Master of Arts in Criminal Justice Online

Gain the expertise to analyze criminal behavior and navigate the correctional system while advancing your career in criminal justice.

8/4/25 Next Application Due Date
8/18/25 Start Classes
Apply Now Request Information

Program Overview

Advance your career with an online M.A. in Criminal Justice

$18,000 Total Tuition
As few as 18 months Program Duration
36 Credit Hours

Designed for working professionals, this psychology-focused, non-thesis program allows you to balance coursework with your career while developing a comprehensive understanding of the criminal justice system, law enforcement, legal systems and corrections. Customize your education with electives on topics like transnational crime, the juvenile justice system, and the role of counseling in criminal justice.

Earning your master’s in criminal justice from ULM can expand your career opportunities, increase your earning potential, and position you for promotions. With a strong alumni network and established connections to top agencies and community organizations, you’ll have access to valuable professional support. Whether advancing in your current role or pursuing new opportunities, this program provides the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in law enforcement, public agencies, and related fields.

Career opportunities in criminal justice:

  • Police Chief
  • Warden
  • Police Academy Director
  • Supervisor Roles in Child Protection
  • Detective
  • Victim's Advocate
  • Community College Instructor
  • Adjunct Professor
Career opportunities in criminal justice:+
  • Police Chief
  • Warden
  • Police Academy Director
  • Supervisor Roles in Child Protection
  • Detective
  • Victim's Advocate
  • Community College Instructor
  • Adjunct Professor

As a graduate of this online M.A. in Criminal Justice program, you will be able to:

  • Analyze the relationship between law enforcement and society, with a focus on police roles, stress, conduct, and legal issues
  • Develop a comprehensive understanding of the correctional system, including both institutional and community-based corrections
  • Examine social, political, and legal issues affecting the criminal justice system through in-depth analysis of contemporary research and literature
  • Explore key theories of criminal behavior, integrating insights from psychological and contemporary research perspectives
  • Conduct criminal justice research using both traditional and modern digital tools with the opportunity to complete a research project
  • Evaluate the role of diversity in the criminal justice system as it pertains to victims, offenders, defendants, prisoners, and criminal justice professionals
  • Gain knowledge and application of ethics and leadership in law enforcement, corrections, and legal environments
As a graduate of this online M.A. in Criminal Justice program, you will be able to:+
  • Analyze the relationship between law enforcement and society, with a focus on police roles, stress, conduct, and legal issues
  • Develop a comprehensive understanding of the correctional system, including both institutional and community-based corrections
  • Examine social, political, and legal issues affecting the criminal justice system through in-depth analysis of contemporary research and literature
  • Explore key theories of criminal behavior, integrating insights from psychological and contemporary research perspectives
  • Conduct criminal justice research using both traditional and modern digital tools with the opportunity to complete a research project
  • Evaluate the role of diversity in the criminal justice system as it pertains to victims, offenders, defendants, prisoners, and criminal justice professionals
  • Gain knowledge and application of ethics and leadership in law enforcement, corrections, and legal environments

Additional business and social sciences programs available:

ULM offers a diverse set of online programs. Take a look at our other online business and social sciences programs.

$18,000 Total Tuition
As few as 18 months Program Duration
36 Credit Hours
Apply Now

Need More Information?

Call 800-917-3236

Call 800-917-3236

Tuition and Fees

Take note of the affordable online tuition

The criminal justice online master’s degree offers affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition. Financial aid may also be available for students who qualify.

Tuition breakdown:

$500 Per Credit Hour
$18,000 Program Tuition
View additional tuition information +

Program Per Credit Hour Per 3-Credit Hour Course Per Program
M.A. in Criminal Justice $500 $1,500 $18,000
View financial aid information +

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid at fafsa.ed.gov, using the Federal School Code for ULM: 002020.

If you have questions regarding financial aid, please contact the Financial Aid Office at 318-342-5320.

Tuition breakdown:

$500 Per Credit Hour
$18,000 Program Tuition

Calendar

Get familiar with these important program dates

The criminal justice master’s online features convenient eight-week courses with five start dates each year. Here you can find application date deadlines, due dates for required documents, and tuition deadlines for your desired start date.

Now enrolling:

8/4/25 Next Application Due Date
8/18/25 Start Classes

View full calendar  + 

SessionProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlinePayment DeadlineLast Class DayTerm Length
Fall 18/18/258/4/258/4/258/8/258/8/2510/13/258 weeks
Fall 210/13/259/29/259/29/2510/17/2510/17/2512/11/258 weeks

Now enrolling:

8/4/25 Next Application Due Date
8/18/25 Start Classes

Have questions or need more information about our online programs?

Request Info

Ready to take the rewarding path toward earning your degree online?

Apply Now

Admissions

Here are the next steps for applying to the online criminal justice master's online program

The admission process is the first step toward earning your online degree. Find out the requirements for the criminal justice master’s degree online, what additional materials you should send and where you need to send them. The requirements include:

  • Online Application
  • Bachelor's Degree
  • Minimum 2.5 GPA
  • No GMAT/GRE Required
View all admission requirements +

Regular Admission

Applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree with a minimum overall GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or a 2.75 GPA on the last 60 hours of attempted coursework to be regularly admitted.

Applicants who have earned any graduate or terminal degree from a college or university accredited and recognized at the institutional level by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) will qualify for regular admission to a master’s program provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Conditional Admission

Applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree with a minimum overall GPA of 2.50 on a 4.0 scale or a 2.50 on the last 60 hours of attempted coursework to be conditionally admitted
OR

Meet a minimum formula score of 622.6 (2.2 GPA x 283 GRE)
OR

With a GPA of 2.2 or higher, some candidates with five years of employment in a relevant field of study may qualify for a waiver of test scores in some programs.

Students who are admitted conditionally may not earn more than one grade lower than B and no grade lower than C during the first 12 semester hours of graduate coursework. Any graduate student in the Criminal Justice program who earns more than two grades less than B or any grade less than C on graduate work will not be allowed to continue in the Criminal Justice graduate program.

Any student who pursues approved coursework at another university must present a transcript at the end of the semester in which the student initially enrolls in the transfer coursework. Students who do not present transcripts as required will not be allowed to continue in the Criminal Justice graduate program nor enroll in criminal justice graduate courses until such time as the transcript is received.

Program Requirements

Applicants must complete the bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with a major in the field of criminal justice. Other bachelor’s degrees will be considered on an individual basis.

Students who do not have undergraduate degrees in criminal justice may be required to complete specified undergraduate deficiency courses prior to enrolling in graduate criminal justice coursework.

If you need to submit official documents by mail, send them to:

Graduate Admissions
University of Louisiana Monroe
Sandel Hall 243
700 University Avenue
Monroe, LA 71209-0600

Transcripts and official documents can be electronically submitted to gradschooldocs@ulm.edu.

Have a question? Call us at 800-917-3236.

Courses

Get more details on the master's in criminal justice online coursework

To earn the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice online, you must complete the following required courses (30 credit hours) and choose two electives (6 credit hours) for a total of 36 credit hours.

Expand All
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course consists of an overview of the correctional system process and focuses on administration of both institutional and community-based corrections.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An in-depth examination of recent literature related to the social, political, and legal issues affecting the criminal justice system.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An in-depth analysis of selected explanations of criminal behavior. Readings will include original works of sociological, psychological, and other theorists. Contemporary research will be given considerable attention.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Techniques, processes, and methods of research in criminal justice with emphasis on both traditional and contemporary (electronic) sources.
Duration: 4 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
A critical examination of the police and their relationship to society. Attention will be given to the role of police; full service policing; ethics in policing; police stress, discretion, conduct, unionization, corruption, and professionalism; and legal issues related to due process of law.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An analysis of social behavior and its relationship to the development of law; law as a control mechanism; social behavior as it relates to the police, courts, and corrections; portrayal of the criminal justice system components in the media; and social change and the law. (Same as SOCL 5055.)
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Examination of administrative principles, ethics and leadership as they apply to criminal justice agencies.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Examination of the role of diversity in the criminal justice system.
Duration: 4 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The manifestations of deviant behavior in individuals, and the principles and theoretical models used in the description and interpretations of psychological disorders. Emphasis is on the use and limitations of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Duration: 4 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Study of the interaction of psychological science and the law. Emphasis on explanation and prediction of criminal behavior, risk assessment, civil and eyewitness testimony, custody and competency evaluations, and police psychology.

Student must choose two of the following electives:

Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An examination of the juvenile justice system: history, structure, and interrelationships among law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Federal, State, and local laws and programs are explored with an emphasis upon case law and statutory law, both historical and current. Issues in terms of the philosophy of parens patriae and constitutional procedures are explored.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An in-depth study and evaluation of counseling as applied in the criminal justice setting, law enforcement, and corrections. A psycho-social approach to the understanding of behavior is emphasized with priority given to immediacy. Crisis intervention, interviewing, interpersonal communication, and various treatment models are explored.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
This course provides a critical and in-depth examination of border security and immigration policy in the United States and abroad.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
An in-depth study of transnational crime, drug, and vice offenses within the structures of a constitutional democracy. Included within the study is the historical background of organized crime and the present status of these identified groups. Prerequisites: Permission of Department Head.
Duration: 8 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
A cross-national survey of crime and criminal justice. Emphasis will be on crime rates, forms of criminality, police, courts, and corrections. Descriptive material on selected countries will be analyzed and compared. Although the major emphasis will be on the substantive content of assigned readings, some attention will be given to research methodology.

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