Graduate Diploma in Justice System Administration

The programme of study allows students in appropriate graduate programmes at York University to specialize formally in the area of Justice System Administration, and to be awarded a Graduate Diploma in Justice System Administration.  The Diploma is awarded concurrently with the Master’s or Doctoral degree for which the student is registered.  For those students who successfully complete both the Degree and Diploma, the Diploma is noted on the student’s transcript and awarded at the subsequent convocation.  Students can only receive the Diploma if they successfully complete their graduate degree programme.  The Diploma aims to equip students with both the analytical and practical insights needed to help administer justice system programmes fairly, responsively and effectively.  The programme is geared to students who aspire to leadership positions in the justice system.

Each student is exposed to an in-depth analysis of the literature on judicial administration in Canada, with relevant comparisons to other related jurisdictions.  In addition, students will be exposed to a related body of literature on law and public administration, and students without substantial managerial experience in the justice system will complete a twelve-week work placement.

Admission Requirements:

Candidates for the Diploma must first be admitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies as Candidates for a Masters or Doctoral degree in one of the participating graduate programmes.  Candidates formally register their intention to complete the Diploma with the Diploma Co- ordinator, following registration for their degree programme, at the time they define their programme of studies.

The Diploma is an interdisciplinary one, open to students in any relevant graduate programme including, for example,  Political Science, Public Administration, Business Administration, International Business Administration, and Law.

Diploma Requirements:

Students must complete the programme requirements of the degree for which they are registered.  In order to receive a Diploma in Justice System Administration, each student must also satisfy the following requirements:

i)  successfully complete GS/POLS 5110 3.0, “Issues in Justice System Administration.”

For all students except those Masters students registered with the Schulich School of Business or the Faculty of Environmental Studies, GS/POLS 5110 3.0, “Issues in Justice System Administration” is an additional requirement, over and above regular degree requirements, and may not be counted toward the course requirements for the Masters or Doctoral degrees.  For diploma students registered with the Schulich School of Business or the Faculty of Environmental Studies, diploma students must write a research paper beyond the normal degree requirements on a topic related to justice system administration approved by the Diploma coordinator.

ii)  successfully complete one of the following courses:  GS/POLS 5601 3.0 “Systems of Justice,” or SB/PUBL 6200.03 / SB/PUBL 6200.03 / GS/POLS 6120.03, “Canadian Public Law,” or PUBL 6210 3.0 / LAW 3570 3.0, “Public Administration and the Law.”

iii)  Students pursuing the DJSA while pursuing an MPA, MBA or IMBA must choose a topic for their PUBL 6100.03 or MGT 6100.03 course that is related to justice system administration and is approved by the Coordinator of the diploma.  Students pursuing the DJSA while pursuing a Masters programme that requires a Major Research Paper must choose a topic for their Major Research Paper that is related to justice system administration and approved by the Coordinator of the diploma.  Students pursuing the DJSA while pursuing a Ph.D. or while pursuing a Masters programme that requires a dissertation must choose a topic for their dissertation that is related to justice system administration and approved by the Coordinator of the diploma.  Students pursuing the DJSA while pursuing a coursework MA must ensure that they take two three-credit courses, in addition to the six credits of DJSA courses, that are approved by the Coordinator of the diploma as being relevant to justice system administration.

iv)  Work Placement:  The work placement consists of a minimum 12 week, full-time, non- credit internship in an organization in the justice system or in an organization where management skills relevant to justice system administration may be developed.  All placements must be approved by the Coordinator of the Programme.  All students are required to write a concise report on their placement experience and this report must be approved by the Coordinator.  In exceptional circumstances, suitably qualified students may substitute an original research paper for the work placement with the permission of the Coordinator.  In this case, the research paper would not count for credit toward the Diploma, but would replace the work placement requirement for the Diploma.  Such an exception might, for example, be granted in the case of a student who already has years of experience working in a managerial capacity in the justice system.  Students will be required to locate their own work placement site.

Faculty members:

Ian Greene, Department of Political Science.  Associate Professor.  Areas of teaching and research:  law and politics, judicial administration, public administration, judicial behaviour, public law, programme evaluation, Canadian government, ethical politics.

Lorne Sossin, Department of Political Science and Faculty of Law.  Assistant Professor.  Areas of teaching and research:   public law, law and politics, judicial administration, public administration, civil procedure, justiciability, democratic administration.

Thomas Wilson, Schulich School of Business and Faculty of Law.  Professor.  Areas of teaching and research:  law and politics, judicial administration, public administration, strategic management, programme evaluation, administrative law.

Administration:

The DJSA program will be administered by the Coordinator appointed by the Director of the MPA Programme.  The Coordinator is currently Ian Greene.  The Coordinator will be assisted by a Justice System Administration Diploma Committee consisting of the Director of the Political Science Graduate Director, the Director of the MBA programme, and the Director of the LLM programme (or their designates), and a faculty member who specializes in justice system administration research.

Students must register for the Diploma in Justice System Administration by completing the appropriate registration form and returning it to the Coordinator of the Diploma.  The registration form may be obtained from Ian Greene, 133 McLaughlin College, from the McLaughlin College Reception Area, Second Floor, McLaughlin College, or from the MPA Office in the Schulich School of Business.

Resources:  Thanks to a generous donation from Prof. Carl Baar, the Diploma Programme has extensive resource materials on judicial administration.