Graduate Online Administration of Justice Degree at MC Gains National Recognition

Harry Porter

Mississippi College’s online graduate degrees in the administration of justice, Homeland Security and loss prevention are receiving high national marks.

In fact, the MC’s online masters in the criminal justice field rank as the USA’s 5^th best by the website graduateprograms.com among 25 schools making the final cut.

Michigan State University tops the list followed by the University of Cincinnati, the University of Maryland-University College and Colorado Technical University.

Announced in November, the new survey is based on more than 40,000 student reviews of over 1,600 graduate programs nationwide. The student reviews looked at such factors as academic competitiveness, career support, and financial aid.

MC beat out schools like the University of Louisville in 8^th place, Penn State at No. 11 and the University of California-Irvine in 12^th place. Southern New Hampshire University was ranked 16^th and Kaplan University 21^st.

Recent Mississippi College alums like Dana Bruno, a disaster relief specialist for the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security, say the MC graduate program is top-notch.

“My boss could not believe the breadth of the Homeland Security curriculum that I completed at MC before he hired me last year,” Bruno said.

“It’s convenient to be online,” said Ivana K. Williams, a 27-year-old Brandon mother raising three young children. She can avoid daily 30-minute commutes to the Clinton campus, and spends more time at home with her kids and husband. “But it’s just as hard, if not harder being on-line.”

Expected to receive her master’s December 18 with a focus on Homeland Security, Williams says the MC program will enable her to pursue a doctorate and become a college instructor.

MC leaders are delighted to see the results sparked by efforts by professor Harry Porter, director of the Christian university’s Administration of Justice Program.

Porter “assembled a group of professionals delivering an academic classroom product making Mississippi College one of the nation’s leaders in online education,” in criminal justice, President Lee Royce says.

A 31-year teaching veteran at MC, Porter plans to introduce a new administration of justice bachelor’s degree and master’s in security administration in Fall 2016, Royce noted.

Training offered in the criminal justice field generates the type of degrees that employers, both locally and nationally, are seeking, says Graduate School Dean Debbie Norris.

MC administration of justice programs received national attention a year ago. 

In 2014, the website socialsciencecareers.org listed the Mississippi College Administration of Justice degree programs as having the No. 1 graduation rate (62%) among its top 15 institutions of higher learning, beating out schools like Penn State and Wichita State University. Mississippi College also ranked in the top 15 colleges and universities nationwide for having one of the lowest tuition costs ($14,868) for criminal justice programs in the U.S. 

For more information on the MC program, contact Harry Porter at 601-925-3266 or hporter@mc.edu