Exploring a Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections: Your Path to a Rewarding Career 

Russell Sage College’s Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections offers a first in the nation, unique program that focuses on the development, evaluation, and management of alternatives to incarceration, including the array of critical interdisciplinary, community-based services, and the cultivation of leadership and professional opportunities. As more resources are channeled away from mass incarceration and toward community corrections, individuals who want to pursue careers and leadership positions in all aspects of community corrections will benefit from our unique educational opportunity to achieve that goal.

Sage’s Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections is the only online graduate program in the country that focuses on community corrections. The program includes courses in institutional corrections and offender rehabilitation, offender reentry and reintegration, community corrections, restorative justice, abnormal psychology, substance abuse, and evidence-based program evaluation. Students graduate prepared to pursue a range of career opportunities, including leadership positions, that are geared toward establishing safer communities, offender rehabilitation and accountability, and a more collaborative and cooperative justice system.

This master’s program is unique because it focuses on all aspects of community corrections and how community-based programs can work together effectively to promote offender rehabilitation and safer communities. Applicants working in the criminal justice and human service fields can tailor their future professional paths and leadership opportunities by learning how the myriad of community corrections officials, from probation and parole officers to health and human service and substance abuse treatment providers, and restorative justice programs can all work together to effectively reintegrate offenders into safer communities.

The Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections degree also lends itself to research opportunities. During the program, students can design a culminating project with a faculty member or complete an externship to obtain real-world experience. Graduates of the program may work in research-focused positions at think tanks, for the government as probation and parole officers, in health and human service provider organizations such as hospitals, substance abuse treatment centers, and counseling services, or at academic institutions. A master’s degree is a proven pathway to leadership, teaching, research, and management careers.

The Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections faculty at Sage consists of working professionals who are experts in the fields of probation, parole, community corrections programs, substance abuse and counseling services, law, forensic mental health, reentry programs, and restorative justice. Students work with an assigned academic advisor and connect with their professors as well as their fellow classmates to establish lasting professional relationships.

Most bachelor’s degree programs are broadly focused with many general education requirements. Our Master’s degree in Criminal Justice & Community Corrections is focused to help students achieve professional success and leadership positions throughout the myriad of interrelated fields and positions that contribute to successful community-based offender rehabilitation.

Effective community corrections requires collaboration and planning between corrections officials, probation and parole officers, court officers, and community-based health and human services providers. Our graduates learn how sound policies lead to effective, evidence-based rehabilitation practices implemented in a coordinated manner between the justice system, human service providers, and offenders.

Our program helps students learn how community corrections is an interconnected field of professionals helping reintegrate offenders into communities in safe and cost-effective manners, while promoting justice and accountability. Courses such as Institutional Corrections and Offender Rehabilitation, Community-Based Corrections, Reentry and Reintegration of Offenders, Substance Abuse, Restorative Justice, and Evidence-Based Program Evaluation allow students to explore best practices to reduce recidivism and improve community safety without mass incarceration.

Offender reentry to society is only as effective as the programs that are immediately available to monitor, guide, and rehabilitate them upon their return to the community. Master’s coursework in Reentry and Reintegration of Offenders as well as Substance Abuse: Vulnerabilities, Dynamics, and Problems, Community Based Corrections, and Restorative Justice in the Community, can help students understand issues facing offenders as they are safely reintegrated into a community. As a leader in the field, understanding Program Evaluation and Evidence-Based Practice is essential to knowing what works and how to improve and coordinate rehabilitation and reentry services for offenders.

Understanding criminological theories is a critical part of the Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections program. Proven theories allow practitioners to predict and evaluate effective programs and practices. In addition to coursework in psychology and forensic mental health, students learn about the theories and best practices that support crime and criminal behavior control, restorative justice, substance abuse, healthcare, and community-based corrections.

Community corrections involves many levels of administration, from the officers at a specific facility or program, to government officials, therapists, counselors, and program managers. Master’s students in criminal justice and community corrections learn the intricacies involved in management and leadership within the myriad of community corrections programs within the criminal justice and human services systems.

Earning a master’s degree can open new career opportunities for both graduates who have yet to work in the community corrections field and those who are looking to advance into positions of management and leadership.

Probation officers supervise offenders sentenced to probation in lieu of incarceration for misdemeanor and felony offenses and work closely with judges preparing presentence reports, and community-based health and human service providers. Parole officers supervise offenders who are released from prison on parole and assist parolees with reentry to society and access to critical services. Probation and parole officers help offenders build better lives that avoid recurring offenses and improve community safety. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 2,400 new probation office jobs are expected to be added between 2022 and 2032 with a median annual salary of $59,860.

With a master’s degree, individuals improve their opportunities for advancement opportunities into management positions. A community corrections program manager guides the policies and operations of many types of programs providing a myriad of services to offenders. Community corrections program managers can help shape programs to help offenders meet their rehabilitation goals within the community.

Graduates may become educators in the field of criminal justice and community corrections. According to the BLS, criminal justice educators are largely employed at junior colleges, colleges and universities, and earn a median annual salary of $69,030, with the top 10% earning more than $130,000 annually. Training opportunities exist in nearly every community corrections program, and experience coupled with a master’s degree in criminal justice and community corrections, is highly valued.

The American Psychological Association reports that 64% of jail inmates, 54% of state prisoners, and 45% of federal prisoners have reported mental health concerns. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 63% of people in jail and 58% in prison have a substance use disorder. To succeed in community corrections, these issues must be addressed by offenders, and they need the help of professionals to assist them. Our Master’s degree includes courses in substance abuse, psychology, and forensic mental health to ensure graduates have the knowledge and education to be successful in their professions and to help those who need assistance.

Health and human services professionals are critical service providers to offenders in community corrections programs. Community corrections is effective because of professional community-based providers of health and human services such as nurses, therapists, counselors, housing, and substance abuse treatment specialists, just to name a few important positions. With our Master’s degree, you gain an understanding of the interrelated nature of services and the criminal justice system and how best to provide, manage, improve, and evaluate those services. The opportunity to positively impact the lives of offenders, their families, and the communities in which they live is an invaluable service to the community.

Individuals with a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections may work as policy analysts or advisors for government agencies, nonprofit organizations, or advocacy groups. These roles involve analyzing policies designed to help offenders, their families, and communities, evaluating their effectiveness, and making recommendations for reform or improvement. According to the BLS, policy analysts collect information, analyze potential policies, evaluate the outcomes of existing policies, and communicate their findings to government and policy stakeholders. Criminal justice policy analysts may study anything from juvenile justice policies to prison and bail reform along with advocating for changes to make their communities safer.

If you are ready to explore the Sage master’s degree in criminal justice and community corrections program, reach out to get more information or submit your application today.