Your Competency Assessment in Practice (CAP) transforms learning into real-world social work skills. During a semester-long, 448-hour placement, you'll work directly with a social service agency that matches your professional goals. Our dedicated faculty will guide you through this intensive 14-week experience, helping you build the practical expertise needed to make a meaningful difference in communities.

You’ve already built skills through job training and on-the-job experience—now, let’s turn that into credit toward your degree. Our PLA program helps working professionals get recognized for what they’ve already learned, so they can focus on advancing their careers.

Step into the world of law enforcement, corrections, or legal services with hands-on internships that sharpen your skills and expand your network. Paid or unpaid Internships may be located on campus or off campus.

Expand your perspective by studying criminal justice systems across the U.S. or in other countries. Whether through faculty-led group experiences or independent travel projects, you’ll gain firsthand insight into how justice is served worldwide.

Dive deep into topics that spark your curiosity. Whether you're investigating crime trends, exploring policy impacts, or examining new strategies in criminal justice, your research can lead to real change—and even be presented at professional conferences.

If you’ve completed a Missouri Police Academy, federal or military training, or advanced law enforcement programs, you may be eligible to receive credit toward your degree. Graduate students with FBI National Academy training, federal/state special agent certification, or advanced criminal justice training can also apply for credit, accelerating their path to a master’s degree.

Conduct real research to better understand today's pressing social issues and the dynamics of individual choices that, collectively, form the “how” and “why” of human behavior and social activities.