New WGU MS in Management and Leadership

[sanantone]

So I'm having trouble getting into the program. Initially, they told me that since this new program is only for new incoming students. Therefore, I am not eligible because I am a returning student. I argued a bit, saying that I may be a returning student, but I'm returning for a higher program since I've already graduated with my undergrad. They still wouldn't allow me into the program.

So as of right now, I am enrolled in the MBA - Management and Strategy program. I have the option to change programs after I am assigned an adviser, but I'm not guaranteed acceptance into the M.S. program, since it's a limited acceptance program as of right now.

Good.

Leadership courses are more application based and focused than the other courses. There is nothing wrong with wanting to focus on a certain aspect of a subject. Just like your Criminal Justice degrees are a focused concentration of law, sociology and psychology with some application of said subjects thrown in.

I don't have any criminal justice degrees, but I'm working on a PhD in criminal justice. Criminal justice is interdisciplinary making it the opposite of concentrated. It's like the business administration degree of social sciences. Criminology is a concentrated form of sociology. The broadness of criminal justice is actually a problem at the undergraduate level. It ends up competing for the same jobs as social work, counseling, psychology, sociology, behavioral science, and human services. If one wants to become a professor in a non-STEM or non-business field, criminal justice is probably the best doctoral degree to complete. For a long time, there have been more openings than applicants. At the masters-level, you're good for adjunct jobs and moving up in correctional agencies where CJ degrees are preferred over everything else. I almost wish I would have completed a masters in CJ because there are so many adjunct openings in the field.

I haven't seen too many jobs ask for leadership degrees inside or outside of academia. The one professor I had with a leadership PhD was teaching based off the 18 credit hours he had in his masters program of a different major. In leadership programs, all of the courses are about leadership or management. In criminal justice programs, I've seen courses in substance abuse counseling, corrections, probation/parole, courts, criminal law, policing, behavioral science, forensic science, victimology, homeland security, and physical security. There are many different career fields in those courses. Lawyers/paralegals, police officers, correctional officers, substance abuse counselors, forensic scientists, probation/parole officers, social services, and security managers -- this shows that criminal justice is not highly concentrated. Your career options might be limited to the criminal justice and social services field with this degree, but the same can be said about sociology, psychology, and all of the other related degrees.