Arizona State University Reviews of Master's in Criminal Justice

Many years ago, I decided that I wanted to become a Lawyer someday, at first I wasn't relatively sure what category of law I wanted to study. From the time when I was born, I lived on a Native American reservation, the area here is rural, and to be honest, there isn't much to do. I often heard stories from my friends who lived in the city talk about going to the mall, movie theatres, and riding the bus in the metropolitan area where they reside. I was a tad jealous of the closeness and convenience... Read More of having these enjoyable places nearby. Bearing in mind that the area where I lived, we just had one grocery store, and a gas station. The nearest town is a twenty-minute drive, which has more than the reservation. However, there still is not a mall in sight. As I grew older, I appreciated my surrounding area more, and valued the beautiful stars that I would see every night, since the region wasnt filled with city lights. I had dreams of one day becoming a Tribal Attorney for my Tribe. To get myself prepared for the future and to gain experience, I took the Tribal bar exam and passed. I accepted a position as an Assistant Public Defender which didnt require a bar license or any specific college education. I began to represent tribal adults and juveniles in Court. Initially, I wasnt knowledgeable of necessary trial skills, so it was a learning process. Eventually, I became comfortable in Court and was extremely thankful for my supervisor, who was a bar licensed Attorney, since she allowed me the opportunity. I was also grateful for my Father, who was a former Domestic Violence Attorney for my Tribe, he assisted on any questions I had. Working at the Public Defender's Office for my Tribe was an excellent opportunity. However, I left my job and wanted to continue with higher education. A couple of years down the road I earned a Bachelor's degree with Arizona State University, and hope to continue Law School with my background and experience. I bring a diverse perspective to ASU Law with my experience working in a tribal government, and being able to represent individuals within my Tribe while not being bar licensed. I am glad that I chose Arizona State University to help pave the way on achieving my goals.

After finishing my bachelors in business I thought I wanted to explore a degree in Criminal Justice, ASU is ranked very high so I applied and was accepted. That's when it all fell apart. The School of Criminal Justice is horrible, to say the least. Very unprofessional, the instructors change their syllabus during the year and have a clause in the syllabus to cover them. The entire program was ran by what seems to be Dr students and have no idea how to actually run a class. The worst of all was Redner-Vera.... Read More She had no direction or continuity of the class and the syllabus. All in all very disappointing especially since I got my bachelors from there and saw amazing professors in the W.P. Carey school of business, not so much for the CRJ school.

Im a full-time online student. The ASU portal they use is extremely easy and convenient. Everything is laid out perfect for you. The classes are accelerated so that's a good thing that I'm able to graduate in 10 months. However, I find that the instructors are pretty bad and put you in bad spots to really get A's. Directions are not clear for assignments and they take forever to grade stuff & reply to emails. Seems like they grade by whatever side of the bed they get out of. I like CJ instructors... Read More to have cop backgrounds, not some young girl who researches information on cops. It helps to have experience in the field you teach. I would definitely recommend the school but beware of some bad instructors. Look them up online for reviews before registering for classes.

I researched many online institutions and eventually made the choice to attend Arizona State University. I completed my Master's in Criminal Justice mostly for my career and to eventually teach part time at the local community college. I read many mixed reviews and came to the realization that I needed to make a choice because every online institution had their pros and cons. I am very satisfied my choice and happy to have graduated from a credible institution. Remember, you will get out what you... Read More put in. So read the assigned material, put your mind and heart into every assignment and you will be glad you did. The amount of work depends on the professor. Some professors wanted a short paper every week and a final paper at the end of the course. (Each course is 7 weeks). Some professors only required discussion boards and a final exam. I never had an issue with communication. Professors or their assistants always responded quickly. Remember you are an adult. You are responsible for giving yourself enough time to get your questions answered before an assignment is due or to fix an issue.

For my major, Criminology and Criminal Justice, the Downtown Phoenix Campus is located in the ideal place for networking, research, and having access to many law enforcement and judicial opportunities. The faculty encourages independence and self-sufficiency, where as in some aspects such as mentoring could have been improved. Otherwise, the program gave workshops, seminars, and conferences dedicated to various components that make up criminal justice/criminology (i.e. juvenile justice, sex-trafficking,... Read More law school, etc...). There needs to be more minority and women faculty hired to add different perspectives to the academic environment.