crime
• ICJ 726     Drug Trafficking
• ICJ 728     History of Genocide            
• ICJ 729     Organized Crime: An International Perspective            
• ICJ 730     Human Trafficking in the Digital Age
• ICJ 731     Online Criminal Markets
• ICJ 735     Gender Justice for Conflict Related Sexual and Gender-Based Violence         
• ICJ 750     Special Topics in International Crime and Justice       
• ICJ 755     Terrorism and Transnational Crime
• ICJ 760     Countering Transnational and Cyber Organized Crime
• ICJ 762     Anti-Money Laundering, Cryptocurrencies and Corruption
• ICJ 765     Intelligence in National Security and Policing
• ICJ 780     Internship Course (6 credits*)
• ICJ 791     International Crime and Justice Thesis I
• ICJ 792     International Crime and Justice Thesis II         
• ICJ 794     International Crime and Justice Independent Study
• ICJ 798     Faculty-Mentored Research in International Crime and Justice

Criminal Justice Courses

• CRJ 713     White-Collar Crime   
• CRJ 727/FCM 727     Cybercriminology
• CRJ 739     Crime Mapping
• CRJ 744     Terrorism and Politics
• CRJ 746     Terrorism and Apocalyptic Violence
• CRJ 759     Comparative Police Administration
• CRJ 784     Organized Crime
• CRJ 789     Violence Across the Globe
• CRJ 797     Homeland Security and International Relations
• CRJ 798     Homeland Security and Terrorism

Human Rights Courses

• HR 701     International Human Rights: Organizations and Institutions
• HR 711     Human Rights and Humanitarianism
• HR 712     Civil and Political Rights and Civil Liberties
• HR 713     Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Public Administration Courses

• PAD 718     International Public Policy and Administration
• PAD 746     Comparative Public Administration
• PAD 772     International Inspection and Oversight

Psychology

• PSY 705     Victimology
• PSY 729     Terrorism
• PSY 746     Empirical Profiling Methods

*Other courses may be accepted by exception and are subject to review by other programs. All courses are three credits unless specifically noted.

Want to learn more course information in our program, please click here.

Schedule Your Courses

On campus courses meet two hours per week during the fifteen-week fall or spring semester, and more often if offered during winter or summer.

Online courses are generally offered intensively in 8 week sessions, termed 8W1 and 8W2, during academic semesters. Summer and winter offerings are shorter.

Students who have not take undergraduate statistics must complete it during their first year and prior to enrolling in ICJ715 (Applied Research Methods in International Crime and Justice).  This requirement may be satisfied by taking Statistics 250 at the college. These credits will not count towards your graduate degree, and you may take the course pass/fail.

Military/veteran students are encouraged to consult with Military and Veterans Services.

Students will receive a program handbook with all the necessary information to complete the program successfully.