Degrees & Majors

The Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology program is designed to train researchers and teacher-scholars in criminal justice and criminology. The program provides intensive one-on-one mentorship, a flexible curriculum, and core teaching and research skills that enable graduates to excel in university settings as well as research think tanks. Current and former doctoral students are involved in presenting their research at regional and national conferences. Faculty members in the department have involved doctoral students in their research projects, resulting in numerous publications with students. In addition, graduate students help plan and attend research colloquia and participate in student governance.

Designed by award winning faculty in criminal justice and criminology research, the Georgia State Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree will help you advance in your career. The program offers two academic concentrations that can be earned on-campus or online: Crime and Justice or Legal Studies. The Crime and Justice concentration provides a blend of traditional criminal justice curriculum and forward thinking emphasis on digital criminology, while the Legal Studies concentration is designed for criminal justice majors desiring more intensive exposure to law often in preparation for law school. Students may also elect to pursue a minor in Digital Criminology online along with the Bachelor of Science.

Why the Criminal Justice Program at Georgia State Works

• Fair and open dialogue: Our faculty have designed a program that stresses an integrated view of the criminal justice system, highlighting relationships among the many different institutions involved and the need for cooperation and humane practices across: law enforcement, the courts, corrections, and the juvenile justice system.
• Theoretical framework combined with current events: You will study how our criminal justice system was designed and examine the parts of the system, including the roles of victims and offenders. Paired with an examination of the causes and consequences of traditional and digital crime, you will receive a comprehensive criminal justice education to prepare you for a career that is relevant to the critical issues facing justice agencies of today and tomorrow.
• Your success matters: You will work with the undergraduate advisement center throughout your time at Georgia State to make sure you are enrolling in the correct courses.

Because a bachelor’s degree at Georgia State also requires general education classes, you will find yourself speaking more clearly and effectively, thinking more analytically and critically evaluating the materials you read by the time you graduate.

The Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology offers a minor in criminal justice to all undergraduate Georgia State students.  The minor is comprised of 15 credit hours and offer students the opportunity to complement their major studies with practical, career-orientated courses that will lead to additional skill sets marketable to the public or private sector.

Why our program works

• Fair and open dialogue: Our faculty have designed a program that stresses an integrated view of the criminal justice system, highlighting relationships among the many different institutions involved and the need for cooperation and humane practices across law enforcement, the courts, corrections and the juvenile justice system.
• Theoretical framework combined with current events: You will study how our criminal justice system was designed and examine the parts of the system, including the roles of victims and offenders. Paired with an examination of the causes and consequences of traditional and digital crime, you will receive a comprehensive criminal justice education to prepare you for a career that is relevant to the critical issues facing justice agencies of today and tomorrow.
• Your success matters: You will work with the undergraduate advisement center throughout your time at Georgia State to make sure you are enrolling in the correct courses

The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology emphasizes issues of crime and justice occurring in urban environments from a multicultural, interdisciplinary perspective to inform science, policy and practice. The department produces students who are critical and ethical thinkers, knowledgeable about the issues of crime and justice, and prepared for leadership positions in public and private criminal justice.

An undergraduate degree in economics prepares students with the quantitative and qualitative skills to think critically and learn how to make optimal decisions. Students will learn by doing with a curriculum taught by nationally acclaimed economists and faculty. The BA program has a qualitative focus with a foreign language requirement.

Leveraging Georgia State University’s internationally renowned economics faculty and research centers, the STEM-designated Master of Arts (M.A.) in Economics program at GSU’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies takes a pioneering approach to economics that emphasizes public policy and empirical evaluation.

Our broad and customizable curriculum combines the latest theoretical advances with the analytical skills and practical experience you’ll need to tackle the complex problems facing analysts and economists today. As a student in our innovative program, you’ll learn the fundamentals of economic theories as they apply to:

• The environment
• Education
• Economic development
• Healthcare
• Public finance
• Social welfare and other pressing public issues.

The economics master's degree prepares you for:

• Careers in the private sector and in local, state and federal government.
• Doctoral programs in economics and other disciplines or teaching careers at the secondary level.
• Applying complex analytical skills that utilize micro and macroeconomic theory and mathematical statistics, combining the qualities of advanced coders as well as deep thinkers.
• An economics degree also combines well with training in other disciplines such as finance, real estate, political science, psychology or history.

The certificate program in Nonprofit Management and Social Enterprise has two focuses. First, it will cover the skills in management, economic decision-making, marketing, fundraising and financial management that graduates can use (but which they are unlikely to get on the job) in any part of the nonprofit sector: social service provision, education, health, the arts, the environment, international relief or religion. Second, while most nonprofit management certificates have an exclusively practitioner focus, the Andrew Young School program will prepare students interested in pursuing nonprofit studies in graduate programs in public administration, policy analysis or economics.

This certificate will serve two main groups of professionals: those in the nonprofit sector who want to acquire new skills or need a credential to advance professionally, and those outside the sector wishing to enter.

Georgia State's Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Studies (B.I.s.) helps students become familiar with and capable of contributing to ongoing debates about the nature of good political and economic institutions, as well as the policies and practices that are best suited for creating and sustaining them. Students will develop the intellectual skills of the social scientist, who seeks to understand how the social world operates, and the moral philosopher, who seeks to critically evaluate the social world in relation to how it ought to be.

This interdisciplinary program makes use of the analytically rigorous tools of its three disciplines to promote serious thought about practical issues, allowing students to delve deep into moral, social, political and economic issues. This program is great for pre-law students preparing for law school and a career in law.

PPE graduates contribute intelligently to public dialogue, many in positions of power in government and corporate life. The PPE program supports the Civil Discourse Forum, a student group that encourages discussion of controversial issues and is often led by PPE students.

To learn more about our program's faculty, events and related resources, go to the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics homepage.

The Graduate Certificate program in Policy Analytics provides students with state-of-the-art data analytics skills applied specifically to questions and issues in the public and nonprofit sectors. Policy analytics examines large, structured and unstructured data for insights, prediction, and evaluation of individual and organizational behavior, spatial forms, public and nonprofit programs.

Students who pursue a certificate in Public Analytics benefit in several ways:

• Enhanced Analytical Skills: Specialized training in techniques and tools for decision-making in the public sector. The ability to effectively collect, interpret, and analyze data to derive valuable insights is highly sought after in today's data-driven world.
• Competitive Advantage: Demonstration of professional development and commitment to contemporary methodologies. Employers value candidates with confidence in using data and evidence to drive decision-making.
• Career Opportunities: Roles such as data analyst, policy analyst, program evaluator, or strategic planner. Public analytics is a rapidly growing field with a wide range of career opportunities in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, consulting firms, and research institutions.
• Professional Networking: Valuable connections, mentorship opportunities, and access to job openings. Building a strong professional network enhances career prospects and provides ongoing support for personal and professional growth.

Georgia State University's College of Law and the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies offer a joint Master of Public Administration/Juris Doctor degree. This joint program provides an opportunity to pursue studies in law, public affairs and public management concurrently. Students in the program use credit hours earned in one program to satisfy some or all of the elective course requirements for the other program, earning both degrees one to two terms earlier than would be required to earn each separately.