Mary Murphy

Mary Murphy

M.S., Criminology and Criminal Justice

Invaluable Experience Makes the Difference

While earning her M.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Merrimack, Mary Murphy ’16 received invaluable on-the-job experience through an internship at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department Research and Statistics Division. The position enabled Mary to complete her degree in one year while getting nearly a year of field experience as part of the graduate curriculum.

“Merrimack’s Criminology Department has some of the most dedicated, hardworking and encouraging people, and they really pushed me to achieve my best. The faculty utilized their connections inside and outside the classroom to provide students with the ability to grow and gain experience directly from the field of criminal justice.”

Learning Beyond the Classroom

Murphy’s primary responsibility was to assist in tracking known relapses in criminal behavior and provide reports to different departments within the facility. This fit in perfectly with her career interests and degree concentration of Research Methods and Program Evaluation. Information she gathered was anything from the number of inmates in a cell block to the demographics of the inmates in each facility.

Murphy found that much of her graduate coursework directly correlated with what she did in the office.

“The Advanced Research Methods course at Merrimack definitely benefited my projects at work,” she said. “In turn, the knowledge, experience and hands on practice I had during my internship have had a huge impact on my coursework.”

“I enjoyed working in my internship environment. Everyone was very supportive and willing to share their experience. The staff at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department welcomed me and encouraged me as I pursued my master’s degree.”