Degree Outcomes
What Can You Do With a Masters in Criminal Justice?
What can you do with a masters in criminal justice? Mostly move up, not get in. BLS lists a high school diploma or a bachelor’s degree as the typical entry education for all six occupations on this site that carry BLS pay, and none lists a master’s degree. The degree counts toward federal grade levels, leadership and supervisory roles, teaching and doctoral study. The 43 master’s programs profiled here name 49 degrees, 34 of them science degrees and 11 arts degrees, and 10 of the profiles quote a line about leadership, supervisory or management roles.
Median earnings four years after completion College Scorecard
$65,448
92 of 231 ranked master’s programs
Jobs a Masters in Criminal Justice Is and Is Not Needed For
BLS assigns every occupation a typical entry-level education. Of the six occupations on this site that carry BLS pay, a high school diploma is the typical entry education for four, with related experience for two of them, and a bachelor’s degree for the other two. None lists a master’s degree. Most criminal justice work does not ask for a masters in criminal justice, and the table shows what each job does ask for.
| Occupation | Typical entry education | Median pay, May 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Police and sheriff's patrol officers (SOC 33-3051) | High school diploma, no related work experience | $76,210 |
| Detectives and criminal investigators (SOC 33-3021) | High school diploma plus less than 5 years of related experience | $93,790 |
| Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists (SOC 21-1092) | Bachelor’s degree | $66,270 |
| Correctional officers and jailers (SOC 33-3012) | High school diploma | $58,940 |
| Private detectives and investigators (SOC 33-9021) | High school diploma plus less than 5 years of experience | $51,220 |
| Forensic science technicians (SOC 19-4092) | Bachelor’s degree | $72,060 |
Where BLS names a master’s degree in these records, it is for advancement or for teaching. Of probation work it says, “A master’s degree in criminal justice, social work, or psychology may be helpful for advancing.” The probation officer page sets out how that job is entered, and it pays a median $66,270. Police work is different: the police officer page and the detective page give a high school diploma as the entry level, and the FBI agent page covers a posting that asks for a bachelor’s degree or higher.
College teaching is the one occupation here where BLS says a master’s degree can be enough to be hired. “For some specialties or for part-time positions, schools may hire those with a master’s degree or who are doctoral degree candidates.” Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers (SOC 25-1111) numbered 13,150 nationally and earned a median $76,590 in May 2025. BLS says teachers at four-year colleges typically need a doctorate, and the site ranks 17 doctoral programs on the PhD page. The salary guide carries the pay for each job by state.
Federal Grade Levels: Where a Master’s Counts
The federal government is where a master’s degree has the most exact value. OPM’s page for the criminal investigation series (1811) says, “Use the Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Administrative and Management Positions for this series in conjunction with the Individual Occupational Requirements described below.” That standard sets the education that qualifies for each General Schedule grade, and its list of covered series includes investigative analysis (1805), general investigation (1810) and criminal investigation (1811).
| Grade | Education that qualifies | Specialized experience that qualifies |
|---|---|---|
| GS-7 | 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement | 1 year equivalent to at least GS-5 |
| GS-9 | master’s or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related | 1 year equivalent to at least GS-7 |
So a master’s degree is one way to reach GS-9, not the only one: the same table accepts a year of specialized experience at GS-7. OPM adds that “Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university in the amounts shown in the table meets the requirements for positions at GS-7 through GS-11.” It also counts graduate study by the school’s own measure: “One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study.” One limit matters for investigative work. OPM says, “For certain positions covered by this standard, the work may be recognized as sufficiently technical or specialized that graduate study alone may not provide the knowledge and skills needed to perform the work. In such cases, agencies may use selective factors to screen out applicants without actual work experience.” A master’s degree can meet the education line of a federal posting, and a posting that needs field experience can still ask for it. The U.S. Marshals Service, Bureau of Prisons, FBI and DEA postings that name graduate study are set out on the master’s rankings page.
What the Master’s Programs Offer
The 43 master’s programs profiled on this site sit at schools in 23 states and name 49 master’s degrees (five programs name two). A degree is a science degree or an arts degree when its own name says so (Master of Science or M.S., Master of Arts or M.A.), and a name that says neither is counted apart.
| Degree name says | Degrees | Schools with one |
|---|---|---|
| Science (M.S.) | 34 | 31 |
| Arts (M.A.) | 11 | 10 |
| Name states neither | 4 | 4 |
Four names state neither type: “Master of Public Safety Administration (MPSA)”, “Master of Justice Administration”, “Online Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Studies” and “Master of Criminal Justice”. The names also say what the degree is about. 11 of the 49 say administration, leadership or management, and 4 say criminology.
20 of the 43 profiles name concentrations, tracks or emphases on their pages, 69 in all, and University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentucky names nine. Grouped by what they are about, the concentrations fall into these themes, and a program that names several counts under each:
| Concentration theme | Programs naming one |
|---|---|
| Leadership and administration | 15 |
| Homeland security and terrorism | 10 |
| Cybersecurity and cybercrime | 9 |
| Law enforcement, corrections and juvenile justice | 8 |
| Forensics, investigation and crime analysis | 6 |
| Criminology, behavior and psychology | 6 |
Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware shows how one program offers them: “This online Administration of Justice M.S. program offers a choice of three concentrations that build upon a strong core of advanced criminal justice courses. You can choose Leadership and Administration, Criminal Behavior or Homeland Security for specialized study, or opt for a more generalized course of study, to meet your professional objectives.” The homeland security ranking puts the programs with that concentration in order.
Who the Master’s Programs Say They Are For
The profiles copy each school’s own sentences, and some say who a program is built for. 10 of the 43 quote a line that names a leadership, supervisory or management role, 7 name working professionals or people already employed in the field, 2 name career changers and 5 name doctoral study. Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia says, “The MPSA program, offered in partnership with CSU’s Command College, prepares current public safety supervisors and managers for executive-level leadership roles.” Its catalog adds a condition on who can start: “Applicants must currently be in a supervisory or managerial position in a public safety agency, with significant responsibilities in the areas of management of personnel, interpretation of policies or supervision of other crucial agency functions.”
For a reader changing careers the wording differs. Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia says, “Whether you are a criminal justice professional seeking to advance your career, or you are trying to transition into this field from your current career, Liberty’s online M.S. in Criminal Justice can help you on your journey.” For a reader heading to a doctorate, Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts says, “The master of science in criminal justice is a fully online (asynchronous) program designed for those who want to advance or pursue careers in criminal justice as well as those who plan to secure a doctoral degree in the field.”
The thesis is where the programs divide. 19 of the 43 profiles quote a sentence that names a thesis, whether as a requirement, an option or something the program does not require, and 20 name a capstone. Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware ties the choice to the next degree: “NOTE: A master’s thesis is not required; however, students who plan to continue studies in a doctoral program are encouraged to write a master’s thesis, which is offered as a three-credit elective.”
Entry, Online Options and the GRE
46 of the 49 master’s degrees state a bachelor’s degree as the way in. What the bachelor’s degree must be in differs by school. Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama lists “A bachelor’s degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution” as its requirement, and Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts says, “In addition to the general graduate studies admissions criteria, applicants must possess an undergraduate major in criminal justice or a closely related field.” Read the admission page of any masters in criminal justice program before you plan around the major you hold.
45 of the 49 degrees are offered online, 31 online only and 14 online or on campus, as each school’s own page states, and 41 of the 43 profiles have at least one of them. The site ranks 57 online master’s programs among its 231 ranked master’s programs, and the online master’s rankings score them on what an online student from another state pays. 12 of those 57 have a school page that says the GRE is not required, and the no-GRE list names them.
What Graduates of a Master’s in Criminal Justice Earn
College Scorecard publishes the median earnings of a school’s criminal justice and corrections graduates (federal field 43.01) at each award level who received federal aid, four years after they finished. Of the 231 ranked master’s programs, 92 have that four-year figure. The median of those schools’ own medians is $65,448, and the middle half of the schools fall between $60,283 and $75,983. Across programs offering a masters in criminal justice, the figures run from $27,039 to $148,025.
| Award level | Ranked programs with a four-year figure | Median of the programs’ medians | Middle half of programs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master’s | 92 | $65,448 | $60,283 to $75,983 |
| Bachelor’s | 586 | $54,523 | $49,826 to $59,017 |
| Associate | 340 | $47,175 | $43,133 to $53,329 |
The comparison can also be made school by school. 86 schools report a four-year figure for both a ranked master’s program and a ranked bachelor’s program, and the master’s figure is the higher one at 77 of them, with a median gap of $10,707. Each figure covers every program a school reports in that field and describes the schools’ graduates together, not one job, and a master’s graduate already held a bachelor’s degree, so the gap does not show what the degree itself added. The salary guide gives BLS pay for each job.
Common Questions
Is It Worth It to Get a Master’s in Criminal Justice?
What Can I Do With a Master’s in Criminal Justice?
Do You Need a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Before a Master’s in Criminal Justice?
Sources for the Figures in This Post
- Graduate earnings: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data for Criminal Justice and Corrections (CIP 43.01).
- Program names, credit counts, formats, entry requirements and published prices: each school's own program pages, read between October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026.
- Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- School pages quoted in this post, read on October 7, 2026, October 8, 2026 and October 12, 2026: Columbus State University, Columbus State University, Liberty University, Salem State University, Wilmington University, Wilmington University, Faulkner University and Anna Maria College.
- Federal grade levels, read on November 3, 2026: OPM’s criminal investigation series (1811) page and OPM’s group coverage qualification standard for administrative and management positions.
- Entry education and the sentences quoted from BLS, read on October 7, 2026: BLS education and training assignments by occupation, the BLS profile of probation officers and correctional treatment specialists and the BLS profile of postsecondary teachers.