California State University-Sacramento leads the 2027 list of accelerated online criminal justice degree programs at the bachelor’s level. It charges an online student from another state $489 a credit and 78% of its transfer students earn a credential within eight years. 34 programs across the bachelor’s and master’s levels qualify, because their schools’ own pages call the format accelerated or state
a finish shorter than the degree’s usual length.
Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs at the Bachelor’s Level
14 of the 187 ranked online bachelor’s programs have a school page that makes the program an accelerated online criminal justice degree: it calls the format accelerated or states a finish shorter than the
usual length. California State University-Sacramento is first. The first ten are cards, and places 11 to 14 follow in the table.
All courses in the program are fully online and accelerated.
Courses are eight weeks long in fall and spring and six weeks long in the summer.
Sacramento State teaches its criminal justice bachelor's on campus and also runs it as a fully online degree completion program through its College of Continuing Education, with the same degree awarded either way.
The degree requires 120 total units, including a 60-unit major
Freshmen are admitted as criminal justice pre-majors
The online version is a 60-unit degree completion program taught in accelerated eight-week courses
Each semester is split into two sessions of approximately seven weeks each.
CSUSB's Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice is a 100% online degree completion program for transfer students, taught in accelerated sessions of approximately seven weeks through the College of Extended and Global Education.
100% online, in accelerated sessions of approximately seven weeks
Admission requires at least 60 transferable semester units and completed lower-division general education
The program is 120 credit hours and typically takes 38 months, with continuous enrollment and satisfactory academic progress.
Courses are delivered in eight-week terms with monthly start dates.
UA Grantham teaches its Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice 100% online in eight-week terms with monthly start dates, with optional concentrations in Computer Forensic Investigation and Homeland Security.
120 credit hours
Fully online
Classes run in eight-week terms with monthly start dates
Most courses are delivered in an accelerated seven-week session.
Courses are offered in seven-week sessions, all available 100% online.
UW Oshkosh lets criminal justice majors finish the program fully online, fully in person, or with a blend of both, and its online courses run in accelerated seven-week sessions.
42 credits in the major
The major can be completed fully online, fully in person, or blended
Online courses run in seven-week sessions with rolling admission
The accelerated online format lets students finish in as few as 12 months.
Courses run in seven-week terms.
Youngstown State's Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in Criminal Justice is also offered as a fully online degree completion program aimed at students who already hold an associate degree, teaching the department's generalist track in 7-week courses.
120 semester credits
The online completion program is fully online
Online admission requires an associate degree or about 60 credit hours
Only the generalist track is available online
$473.80 a credit, in-state rate
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The BSAS requires a minimum of 120 semester hours, including at least 57 semester hours of criminal justice courses, 39 of them upper-division. Major requirements include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Policing, Criminal Courts, Corrections, Criminal Law, Criminal Justice Research and a Senior Seminar, plus an internship or other service learning experience. The online completion program teaches the department's generalist track in 7-week courses with several start dates a year, and not every online course runs every semester.
The catalog says the degree can be earned in eight semesters if students average 15 hours per semester. The online completion program is aimed at students with at least an associate degree in criminal justice: admission asks for an associate degree or about 60 credit hours, Introduction to Criminal Justice and a lower-level course in policy, courts or corrections. Graduates of an Ohio Police Officers' Training Academy can receive up to 16 credit hours toward electives.
Nicholls State University focuses its criminal justice coursework on law enforcement and security issues tied to wetlands, coastal and maritime concerns, and lets students with an Associate of Science degree enter at the junior level.
120 total hours
Associate of Science graduates enter at the junior level
Nicholls Online classes run in an accelerated 8-week format
Courses are offered in a 16-week format and an accelerated 7-week format.
The School of Criminal Justice and Criminology offers this Bachelor of Arts in person and fully online, with courses in a 16-week format or an accelerated 7-week format.
120 hours
The degree is offered in person and fully online
Courses run in 16-week and accelerated 7-week formats
The program uses an accelerated course format with year-round course offerings.
Northern Arizona University's Criminal Justice Administration 90-30 BS is a degree-completion pathway for online and distance-learning students who transfer in up to 90 units, and the catalog also lists it for Yuma, Arizona and Estrella Mountain Community College.
120 units minimum for each bachelor's degree
Criminal Justice Administration 90-30 accepts up to 90 transfer units
Criminal Justice Administration 90-30 is available online and is also listed for Yuma, Arizona and Estrella Mountain Community College
Indian Country Criminal Justice is offered in Flagstaff, Arizona and online
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The Criminal Justice Administration 90-30 BS serves online and distance-learning students: they transfer in up to 90 units of community college or university credit and complete 30 units of criminal justice administration coursework in an accelerated format offered year-round, with emphasis areas in Criminal Justice Administration and Intelligence Studies. Its catalog entry lists Online, Yuma, Arizona and Estrella Mountain Community College under campus availability. NAU also offers an Indian Country Criminal Justice BS (42 major units, in Flagstaff, Arizona or online) on providing criminal justice services in Indian Country, and its catalog entry says some online or blended coursework is required.
Every NAU bachelor's degree requires at least 120 units. The 90-30 pathway is aimed at students who already have up to 90 college-level credits, and students who completed the Arizona General Education Curriculum at an Arizona public or tribal community college are considered to have met NAU's general studies requirements. The Indian Country degree is written for students and criminal justice professionals, and it teaches them to work out questions such as whether federal law, American Indian nation law or state law applies to a case.
Online degree completion classes are offered in accelerated terms for faster completion of the degree.
Sacred Heart's BS in Criminal Justice is offered full time and part time, and part-time students can earn it fully online, taking major courses in accelerated AHEAD terms.
36 credits of required major courses
Part-time students can earn the degree fully online
Part-time online students can also take courses in winter and summer terms
Up to 66 credits can transfer from a two-year college
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Required major courses (36 credits) include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Crime and Criminal Behavior, introductory courses in corrections and law enforcement, a research methods course, an internship at a criminal justice agency and a senior seminar on issues and problems in criminal justice. Students also take at least one course in each content area, from choices such as Police Community Relations, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Probation and Parole and Juvenile Justice System, along with Sacred Heart's Core Curriculum. The program page lists the format as On Campus/Hybrid, and part-time students can complete the major online in two years by taking courses in AHEAD terms, or sooner with transfer credit or winter and summer courses.
Part-time applicants send a high school transcript or GED, plus transcripts from any colleges they have attended. Up to 66 credits can transfer from a two-year college and up to 90 from a four-year college, and students who arrive with 60 or more credits have the foundational core waived except for CIT 202 Seminar. Sacred Heart also offers dual degree pathways in which incoming freshmen can be admitted to a graduate program at the same time as their undergraduate admission.
Taking eight semesters back to back on the accelerated three-semester calendar can finish the degree in less than three years.
A full semester is 15 weeks long.
Monroe University teaches its Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice online, on campus and in a hybrid format, and every major completes a 160-hour criminal justice internship and a capstone course.
120 credits
The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice is offered online, on campus and in a hybrid format
Students complete 160 internship hours in the criminal justice field
Admission includes a personal statement and a pre-admission interview
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The degree totals 120 credits, split between 60 credits of major-related courses and 60 credits of general education and related courses. Topics include criminal procedure, criminal investigation methods, punishment and rehabilitation, ethical issues and diversity in the criminal justice system, and the catalog lists courses such as Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Law, Criminal Investigation, Leadership in the Criminal Justice System and a Criminal Justice Capstone. Monroe says the online program follows the same curriculum as the on-campus one, and it also offers a hybrid version whose students can use the Law Enforcement Training Simulator and join the Police Academy Scholars (PASS) Program. Online students can start with a module in which they take two classes at a time.
Applicants need a high school diploma or equivalency diploma, or an associate degree or higher, plus an application, a personal statement or essay, and a pre-admission interview. Monroe says the online BS takes eight semesters, and that studying consecutive semesters on its three-semester calendar can bring that under three years.
monroeu.edu
Online bachelor’s programs with an accelerated format or a shorter finish, places 11 to 14
Rank and school
Pace
Cost per credit
Completion
Graduates
Format
Score
11
McNeese State University Lake Charles, LA
The online degree format lets students complete the program in an accelerated time frame.
$418
50%
28
Online or on campus
35.5
12
NUC University Bayamon, PR
The online bachelor's program is laid out to finish in three years, for a total of 121 credits.
$381
39%
165
Online or on campus
34.5
13
University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA
The major is part of a Three-Year Pathway that lets motivated students finish a bachelor's degree in three years with a structured plan of study.
$832
61%
19
On campus
31.3
14
Warner Pacific University Portland, OR
The online degree is offered with courses in an accelerated format.
$830
27%
5
Online
14.8
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.
Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs at the Master’s Level
20 of the 57 ranked online master’s programs have a school page that makes the program an accelerated online criminal justice degree: it calls the format accelerated or states a finish shorter than the
usual length. Fitchburg State University is first. The first ten are cards, and places 11 to 20 follow in the table.
The online master's can be completed in one year, and students may take up to six years to finish.
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
Students can earn the master's degree in as few as 16 months with full-time and summer enrollment.
Salem State University's Master of Science in Criminal Justice is a fully online, asynchronous degree with thesis and non-thesis plans, and the university says the program holds Quinn Bill certification from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education.
33 credit hours, with thesis and non-thesis plans
Fully online and asynchronous
Students can finish in as few as 16 months with full-time and summer enrollment
The online program is accelerated, with eight-week terms.
The program is 100% online and uses eight-week terms.
North Carolina Wesleyan University's Master of Science in Criminal Justice is a 100% online, 12-month program in accelerated 8-week terms, with multiple start times a year and a concentration in Criminal Justice Administration.
33 semester hours, 100% online
Accelerated 8-week terms with multiple start times per year
Admission calls for a bachelor's degree and a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5, though applicants below 2.5 may still be considered; no GRE is required
Students without two years of experience in criminal justice or a related field complete an internship
$550 a credit
Read more
The degree requires 33 semester hours: 18 hours of core courses (Overview of Criminal Justice, Victimology, Criminological Theories, Research Methods, Current and Legal Issues in Criminal Justice, and a Capstone) and 15 semester hours of elective courses. Students build a foundation in criminological theory, research methods, legal and ethical issues and current challenges in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, and the Criminal Justice Administration concentration emphasizes the formulation and implementation of policies and laws and management issues such as decision making, fiscal responsibility, program evaluation and performance evaluation. Classes are 100% online in accelerated 8-week terms, on a full-time or part-time schedule.
Applicants need a bachelor's degree or its equivalent, in the subject or a related field, plus a resume with two references, a statement of purpose and a minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.5, though applicants below 2.5 may still be considered; no GRE is required. Students without two years of experience in criminal justice or a related field complete an internship once admitted. Application deadlines are June 1 for fall, November 1 for spring and March 1 for summer, and NC Wesleyan's undergraduate-to-graduate pathways let criminal justice majors continue directly into the MSCJ, although acceptance to the graduate program is competitive and depends on meeting its admission criteria.
The degree can be completed in four sessions, or two semesters.
Sessions last eight weeks each.
Lees-McRae's Master of Science in Criminal Justice is a 100% online program in criminal justice administration, run in 8-week sessions that can be finished in two semesters, with no GRE or MAT scores required.
100% online, in 8-week sessions
Lees-McRae does not require GRE or MAT scores
30 credit hours, finishable in two semesters
Admission requires a bachelor's degree in any discipline and a 2.5 GPA
$550 a credit
Read more
The curriculum requires 30 hours earned through 10 courses of 3 credit hours each: Foundations of Criminal Justice, Advanced Research Methods in Criminal Justice, Leadership in Criminal Justice, Advanced Criminological Theory, Organizational Management and Administration for Criminal Justice, Budgeting in Criminal Justice Administration, Criminal Justice Policy, Planning, and Evaluation, Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Crime in America, Human Resources Management in Criminal Justice, and a Capstone. The degree can be completed in four sessions, or two semesters, with each session lasting eight weeks, and every student follows the same course schedule. The program is 100% online and emphasizes criminal justice administration as a foundation for leadership roles.
Admission requires a BA or BS in any discipline, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher, official transcripts and a one-page statement of purpose, which applicants may replace with a personal interview; the application fee is waived and GRE or MAT scores are not required. Lees-McRae says students with a background outside criminal justice, such as social work, human services or journalism, are welcome, and the program is designed so students can keep working while they earn the degree.
lmc.edu
550.1
Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration
The master's degree can be completed in as little as one year.
Cumberlands' online Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration pairs a justice administration core with one emphasis area chosen from fields such as corrections, law enforcement, juvenile justice and digital forensics.
Students can finish the master's degree in as few as 15 months.
Courses run in 10-week terms.
Southern New Hampshire University's online Master of Science (MS) in Criminal Justice is 30 credits in 10-week terms, with a general track or a concentration in Advanced Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, Cybercrime, or Public Safety Administration.
30 credits, 100% online, in 10-week terms
A general track or one of three concentrations
Admission requires a conferred bachelor's degree; full acceptance requires a 2.75 undergraduate GPA
The Leadership and Management master's is delivered in 7.5-week sessions and can be finished in as little as one year with a full course load.
The program is delivered in seven-week sessions, so students focus on fewer courses at a time.
Sam Houston State University's College of Criminal Justice runs an online, non-thesis Master of Science in Criminal Justice for working professionals, alongside an online leadership and management degree and a thesis-based Master of Arts taught face to face in Huntsville, Texas.
36 credit hours for the M.S. in Criminal Justice
The M.S. in Criminal Justice runs in accelerated 7-week sessions
The M.S. degrees are online; the M.A. is taught face to face in Huntsville, Texas
The administration of justice master's degree can be finished in as little as one year.
Courses run in seven-week terms.
Wilmington University's Master of Science in Administration of Justice can be taken online, hybrid or in a traditional classroom, with optional concentrations in leadership and administration, criminal behavior, or homeland security.
36 credit hours across 12 courses
Traditional classroom, online and hybrid formats
Classes start every 8 weeks
Admission requires a bachelor's degree
$1,692 a course
Read more
The degree requires 36 credit hours: five core courses (Criminological Theory, Criminal Justice Ethics, Managing Diversity, Technology for Modern Policing, and Research Methods in Criminal Justice), four courses from a concentration and three electives, or seven courses of the student's choosing without a concentration. A master's thesis is not required but is offered as a three-credit elective. Classes start every 8 weeks in traditional classroom, online and hybrid formats, and the program lists New Castle, Delaware among its locations.
Wilmington asks applicants for official transcripts showing a completed bachelor's degree. Students must finish within five years with a GPA of 3.0, and the university accepts up to twelve transfer credits from graduate programs the student has already completed, which it says may include graduate study completed at the FBI National Academy.
The criminal justice master's degree can be earned in as few as 12 months.
Courses are 100% online in accelerated six-week terms.
Franklin's M.A. in Criminal Justice is a 100% online, 32-credit-hour degree in 6-week courses that can be finished in as few as 12 months, with no GMAT or GRE required and four specializations to choose from.
100% online, in 6-week courses
Franklin does not require the GMAT or GRE for admission
32 credit hours, finishable in as few as 12 months
Specializations in crime analytics, crime scene investigation, cybersecurity governance and leadership
Current service members pay a lower per-credit rate
$690 a credit
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Each specialization's curriculum lists the same required courses, Advanced Evidence Based Practice and Research Methods, Effective Administration of Justice, Adult & Juvenile Systems of Justice, Criminology Theory & Solutions to Crime, and a Public Administration Capstone, alongside the courses of the specialization itself. Crime Analytics teaches tools like Power BI and ArcGIS for analyzing crime data; Crime Scene Investigation covers evidence preservation, forensic photography and the science of fingerprints; Cybersecurity Governance covers cybercrime, digital forensics and security policy; and Leadership builds ethical, strategic and communication skills for managing agencies. Courses are 100% online in accelerated 6-week terms.
Admission requires a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree from an institutionally accredited school, and the GMAT and GRE are not required. Applicants whose degree GPA is between 2.250 and 2.499 are automatically granted conditional enrollment, and those below can petition the program chair. Franklin lists nine start dates each year, publishes a lower per-credit rate for current service members, and its Tuition Guarantee locks in the first-term rate through graduation for students who stay enrolled.
Walden offers its MS in Criminal Justice online in a course-based format and, for the Public Management and Leadership specialization, also in Tempo Learning, a competency-based format in which students set their own pace.
48 quarter credits
Admission requires a bachelor's degree or higher
Coursework is delivered online
Walden may accept up to 24 transfer credits
$570 a quarter credit, online rate
Read more
The MS in Criminal Justice requires 48 quarter credits: a foundation course, core courses in The Nature of Crime and Criminology, Controversies in Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Research, Special Populations and Victimology, three specialization courses, and a capstone in criminal justice ethics and social justice. Students pick the General Program or any of eight specializations, such as Behavioral Sciences, Cybercrimes, Homeland Security Policy and Coordination, and Terrorism, Mediation, and Peace. Coursework runs on Walden's online learning platform.
Admission calls for a bachelor's degree or higher, and Walden says it may accept up to 24 transfer credits. Students aiming for executive roles can instead take the online MS in Criminal Justice Leadership and Executive Management, also 48 quarter credits, which covers management philosophies along with the budgeting and communication skills criminal justice leaders use.
waldenu.edu
Online master’s programs with an accelerated format or a shorter finish, places 11 to 20
Rank and school
Pace
Cost per credit
Completion
Graduates
Format
Score
11
Lewis University Romeoville, IL
The accelerated eight-week format lets students earn the master's degree in 1 to 2 years.
$845
69%
23
Online
39.4
12
Xavier University Cincinnati, OH
The 30-credit hour program can be completed in as little as one year when attending full time.
$687
55%
10
Online
38.7
13
Salem University Salem, WV
On average, a full-time student can earn the master's degree in approximately ten months.
$565
53%
23
Online
37.7
14
McNeese State University Lake Charles, LA
The program length is 1.5 years, at 36 credit hours.
$561
50%
16
Online
36.0
15
Texas A & M International University Laredo, TX
The program can be finished in as few as 12 months.
$918
63%
75
Online
35.5
16
Ashford University San Diego, CA
The program offers accelerated six-week courses.
$740
20%
65
Online
33.3
17
Faulkner University Montgomery, AL
The Master of Justice Administration is a one-year, fully online graduate program.
$605
36%
42
Online
32.9
18
Albany State University Albany, GA
The master's degree can be completed in one year for seriously committed students.
$762
43%
23
Online or on campus
32.5
19
East Central University Ada, OK
The program can be completed fully online in as little as one year.
$602
53%
10
Online
31.9
20
Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY
The program uses accelerated seven-week terms.
$780
53%
28
Online
30.6
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.
What Counts as an Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree
A program is here when its school says so on its own page. 21 of the
34 programs give a finish time in their own words: University of Arkansas Grantham says its bachelor’s program takes 38 months, Youngstown State University says its bachelor’s program takes as few as 12 months and Monroe University says its bachelor’s program takes less than three (3) years.
Course length is the other signal. 21 programs state it, from 5 weeks at Warner Pacific University upward, and
19 run courses of eight weeks or fewer.
The length stated most often is 7 weeks. 2 programs start new students every month.
Every statement counted here is the school’s own, read on October 8, 2026.
How the Accelerated List Is Made
A list by student background, program feature or specialization is not a ranking of its own. It is the national online ranking at its level, kept to the programs whose school's own page states what the list is about, in the same order and with the same scores, so a program's position counts only the programs on that list. The price an online student from another state pays is the one scored, as on every online list.
A program is on this accelerated online criminal justice degree list when its school’s page calls the format accelerated or states a finish shorter than the degree’s usual length. California State University-Sacramento, for example, is first here and 11th on the full online bachelor’s ranking.
The methodology page gives the weights behind every score.
Questions About an Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree
What Is an Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree?
On this list it is a program that its school’s own page says can be finished online, and whose page either calls the format accelerated or states a finish shorter than the degree’s usual length. 21 of the 34 programs give a finish time in their own words, and 21 give the length of a course or term.
How Quickly Can You Finish an Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree?
Each school states its own pace. University of Arkansas Grantham says its bachelor’s program takes 38 months, Youngstown State University says its bachelor’s program takes as few as 12 months and Monroe University says its bachelor’s program takes less than three (3) years. The list orders programs the way the online rankings do, on cost, graduate earnings, completion, online experience, track record and program reputation, so a faster finish time does not move a program up.
What Do Accelerated Online Programs Charge?
The cards print the cost per credit each program is scored on, taken at what an online student from another state pays. At the bachelor’s level, the median program on this list charges a student from out of state $18,469 a year in tuition and required fees, against $17,876 across all 187 ranked online bachelor’s programs. At the master’s level, the median program on this list charges a student from out of state $12,233 a year in tuition and required fees, against $12,636 across all 57 ranked online master’s programs.
How Long Are the Courses in an Accelerated Program?
21 programs state a course or term length. The shortest is 5 weeks, at Warner Pacific University. The most common is 7 weeks, which 9 of them state. 2 also state that students can start every month.
How Is the Accelerated List Ordered?
California State University-Sacramento is first here and 11th on the full online bachelor’s ranking, because this list keeps the online ranking’s order and scores and drops the programs that do not state an accelerated format. The methodology page explains the scores.
Sources for the Accelerated Online Criminal Justice Degree List
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.
Whether a format is accelerated, how long its courses run and when students start: each school’s own program, catalog and admissions pages, named on its card
and read on October 8, 2026.
How the list is drawn from the online ranking, and how the scores work: the methodology page.
