Criminal Justice Master’s in Homeland Security & Emergency Management

Master’s Degrees | Criminal Justice | Emergency Management and Homeland Security Emphasis

Online Master of Criminal Justice Degree—Homeland Security and Emergency Management Emphasis

When a natural disaster occurs, where do you want to be? Are you someone who volunteers for relief efforts or rises to the challenge of getting everyone through the crisis? If you view yourself as a leader who takes charge to protect and serve your community, apply to the University of Mississippi’s online Master of Criminal Justice degree with a Homeland Security and Emergency Management emphasis.

About the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Emphasis

Demand for emergency management and homeland security professionals has soared over the past 20 years. In developing emphasis areas for the online Master of Criminal Justice degree, Ole Miss studied market conditions and employment shifts. We strive to develop the next generation of criminal justice, emergency management, and homeland security professionals who are ready to meet the challenge and protect their communities.

Are you someone who seeks to advance as a specialized law enforcement professional? Do you want to change careers to a role where you’ll support your community through challenges? Our online format is flexible enough to adapt to working professionals with this motivation.

Program Objectives

Whatever your background, our program instills and expands your knowledge with a higher-level understanding of criminal justice topics before preparing you to courageously lead and effectively respond in the event of a natural or manmade disaster.

Acquire the skills and mindset to make informed, intelligent choices in high-pressure, chaotic situations.
Learn to build and lead confident, competent teams, apply for funding to support your efforts, create and review emergency response plans, and direct others toward your goals in times of crisis.
Acclimate yourself to the ethical dilemmas emergency management professionals face, and use this knowledge to prepare for and react to future incidents.
Improve your conflict resolution skills and understanding of criminal justice policy in relation to emergency management and homeland security operations.

Gain the practical competencies to assess hazards, coordinate and share resources, and analyze the damage following an incident.
Develop the skills to respond to and lead others during natural and manmade disasters, public safety and terrorism incidents, and infrastructure failures.
Learn strategies for disaster mitigation, crisis management, recovery operations, and leading and supporting your community through uncertainty.
Thoroughly understand all components of national security, including terrorism, counterterrorism, hazard management, infrastructure protection, intelligence, resource planning, and threat analysis.
Strengthen your communication and leadership skills as you examine and address a spectrum of disaster and security situations.

Homeland Security and Emergency Management Curriculum

Criminal justice and the specializations of emergency management and homeland security overlap across multiple areas. Setting you up for success, you’ll start with the online Master of Criminal Justice 12-credit core curriculum consisting of four foundational courses before proceeding onto four (4) electives. A two (2) course-sequence (6 credits) capstone project serves as the culmination of your education.

Core

Criminal justice and the specializations of emergency management and homeland security overlap across multiple areas. Setting you up for success, you’ll start with the online Master of Criminal Justice core curriculum. These four (4) courses deliver a detailed, in-depth perspective of behavioral theory and policy analysis in criminal justice, elevate your practical skills with advanced methodological and theoretical knowledge, and encourage you to make research- and evidence-based decisions:

All core courses last eight weeks each, and you’ll be expected to maintain a minimum B- average. Existing law enforcement professionals embarking on this path further find they can readily apply these concepts to their existing careers.

Emphasis and Electives

As part of this 30-credit, 10-course program, you’ll complete four (4) electives—three (3) of which are dedicated to your selected concentration—helping you gain an in-depth understanding of emergency management and homeland security theories, practical concepts, and leadership skills essential for practical workforce skills and covering all stages of disaster management. All emphasis courses and electives are scheduled in eight-week blocks and are valued at three (3) credits each.

*May be taken two times with a different topic.

You’ll have the option of fulfilling the remaining elective requirements with emergency management and homeland security topics or you can cultivate your management potential further with courses in Criminal Justice Leadership.

Capstone

The online Master of Criminal Justice prepares you not only to practice but to become a thought leader in the field. Nationally recognized experts teach all courses, and learning from their example, you’ll produce a capstone project (CJ C92 and CJ 693) before graduating.

You’ll analyze and research a topic or pressing issue in emergency management or homeland security. Through the guidance of our expert, nationally recognized faculty, you’ll write and present a paper introducing your findings and solution. To graduate, students must complete this course with a grade of B- or above.

Careers in Homeland Security and Emergency Management

Today, careers across these agencies, as well as in nonprofit and for-profit organizations, span defense and emergency management roles in law enforcement, immigration, disaster, cybersecurity, and terrorism efforts. In search of accomplished professionals, these agencies and organizations will need 4% more emergency management directors by 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as:

Disaster mitigation and prevention professionals;
Risk management specialists;
Loss prevention security analysts;
Security operations professionals;
Crisis recovery managers;
Emergency response coordinators; and
Criminal and cybercrime investigators.

Career Context

The introduction of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 20 years ago sparked a sudden demand for criminal justice professionals, a need that has only grown. Beyond traditional law enforcement positions, this organization, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and various state- and local-level organizations, secures our borders, responds in the event of a natural disaster, and, in more recent years, has ramped up cybersecurity efforts to address web-based breaches.

Career Outlook

For current and future efforts, federal organizations within the vast DHS spectrum—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), US Coast Guard, US Customs and Border Protection, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and US Secret Service—look for distinguished, detail-oriented individuals with a background in emergency management or homeland security. Demand for leaders and specialists in the field is particularly strong in coastal and floodplain areas, as well as in regions prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires.

Rise to the Challenge with an Online Master’s Degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from Ole Miss

Direct your career path toward your goals and the future of your community with the Ole Miss Online Master of Criminal Justice degree with a Homeland Security and Emergency Management emphasis.

To learn more before starting an application, contact our Coordinator of Advising, Recruitment, and Retention Andy King to set up an appointment to talk more about the program, your interests and needs, and your future.