A homeland security concentration sits inside an online criminal justice degree, and this 2027 list collects the 25 programs whose school says it offers one, 16 at the bachelor’s level and 9 at the master’s level.
University of Massachusetts-Lowell is first at the bachelor’s level, scoring 72.9 out of 100. It charges an online student from another state $385 a credit and its criminal justice graduates earn a median $66,258 four years after finishing.
Bachelor’s Programs With a Homeland Security Concentration
16 of the 187 ranked online bachelor’s programs carry a homeland security concentration. University of Massachusetts-Lowell leads with a score of 72.9 out of 100.
The median program at this level costs $404 a credit. The schools title it Homeland Security, Homeland Security & Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Homeland Security and Homeland Security and Justice, among 2 other names.
UMass Lowell offers its criminal justice bachelor's on campus and entirely online, with options in policing, corrections, homeland security and crime and mental health, plus a paralegal option that runs online only.
SNHU teaches its Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice online with a general track or one of 8 specializations, and runs a separate Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies on its campus in Manchester, New Hampshire.
120 credits
The criminal justice degree is taught online in 8-week terms
SNHU accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward the degree
Westfield State's Criminal Justice, B.S. is offered on campus or online, and Massachusetts community college graduates can complete it entirely online through the university's degree completion program.
The degree is offered on campus or online
The major consists of 42 credits
Concentrations in Criminology, Law Enforcement and Homeland Security, and Rehabilitation and Restoration
Liberty University offers its Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice both 100% online in 8-week courses and as a residential degree in Lynchburg, Virginia, and its catalog shows which specializations run in each format.
120 credit hours
Offered 100% online in 8-week courses or as a residential program in Lynchburg, Virginia
George Mason University’s Criminology, Law and Society degrees in Fairfax, Virginia study the justice system through law enforcement, the courts and corrections, offer an optional Criminal Justice concentration, and the BA can be completed fully online.
120 credits minimum for the BA or BS
The BA is offered fully online through Mason Online
An optional Criminal Justice concentration is available
Franklin's B.S. Criminal Justice Administration is taught 100% online in 6- and 12-week courses, and Franklin lists 28 credit hours toward it for completing the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy.
100% online, with 6- and 12-week courses
Franklin lists 28 credit hours for the Ohio Police Officer Training Academy
120 semester hours, with up to 90 transfer credits accepted
Excelsior University's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice is an asynchronous online degree that accepts up to 113 transfer credits and offers a Homeland Security concentration or a general option students tailor to their own interests.
120 credits, including a 42-credit major core
Asynchronous online, with courses starting every 8 weeks
Middle Georgia State University teaches its Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice 100% online, with an optional Homeland Security and Emergency Management track and a capstone taken as an internship or an independent study.
120 credit hours
100% online
An optional track in Homeland Security and Emergency Management
The University of Management and Technology in Arlington, Virginia delivers its Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice entirely online, with an optional Homeland Security major.
120 credit hours, 60 at the upper level
Fully online
Admission requires a high school diploma, GED or equivalent
Thomas Edison State University's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice is a fully online, 120-credit degree designed for adults, with optional concentrations in Cybersecurity, Forensic Psychology, Homeland Security, Law and Society, and Organizational Leadership.
120 credit hours
TESU lists the format as online
Admission requires a high school diploma, GED or qualifying home school diploma
Online bachelor’s programs with a homeland security concentration, ranked 11 to 16
Rank and school
Concentration
Cost per credit
Completion
Graduates
Format
Score
11
Purdue University Global West Lafayette, IN
Homeland Security
$556.50
38%
385
Online
50.9
12
University of Arkansas Grantham Little Rock, AR
Homeland Security
$305
45%
32
Online
50.1
13
Waldorf University Forest City, IA
Homeland Security
$345
43%
29
Online or on campus
44.4
14
Post University Waterbury, CT
Emergency Management & Homeland Security
$629
28%
87
Online or on campus
42.2
15
Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN
Homeland Security
$523
50%
80
Online or on campus
42.1
16
Salem University Salem, WV
Homeland Security
$550
53%
15
Online
38.2
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.
Master’s Programs With a Homeland Security Concentration
9 of the 57 ranked online master’s programs carry a homeland security concentration. Lamar University leads with a score of 62.0 out of 100.
The median program at this level costs $600 a credit. The schools title it Homeland Security, Advanced Counterterrorism and Homeland Security and Homeland Security Policy and Coordination.
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.
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 study is flexible, so students can study on their own schedule while balancing work and personal commitments.
UMT delivers its Master of Science in Criminal Justice entirely online, lets students outside term-based programs enroll in courses year-round, and charges military members, veterans and first responders a lower tuition rate.
Fully online
Military members, veterans and first responders pay a lower tuition rate
36 semester credit hours, with an optional Homeland Security concentration
The online programs are flexible and let students study anywhere and anytime.
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 access coursework online on their own time.
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
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.
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.
Online coursework is asynchronous and accessible 24/7, so students study and submit work anytime and anywhere.
Texas A&M International University teaches its Master of Science in Criminal Justice in 100% online, asynchronous 7-week courses, with thesis and non-thesis tracks and concentrations in criminal justice administration, cybersecurity and homeland security.
36 semester credit hours on the non-thesis track, 30 on the thesis track
Fully online, asynchronous 7-week courses
The program has six start dates per year
Students can finish in as few as 12 months
$367 a credit, in-state rate
Read more
The non-thesis track is 36 semester credit hours: 18 hours of core courses and 18 hours of criminology electives. The core is Foundations of the Criminal Justice System, Advanced Seminar in Criminal System, Law and Criminal Justice, Advanced Methods of Social Research, Seminar in Criminological Theory and a Capstone Project in Criminal Justice graded pass/fail; electives include seminars on corrections and police practices and courses such as Cybercrime, Digital Forensics, Terrorism and Homeland Security. The thesis track totals 30 semester credit hours and ends with Thesis I and Thesis II, for students who want faculty-supervised research.
TAMIU grants automatic admission to applicants with a bachelor's degree in any major and an overall GPA of 2.8 or above, or 2.5 with three or more years of work experience in criminal justice or a related field; others are reviewed case by case by program faculty, and applicants below 2.5 add a 200-word personal statement. New students are enrolled in the non-thesis track; to declare the thesis track, a student must secure a faculty member's commitment to serve as thesis advisor during the first semester and maintain a 3.5 GPA in the first full year. The program has six start dates a year.
The University of Arizona Global Campus teaches this master's online in accelerated 6-week courses, and every student completes a specialization in homeland security or in law enforcement and corrections administration.
39 credits, or 36 for students exempt from the introductory course
Courses run in accelerated 6-week sessions
Admission requires a bachelor's degree with a GPA of 2.0 or above
A homeland security concentration carries a different title from school to school, so the list reads each program’s profile for a concentration with homeland in its title and keeps the school’s wording.
18 of the 25 programs use the plain title Homeland Security. The others pair it with another field or narrow it: Homeland Security & Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Homeland Security, Homeland Security and Justice, Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Emergency Management & Homeland Security.
Bachelor’s Programs
Homeland security concentration at each listed bachelor’s program, with its format and degree size
10 programs on this list also appear on the law enforcement list,
the school’s degree naming a concentration in each field. Readers who want the policing side alone can start there.
Federal Jobs That Ask for a Degree
A homeland security concentration is a set of courses and not a job title. The federal jobs the site covers that name a degree are below, each in the wording its own agency or posting uses. The U.S. Marshals
Service names the field itself: its qualification page lists Homeland Security among the fields related to law enforcement.
Education that four federal jobs state for themselves
A bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university, along with the work experience the posting lists. The posting pays $93,749 to $133,200 a year at pay grades GL 9 to 10.
Deputy U.S. marshal
A bachelor’s degree in any field qualifies for the entry grade. For the next grade the service takes a bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement and major study in a field related to law enforcement, or a year of related graduate study, and its qualification page lists Homeland Security among those fields.
Customs and Border Protection officer
A full four-year bachelor’s degree in any field qualifies for the entry grade. The next grade takes a bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement, which CBP bases on class standing, a GPA of 3.0 or higher or honor society membership.
DEA special agent
A bachelor’s degree with a GPA of 2.95 or higher, a master’s degree or a law degree, or a bachelor’s or higher with three or more years of substantive work experience and special skills. Agents are 21 to 36 at appointment.
The homeland security list is not a ranking of its own. It takes the national online ranking at each level and keeps the programs where the online criminal justice degree its school describes names a homeland security concentration, in that ranking’s order and with its scores, so
a card’s rank counts only programs on this list. 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. The program pages were read between October 7, 2026 and October 12, 2026, and
the methodology page sets out the factors and weights.
Questions About the Homeland Security Concentration
What Is a Homeland Security Concentration in a Criminal Justice Degree?
It is a named track inside an online criminal justice degree. The 25 programs on this list are at 22 schools, and each school’s own page names the concentration. 18 call it Homeland Security outright; the other titles are Homeland Security & Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Homeland Security, Homeland Security and Justice and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Which Schools Offer a Homeland Security Concentration Online?
At the bachelor’s level University of Massachusetts-Lowell is first on the list, followed by Southern New Hampshire University and Westfield State University. At the master’s level Lamar University is first on the list, followed by Liberty University and University of Management and Technology. The cards for every school on the list link to its program page.
How Much Does a Homeland Security Concentration Cost?
A homeland security concentration sits in programs that charge a median of $510 a credit to an online student from another state. For a full-time year, the median out-of-state tuition and required fees at these schools is $14,126. At the bachelor’s level the median is $404 a credit and the lowest is $176, at Middle Georgia State University. At the master’s level the median is $600 a credit and the lowest is $355, at University of the Cumberlands.
What Jobs Does a Homeland Security Concentration Lead To?
A homeland security concentration is a set of courses, not a job title. The federal jobs the site covers that name a degree are FBI special agent, deputy U.S. marshal, Customs and Border Protection officer and DEA special agent, and each agency states the education it asks for on its own page. The FBI agent guide covers the steps for the first.
Does a Federal Agency Name Homeland Security as a Degree Field?
Yes. The U.S. Marshals Service qualification page lists Homeland Security among the fields related to law enforcement, both for a bachelor’s degree with superior academic achievement and for a year of graduate study.
Is a Homeland Security Concentration the Same as a Law Enforcement One?
Each has a list of its own. 10 programs appear on both, because the school’s degree names a concentration in each field. The law enforcement list shows the programs with a policing or law enforcement concentration, in their own order.
How Are Homeland Security Concentration Programs Ordered?
By their place on the national online ranking at the same level, which scores cost, graduate earnings, completion, online experience, track record and program reputation. The concentration decides who is on the list, and the ranking decides the order. The methodology page gives the weights.
Sources for the Homeland Security Concentration 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.
