犯罪和刑事司法处于国家政策和实践的最前沿。刑事司法职业对职业准备的日益重视，对在职专业人员提出了更多的学术要求。为了满足这一需求，佐治亚州立大学刑事司法和犯罪学系同时提供了刑事司法的科学学士学位和理学硕士学位，以及刑事司法和犯罪学的哲学博士学位。
Crime and criminal justice are at the forefront of national policy and practice. The increasing emphasis on professional preparation in criminal justice careers places additional academic demands on the in-service professional. To meet this need, Georgia State’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology offers a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in criminal justice, as well as a Doctor of Philosophy degree in criminal justice and criminology. The Master of Interdisciplinary Science (MIS) degree in Criminal Justice Administration is designed to prepare students for administrative and managerial leadership roles in criminal justice and public safety. The degree combines content on (1) substantive issues in criminal justice and criminology and (2) managerial principles and practices for public management. The degree program is designed as an equal hybrid of criminal justice and public management with an eye toward ensuring that those obtaining the degree will be exposed to courses on applied and current issues in criminal justice and a solid footing in areas of public management, administration, and leadership. Students will learn to lead and manage criminal justice agencies at the local, state, or federal levels, with a complete understanding of how law enforcement, courts, corrections, and governmental functioning are integrated to give students an understanding of how each of the component parts relates in forming the justice system, and how criminal justice management, offenders and victims fit within the system. Students learn how the justice system influences and is influenced by other institutions in society. An adequately functioning criminal justice system participates in appropriate structuring of legislation, providing information and education within the system and to the public, crime prevention, psychological counseling, and rehabilitation of persons in prison. Also included among its many roles is work with juveniles, quantitative and qualitative scholarly research, guidance to persons on probation and parole, assistance to citizen groups and crime victims, and many other tasks.