Criminal Justice (Concentration)

The Criminal Justice Concentration is designed for two groups of students: those who are considering beginning their legal careers as prosecutors or criminal defense counsel and those who may not have an express interest in criminal practice, but who are nonetheless seeking a course of study structured to provide training in the range of skills necessary to the practice of law in most substantive areas – particularly including legal analysis, factual investigation, counseling, negotiation and the persuasive arts employed in written and oral advocacy.

Clients and society today need and expect much more than traditional advocacy from their lawyers. Modern lawyers need to be able to address legal problems in ways that accommodate a variety of needs, goals and values, in addition to vindicating legal rights. As a result, today’s lawyer must have the knowledge, skills and perspectives not only to advocate in the courtroom but to participate in such processes as client counseling, negotiation, mediation, arbitration and creative problem-solving.

The Tax Law concentration is designed to provide each student in the concentration basic education in both general skills and subject-matter specific knowledge and provide each student with an opportunity to bring the entire skill set to bear in a capstone experience designed to teach integrated legal problem-solving. Completion of a concentration should improve the overall preparedness of graduates by conferring entry-level competence to begin practicing law with appropriate supervision in the concentration’s subject matter area or practice setting.

University Certificates

The Center for the Digital Globe (CDiG) is offers an interdepartmental certificate to professional students and non-degree graduate students of the University of Missouri-Columbia. The certificate program is designed to supplement the students’ graduate studies within the various colleges and schools. This is not a degree-granting program. The certificate program will create and make available to non-degree seeking graduate students a certificate demonstrating that each of the students has shown competencies in Technology, Global Communication, Business, Culture and Society. This certificate is designed to emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of the course work. The required course work will bring students together for an interdisciplinary introduction to this area while permitting them to work separately and within their respective disciplines for further exploration. Students will then come together for a
concluding experience which involves working collectively through a case study.

The Graduate Certificate in Community Processes offers graduate students and professionals a unique opportunity to develop expertise in how spatial and relational communities form and function in today’s society. A vital part of the certificate is working in community facilitation processes or community analytical processes. This certificate is offered jointly by the Departments of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Rural Sociology, Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs and the School of Law. Completion of the certificate will require law students to take six hours of coursework in addition to the 89 hours required for graduation.

The Education Policy Studies Graduate Certificate provides students with knowledge that they can apply to the study of education policy within their major discipline or their work in policy settings (e.g., government, non-profit agencies, foundations, PK12 school districts, universities); conceptual tools to use to understand and resolve policy process and implementation problems; and skills to analyze education policy issues, i.e., understanding differing values, political and economic arguments, costs/benefits, and policy processes.

The Department of Health Management and Informatics in partnership with the MU Center for Health Ethics offers a Certificate in Health Ethics. The certificate is designed to develop an understanding of the ethical issues related to health and healthcare and foster skills in analyzing and resolving ethical problems and conflicts in the healthcare environment. While some of the courses are offered online, law students can only count courses taken in residency (i.e., regular class sessions) towards the 89 hours required for graduation.

The Graduate Certificate in the Economics and Sociology of Institutions and Organizations, offered by the Division of Applied Social Sciences, focuses on the structures and processes of institutions and organizations in changing environments. Institutions are the “rules of the game” that shape human interaction and consist of both formal rules (e.g., legal-contractual) and informal structures (norms, values, and beliefs). Organizations are entities in which people interact and pursue goals, ranging from families to private and nonprofit firms and public agencies. The certificate program emphasizes the common foundations of institutional analysis across academic disciplines including economics, sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, geography, and law, as well as the ways that multidisciplinary perspectives can inform each other.

A certificate in Life Science Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Missouri will broaden the training of graduate and professional students from the fields of business, engineering and medicine, among others. A collaborative program among MU’s Trulaske College of Business, College of Engineering and School of Medicine, the program will prepare participants for a wider range of employment opportunities and provide core skills for entrepreneurial endeavors. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the program will allow MU graduate and professional students to receive training to translate life science discoveries into products and services that will improve health. The program will require completion of three three-hour core curriculum courses designed to cover the life cycle of a translational science/business venture, as well as elective courses for a total of 12 hours of course credit. The three-course sequence will be augmented by elective courses that round out the educational needs of particular students.

This program provides the administrative skills for ethical, effective leadership and management roles in the public service. Students who complete the certificate will be well-positioned to begin or advance a public service career, with many expecting to pursue management careers in state and local governments. For law students, only courses are taken in residence (i.e., regular class sessions) will count towards the 89 hours required for graduation.

The Personal Financial Planning Certificate is an 18 hour non-degree, post-baccalaureate program designed to prepare students to sit for the national CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ exam. Program applicants must have completed a bachelor’s degree. Completing the Personal Financial Planning Certificate satisfies the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standard’s education requirement, which is one of four requirements leading to approval to use the CFP® designation. The other three requirements are passing the national exam, meeting an experience requirement and agreeing to adhere to the CFP® code of ethics. The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation is widely recognized as the premier professional designation in the personal financial management services industry.