STEUBENVILLE — Beginning this fall, Franciscan University of Steubenville will start an online master of science in criminal justice Program.

With recent approval from the Ohio Department of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission, the graduate program will build on the school’s undergraduate criminal justice program and continue to answer the growing need for well-formed justice practitioners.

“Franciscan University fully appreciates the necessary synthesis for a true criminal justice profession that blends occupational skill and best practices with a constant, unapologetic moral and ethical critique of criminal justice operations,” said Charles P. Nemeth, professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for Criminal Justice, Law and Ethics at Franciscan University.

The graduate degree program will provide a foundation in the jurisprudence of natural law and the Judeo-Christian moral tradition. It also allows students to tailor their learning through courses in emerging criminal justice specialties including cybersecurity and cybercrime, community initiatives, forensic science and investigative protocols. The courses will be taught by experienced faculty who blend theory with reality-based applications.

Thanks to the program’s flexible online format, students can earn their graduate degree and advance their careers while maintaining their professional and personal responsibilities.

“Whether you work as a police officer or police chief, legal assistant or law clerk, deputy prison warden, child advocate or victim assistance counselor, every occupation in the program will consider the moral and spiritual dynamic inherent in these functions,” Nemeth said.

Society’s shifting political and cultural landscape calls for justice practitioners with strong moral compasses, the school said. Franciscan University’s master’s program will help prepare these leaders who can serve with integrity, protect human dignity and uphold true justice.

“Our program will be unique,” said Stephen Hildebrand, vice president for academic affairs at the university. “We’ll use the wisdom of the Catholic intellectual tradition and the best of modern research and practice to help our graduates make a profound difference in our justice system.”

For information on Franciscan University’s online Master of Science in Criminal Justice Program, visit franciscan.edu/mscrjonline, or contact the admissions office at (800) 783-6220 or admissions@franciscan.edu.