University of Massachusetts-Lowell ranks first among the 57 ranked online master’s programs. It charges $610 a credit for a student from another state and has criminal justice graduates who earn a median $109,714 four years after finishing.
The best online masters in criminal justice are scored on cost, graduate earnings and four other factors, with the cost taken as what an online student from another state pays for a credit,
because an online student usually lives in another state. 21 of the 57 online masters in criminal justice programs report a lower in-state per-credit charge, so a student who lives in the school’s state may pay less.
The Best Online Masters in Criminal Justice Programs
A program is on this list of online masters in criminal justice when its school’s own page says it can be finished online. Each is scored on cost (22%), graduate earnings (22%), completion (17%), online experience (17%), track record (11%) and program reputation (11%) against the other online master’s programs. How the scores work.
UMass Lowell's 33-credit Master of Arts in Criminal Justice can be completed online or on campus, part-time or full-time, with an optional six-credit master's thesis and no GRE requirement.
33 credits
Students can complete the degree online or on campus, part-time or full-time
Admission requires a bachelor's degree with at least a 2.800 GPA
Salve Regina's Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Cybersecurity is taught fully online in seven-week modules that mix asynchronous work with recorded live Zoom meetings, a format the university built for working professionals on varying shifts or deployed overseas.
36 credits (12 courses), fully online
Courses run in seven-week modules with recorded live Zoom meetings
Salve lists an average time to complete of 18-24 months
The University of San Diego's MS in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership is a fully online leadership degree for working law enforcement and public safety professionals, with a curriculum USD says was developed with extensive input from law enforcement.
31 units
Fully online, with no on-campus requirement
Admission requires a bachelor's degree and at least two years of professional experience in law enforcement, public safety or a related field
Students can begin in the spring, summer or fall term
The program is designed to be completed in 5 semesters (20 months)
$729 a credit for all students
Read more
The degree totals 31 units: ten 3-unit courses and a 1-unit Integrative Capstone. Courses include Public Safety Law in a Dynamic World, Organizational Leadership for Law Enforcement, Data Fluency and Analysis for Law Enforcement Leaders, Best Practices in Community Engagement, and Budget and Finance for Law Enforcement Leaders. Classes are asynchronous: each 14-week semester runs two seven-week courses back to back, so students take one course at a time, and USD says the program is designed to be completed in 5 semesters (20 months). The program is 100% online with no on-campus requirement.
Admission requires a bachelor's degree and at least two years of professional experience in law enforcement, public safety or a related field; applicants with current or recent active duty military experience who are pursuing a law enforcement career may also qualify at the admissions committee's discretion. USD aims the program at law enforcement professionals, both sworn and professional staff, in command positions and those who aspire to leadership roles. Students can begin in the spring, summer or fall term, and USD says graduates of training programs like the FBI National Academy, SMIP, Command College and FBI-LEEDA may be eligible for transfer credit toward the degree.
APU's online Master of Arts in Criminal Justice lets students choose a General, Business Administration, or Emergency Management and Disaster Management concentration, and finish with a comprehensive exam or one of two capstone projects.
The M.A. in Criminal Justice Leadership from Concordia University, St. Paul, Minnesota, is a 100% online, cohort-based program that ends with a capstone in which students develop and propose a change advocacy model.
Arizona State University's online Master of Arts in Criminal Justice ends with a capstone project in which students apply their knowledge to reducing crime through a policy or program in a criminal justice agency.
Lamar University offers its Master of Science in Criminal Justice on campus in Beaumont, Texas and online, and students can stay in the general track or move into a Homeland Security or Cybersecurity concentration after a first semester of core work.
30 credit hours
The program is offered on campus and online
Online courses run 8 weeks
Students may transfer in up to 6 hours of approved courses
Concentrations in Homeland Security and Cybersecurity, or the general track
$360 a credit, online rate
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The degree is 30 credit hours, offered through a capstone track or a thesis track. Core courses online include Theoretical Foundations of Crime Control, Quantitative Methods in Criminology and a Criminal Justice Capstone, with emphasis courses such as Criminal Justice System and Policy, Criminal Justice Leadership and Planning and Evaluation, and electives such as Correctional Systems, Cybercrime, Constitutional Law and Homeland Security. Online courses run 8 weeks, and the online program lists several start dates a year.
Applicants need a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Lamar admits applicants unconditionally with a GPA of 3.00 or higher on their last 60 undergraduate hours and provisionally with a 2.50 to 2.99, and applicants below that go through the university's graduate admission formula with the GRE. Lamar says students with a background in criminal justice, criminology or sociology are typically well prepared, and students may transfer in up to 6 hours of approved courses.
Fitchburg State's Master of Science in Criminal Justice is taught 100% online, and its MPTC concentration counts the Municipal Police Training Committee's Basic Recruit Officer Course toward the degree.
Fully online
The standard program is 30 credits; the MPTC concentration is 36
Admission requires a bachelor's degree with a minimum 2.8 GPA
Concentrations in Professional Studies, Community Justice and MPTC
Students can finish in one year and have up to six years
Read more
The standard program is 30 credits (10 courses) taken online, beginning with core courses in criminal justice theory, the motivation behind crime, ethical challenges and cultural communication, then electives. The Community Justice concentration adds required courses built on the idea that criminal justice work can involve the community in policing, courts and corrections. The MPTC concentration totals 36 credits: 12 credits for completing MPTC's Basic Recruit Officer Course and the remaining 24 credits as online courses.
Applicants need a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.8, a personal statement and a resume listing three references, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The MPTC concentration is open only to students who complete Fitchburg State's undergraduate Police Program (4+1) with at least a 2.50 GPA; Fitchburg State says that path leads to a bachelor's degree, an MPTC full-time municipal police certification and the master's degree in five years. Students can finish in one year or take up to six years.
fitchburgstate.edu
957.2
Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration
Columbia Southern University's online Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration is a post-baccalaureate program for criminal justice professionals, with coursework in criminology, correctional systems, comparative criminal justice and global terrorism.
36 credit hours
Courses are 100% online and available 24/7
Admission requires a conferred bachelor's degree
Students in the B.S. Criminal Justice Administration can enter through an accelerated bachelor's to master's option
$359 a credit, online rate
Read more
The 36-credit-hour degree is taught 100% online, with courses available 24/7. Required courses include Theory of Crime and Criminology, Adult and Juvenile Correctional Systems, Multiculturalism, Diversity and Ethics, Comparative Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, Seminar in Crime, Forensics Intelligence Analysis and Global Terrorism.
Applicants submit an official transcript showing a conferred bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Students in the university's B.S. Criminal Justice Administration can enter this degree through CSU's accelerated bachelor's to master's option, and the catalog says those interested need a minimum 2.5 GPA.
Liberty University's Master of Science in Criminal Justice is a 36-credit-hour degree taught 100% online in 8-week courses or in a residential format on the Lynchburg, Virginia campus with an optional supervised thesis.
36 credit hours
Fully online in 8-week courses, or residential on the Lynchburg, Virginia campus
Online Masters in Criminal Justice Programs, Ranks 11-25
Online masters in criminal justice programs ranked 11 to 25
Rank and school
Cost per credit
Completion
Graduates
Format
Score
11
Western Illinois University Macomb, IL
$369
60%
29
Online or on campus
55.1
12
Salem State University Salem, MA
$597
66%
9
Online
53.5
13
University of Management and Technology Arlington, VA
$390
61%
7
Online
53.1
14
North Carolina Wesleyan University Rocky Mount, NC
$525
72%
21
Online
53.1
15
Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ
$610
51%
100
Online
52.5
16
Lees-McRae College Banner Elk, NC
$500
76%
10
Online
52.3
17
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY
$855
57%
215
Online or on campus
50.2
18
University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY
$355
56%
49
Online
50.1
19
Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH
$659
43%
253
Online
49.2
20
Florida State University Tallahassee, FL
$1,114
75%
129
Online
49.0
21
Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX
$728
66%
115
Online
48.3
22
Pennsylvania Western University California, PA
$526
58%
33
Online
48.1
23
Tarleton State University Stephenville, TX
$662
66%
28
Online or on campus
45.7
24
Midwestern State University Wichita Falls, TX
$301
61%
8
Online
45.4
25
Bellevue University Bellevue, NE
$680
49%
14
Online
45.2
Cost per credit is the rate the school’s page publishes, read between October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026, or else its 2023-24 IPEDS per-credit charge.
How the Price of an Online Master’s Works
On the online lists the price scored is what an online student from another state pays for one credit: the rate the program's own page publishes for online students, else its out-of-state or all-students rate, else the out-of-state per-credit charge the school reported to IPEDS. Of the 57 ranked online master’s programs, 16 are scored on a rate their own page publishes, with a median of $610 a credit, and 41 on the out-of-state per-credit charge the school reported to IPEDS.
Prices split by school type.
The median private for-profit program charges $588 a credit, the lowest of the three kinds of school.
Online master’s programs by school type, with median cost per credit for a student from another state and median master’s graduates
School type
Programs
Median cost per credit
Median master’s graduates
Public
28
$611
29
Private nonprofit
20
$660
23
Private for-profit
9
$588
82
Cost per credit is the rate the school’s page publishes, read between October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026, or else its 2023-24 IPEDS per-credit charge.
How Online Master’s Programs Are Delivered
Of the 57 ranked online master’s programs, 48 are fully online, and 9 are offered online or on campus.
Each school’s own page says which. A program whose page puts it on campus only is not on this list.
Of the ten leading programs, seven describe themselves as online and three as combining online study with time on campus.
A program that can be finished either online or on campus appears among the online masters in criminal justice here and on the masters page,
which ranks every program, campus and online, on the price a resident pays. The top program there is Salve Regina University.
Completion and online experience are measured for the whole school rather than for the master’s program. Completion comes from IPEDS Outcome Measures and follows the school’s transfer students, or all its
entering students where it reports no transfer group, to see how many earn a credential within eight years. Online experience is the share of the school’s graduate students who study only online. A factor with no figure for a program scores the median of the programs ranked with it, at full weight, and is left off the program's card, so a program can't rise because a number is unpublished. Cost is stricter: a program with no price scores at the 25th percentile of the cost scores, as if it costs more than most.
Studying for an Online Master’s While You Work
If you already work in the field and are weighing an online masters in criminal justice, the federal postings and BLS findings that name graduate study treat
experience and education as separate requirements, so the two can run side by side.
The FBI counts experience and a graduate degree separately. A special agent posting at grade GL-10 asks for two years of full-time work experience with a bachelor’s degree, or one year of experience with an advanced degree, a master’s or a doctorate. Studying online while you work in the field keeps both requirements moving.USAJOBS
Some postings count graduate hours, not the degree. A Bureau of Prisons correctional officer posting at grade GL-06 accepts nine semester hours of graduate education in a major study in criminal justice, social science or a related field, and the U.S. Marshals Service accepts one full academic year of graduate study related to law enforcement for grade 7.USAJOBS
Probation work rewards both. BLS says volunteer or paid work experience in the criminal justice field may be helpful for some positions, and that a master’s degree in criminal justice, social work or psychology may be helpful for advancing. Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists (SOC 21-1092) earned a median $66,270 in May 2025.BLS
Questions About Online Masters in Criminal Justice
Can You Get a Masters in Criminal Justice Online?
Yes. 57 ranked online master’s programs can be finished online, which the school’s own page says, and they are in 29 states. University of Massachusetts-Lowell ranks first. The programs are scored on cost (22%), graduate earnings (22%), completion (17%), online experience (17%), track record (11%) and program reputation (11%), so you can compare an online program with the others on the same terms.
How Much Does an Online Masters in Criminal Justice Cost?
The median ranked online program charges $610 a credit for a student from another state, and the ten leading programs charge $195 to $729 a credit. Graduate tuition and required fees for a full-time year out of state have a median of $12,636. By school type, the median cost per credit is $611 at public schools, $660 at private nonprofit schools and $588 at private for-profit schools. The 16 programs scored on a rate their own page publishes have a median of $610 a credit.
Can You Earn an Online MS in Criminal Justice?
Yes. Schools name the degree differently, and the ranking counts every master’s program in criminal justice whatever it is called. Among the leading programs it appears as Master of Arts in Criminal Justice, Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Cybersecurity, Master of Science in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership and M.A. in Criminal Justice Leadership. The list above shows each school’s own name for its degree as the heading of its card.
Is an Online Masters in Criminal Justice Accredited?
Your school needs to be accredited, and the major has no accreditor. Every program ranked here is at a school that takes part in the federal student aid programs, which requires accreditation by an agency the U.S. Department of Education recognizes. The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences says no accreditation is available for criminal justice programs themselves, and it runs a voluntary Program Endorsement. One ranked online program holds it: University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
Why Does a Program Rank Differently Here Than on the Masters Page?
The masters page ranks all 231 ranked master’s programs, campus and online, on the price a resident pays for a credit. This page ranks only the programs that can be finished online, on what an online student from another state pays, so a public school that charges residents little and everyone else much more ranks higher on the masters page than here. Each list is scored among its own programs, which is why one program can carry a different score on each page. Of the 57 ranked online master’s programs, 21 report a lower in-state per-credit charge to IPEDS than the out-of-state one.
Sources for the Online Master’s Rankings
Awards, charges, completion and online enrollment: the Department of Education's IPEDS data:
IPEDS completions and distance education, 2023-24; IPEDS tuition and fees and per-credit charges, 2023-24; IPEDS
graduation rates; and IPEDS Outcome Measures and fall 2024 enrollment, from the 2024 provisional release.
Programs are counted under the criminal justice codes in the federal CIP 43.01 series.
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.
