Criminal Justice Online Master's Degree
DEGREE TYPE
Master's Degree
PROGRAM TYPE
Graduate
LOCATION
COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT
Advance your career through the courses that you select.
SEMO's 100% Online Criminal Justice Master's Degree helps you move forward in your career. We offer course flexibility, which means your education directly supports your professional goals. We recognize your prior training—FBI National Academy, Command College, or other executive-level experience can count toward your degree, helping you finish in as little as 12 months.
Where Bold Ideas Take Place With a Online Criminal Justice Master's Degree
In one of the best graduate criminal justice programs, learn from professionals who bring real-world experience to every course. You'll drive real change:
- Master criminal justice policies and understand how outside factors shape our justice systems
- Build practical skills that you can use right away in your current role
- Connect with a network of professionals who face the same challenges you do
What Can You Do with a Criminal Justice Online Master's Degree?
The online criminal justice master's program prepares you for leadership roles throughout the justice system. Gain the knowledge and skills to advance in law enforcement, corrections, emergency management, and court systems. The program focuses on practical leadership that helps you solve real problems and make better decisions.
Criminal Justice Master's Degree Career Advancement
Graduates from the Online Criminal Justice Master's program move into key leadership positions that make a difference:
- Law Enforcement Management
- Emergency Management Leadership
- Corrections Administration
- Security Director
- Policy Development
This degree is about more than just theory—it's about Monday morning solutions for the challenges you face every day.
Request Info
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Online: Criminal Justice Master's Degree Map
This is where you find your fearless.
Criminal Justice Online Master's Degree Curriculum
The online graduate program in criminal justice admits students throughout the year.
- An undergraduate GPA of 2.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale
30 hours required
Core Requirements
- CJ600 Administration of Justice (3)
- CJ601 Applied Research (3)
- CJ615 Theories of Crime (3)
- CJ626 Applied Analytics (3)
Choose 18 hours from the following; at least 3 hours must be at the 600 level:
- CJ505 Social Inequality (3)
- CJ510 Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (3)
- CJ519 Restorative Justice (3)
- CJ520 Law and Social Control (3)
- CJ522 Critical Analysis of Gangs in America (3)
- CJ540 Professional Standards (3)
- CJ541 Death Penalty in America (3)
- CJ602 Professional Development Planning (3)
- CJ610 Seminar in Law Enforcement (3)
- CJ630 Contemporary Juvenile Justice (3)
- CJ635 Civil Law and Liability (3)
- CJ645 Criminal Justice Policy Analysis and Evaluation (3)
- CJ650 Criminal Justice Leadership and Practice (3)
- CJ651 Special Topics in Criminal Justice (3)
- CJ680 Travel Study (3)
- CJ690 Professional Praxis (9)
- CJ691 Independent Study in Criminal Justice
- CJ699 Criminal Justice Internship (3-6)
Comprehensive Portfolio compiled during the course of study and
completed during the final semester, and students must enroll in GR698
during their final semester of coursework. The required Portfolio must be
successfully completed prior to degree conferral and includes one
comprehensive item from each graduate course taken, designated by
the respective instructor of each course in the student’s program of
study. Successful completion of the MSCJ Portfolio requires a
comprehensive average minimum score of 80% across all portfolio
items prior to degree conferral.
National Academy; Federal or State Special Agent School; or equivalent
senior/executive-level training may receive 9 hours credit in CJ 690
toward MSCJ degree requirements. PLC in other areas also may be
awarded. All PLC counts toward the maximum allowable 12 hours of
graduate transfer credit that may be applied toward MSCJ degree
requirements.
Our graduate course descriptions can be found on the Graduate Courses page. This page lists all graduate courses including criminal justice courses with their details to help you plan your studies.
The Criminal Justice Department offers courses on a two-year rotating schedule. To see when each graduate course is available (spring, fall, first 8 weeks, second 8 weeks, or online), please check the Criminal Justice Graduate Course Rotation. This will help you plan when to take your classes.
Access, Convenience, and Flexibility
-
100%
Online Graduate Courses
100% online courses allow you to work and study at a time and location convenient for you, making Southeast the best online criminal justice master's program for you.
-
8
Week Courses
8-week online criminal justice courses reduce your time away from work or family and shorten your time to graduation.
-
0
GRE or Thesis Requirement
The Online Criminal Justice Master's program does not require a GRE or Thesis for completion.
-
9
Credit Hours
9 credit hours for advanced or executive level training help you complete your degree in 12 months or less.
What will it cost?
NFOPU Consortium
Missouri National Guard Criminal Justice
SEMO Blog
Partnerships
Brian Donavant Ph.D.
Chair & Professor in the Department of Criminal Justice, Social Work and Sociology
Accelerated Master’s Degree
Earn Your Degree on Your Schedule.
Do more than dream about the future. Take the first steps to make it all happen.
Getting the Job
Criminal Justice Online Master's Degree Outcomes & Careers
-
$97K
Emergency Management Directors
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual salary for emergency management directors is $97,700.
-
$82K
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual salary for first-line supervisors of correctional officers is $82,260.
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$98K
Detectives and Criminal Investigators
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the median annual salary for detectives and criminal investigators is $98,770.
College of Humanities and Social Sciences 
U.S. News & World Report
Graduating from the criminal justice program has helped shape me into the state trooper I am today. Even now, coming up on three years as a state trooper, I am constantly going back to my time as a graduate student and dissecting and learning from everyday situations.
Jose (J.J.) Sanchez
'13, M.S. in Criminal Justice, Missouri State Highway Patrol
Online Learning at SEMO
Your Success, Our Priority
Additional Resources
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Location
Office Location
Mailing Address
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701