Capt. Tim Gately, Redmond Police Department
MS-LEPSL Alumnus
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This nationally-ranked online criminal justice degree program is designed for experienced law enforcement, public safety, and criminal justice professionals who hold, or are seeking, management positions and wish to develop their leadership and management skills. The program is also ideal for law enforcement leaders nearing retirement and preparing for their second career.
In this program, you will learn leadership and management skills, ethical practices, and legal and policy matters that will inform your choices as a member of a public safety or law enforcement agency. Completion of all the courses in the prescribed curriculum of ten 3-unit courses and the 1-unit Integrative Capstone course, for a total of 11 courses and 31 units, is required to successfully complete this program.
Prior to beginning your first term, you’ll be required to complete the program orientation course, which generally takes about 6-8 hours. The course is self-paced but is mandatory. Please plan your schedule accordingly.
View the list of courses below, or download a PDF of all courses included in the MS in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership program.
Number of months it takes to graduate from the program
Average number of hours of coursework to expect each week
Course | Units |
---|---|
This course examines cutting-edge issues facing law enforcement and public safety including: evolving technology, legal standards regarding … |
3 |
From interpersonal communication with colleagues and citizens to formal written reports to working with the media, this course studies all o… |
3 |
This course looks at best practices regarding how individuals in law enforcement engage both broadly with the community and with key stakeho… |
3 |
In an era where evolving technology is outpacing the law, this cutting-edge course helps provide direction and answer questions around the l… |
3 |
How do law enforcement and public safety professionals lead under stress, in environments of change, and in the modern social and political … |
3 |
In today’s law enforcement and public safety field, leaders need to be able to justify resource allocation decisions, present data-driven … |
3 |
This course examines best practices for effective and impactful leadership in the dynamic, contemporary world of public safety. Relevant lea… |
3 |
How do agencies carry out reliable public policy research? Which resources do they invest in and why? Are the programs in place working? How… |
3 |
A deep and applicable understanding of emotional intelligence, human resources, and essential skills for managing workplace conflict is key … |
3 |
Would you know how to create and present a budget if asked to do so? Budget and finance is an area in which many new to a command staff posi… |
3 |
In the final course of the program sequence, students create an online portfolio to showcase what they’ve learned throughout the program. … |
1 |
*Only students in their final term will complete the Capstone course
Degree candidates are admitted throughout the year to begin their program during one of three terms (spring, summer or fall). Students will take two courses during each 14-week term, focusing on one seven-week course at a time. This master’s degree program can be completed, on average, in five terms (20 months).
Download a PDF of your degree plan that corresponds with your start term.
Important dates for your starting term can be found in the degree plan. Important dates for subsequent terms can be found in your student success center after acceptance.
Moving Up the Ranks: How a Master’s Degree Can Help You Take Your Career to the Next Level
The curriculum is designed to achieve the following learning outcomes, in addition to the graduate learning outcomes shared across all of USD’s Master’s level programs.
Effective and ethical leadership is essential to the future of American criminal justice and the safety of our communities. Our Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership degree program will nurture a series of leadership skills that represent the most current best practices for encouraging integrity and creating a culture of ethical awareness within law enforcement institutions. From process-based conflict resolution, to evidence-driven decision making, to effective leadership actions in a challenging and dynamic criminal-justice environment, our nationally recognized experts and criminal justice practitioners will cultivate both a theoretical and practical understanding of ethics in modern law enforcement.
Leadership in contemporary law enforcement is challenging and complex. Institutions that thrive often have leaders who possess strikingly diverse skill sets that include practical, professional, administrative, and leadership components. Our Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership degree program will cultivate the analytical skills, critical thinking strategies, communication abilities, legal awareness, and financial and budgetary competencies essential for effective management in law enforcement and criminal justice.
In addition, students will assess cutting-edge law enforcement technologies for improved organizational effectiveness and policing impact. Other law enforcement technologies, such as database and crime analytics will be taught in order to identify trends, hot spots, and appropriate community-based public safety responses and strategies. This program will provide a well-rounded series of practical skills that are vital both within and beyond the modern law enforcement environment.
This program not only builds the skills to look outward on social and criminal justice issues, but also to look inward at our own public safety institutions. Critical reflection and assessment of law enforcement institutions, in the context of its own dynamic environment, is essential for law enforcement leaders. Collectively, we will learn and practice the research methodologies and statistical tools for ethical, efficient and effective institutional assessment that will shape and refine our criminal justice system in the coming decades. Concepts of data-driven decision making will strengthen the organizational effectiveness and advancement potential of program participants who seek professional advancement and promotion within these public safety agencies.
From unmanned aerial vehicles to crisis communication, social media to recruitment and retention, biometric technology to the changing landscape of use of force, this program will delve into some of America’s most challenging crime problems and the issues facing criminal justice institutions. Drawing from real-world case studies and evidence-based best practices, students will actively integrate and apply the skills developed throughout this program to some of the nation’s most pressing law enforcement challenges.
Mike Loarie is a retired Captain with the Escondido Police Department, and an instructor with the University of San Diego’s 100% online Master of Science in Law Enforcement & Public Safety Leadership program. In this video, he talks about the practical application of the program curriculum.
Capt. Tim Gately, Redmond Police Department
MS-LEPSL Alumnus
Enroll in the nationally-ranked program that is endorsed by law enforcement and highly rated by students