Is a Master’s in Criminal Justice Worth It? 

This blog post will help you assess whether a master’s in criminal justice is a valuable investment for you. 

Keep reading for tips on how to weigh potential criminal justice master’s degree benefits — like increased earning potential, access to leadership roles, and options to specialize in community corrections and other high-demand areas — against the financial and time commitments of earning the degree.

A master’s in criminal justice is a graduate degree that includes advanced coursework in institutional corrections, community corrections, program evaluation, psychology, and addiction. 

Candidates for a master’s in criminal justice also choose specialized electives and complete a culminating research project or externship. 

It is a useful degree for individuals at the beginning of their career as well as for working professionals pursuing advancement or changing fields. 

Our blog post titled Introduction to Master’s Programs in Criminal Justice provides a general overview of master’s in criminal justice programs and a guide for comparing criminal justice master’s programs. 

Criminal justice master’s degree benefits are numerous, especially when your chosen graduate program aligns closely with your personal needs and career goals.

Traditionally, individuals who hold a combination of a master’s degree and relevant professional experience (which can include an externship completed as part of your master’s program) stand out for higher-paying leadership roles and may be able to negotiate higher salaries. 

You can get an idea of what kind of leadership positions are available with a master’s degree in criminal justice by visiting a job search website like Indeed.com and entering “master’s in criminal justice” as a search term. 

You’ll see most positions with titles like “director,” “supervisor,” and “investigator” require a master’s degree. 

You’ll also see that several roles with titles like “specialist” — that normally require a few years of professional experience — will consider individuals with a master’s degree even if they have fewer years of work experience. 

Some criminal justice graduate programs are known for expertise in a certain area. Russell Sage College, for example, has the first online criminal justice master’s degree in the county to focus on the shift from incarceration to community corrections. 

And this expertise corresponds to changes in the criminal justice field and opportunities for professionals prepared for the changes. 

Individuals with a master’s in criminal justice will find professional opportunities in law enforcement and policing, corrections and rehabilitation, and legal services and policy making. 

Keep reading for a general overview of career opportunities with a master’s in criminal justice. 

Positions in law enforcement and policing exist at the local, state, and federal level, including with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. 

If you are interested in working in law enforcement and policing, a master’s degree often makes you eligible for higher pay grades. For example, some customs and border protection positions allow you to substitute graduate education for experience and qualify for a GS-7 grade level as opposed to a GS-5 grade level.

Positions in corrections and rehabilitation include probation officer, parole officer, and correctional officer. And while a bachelor’s degree may be enough to be hired for one of these roles, a master’s in criminal justice is very helpful if you want to advance in the field. 

Keep in mind that the criminal justice field is beginning to shift from institutional corrections, toward community corrections. This suggests that individuals who attend a community corrections-focused criminal justice graduate program like Russell Sage’s are likely to stand out. 

A master’s degree in criminal justice is an ideal degree if you are interested in a career in legal services, policy, or administrative roles in government, nonprofits, or with advocacy organizations.

These roles involve advocating for policies and implementing programs that are fair for offenders, victims, and communities. They often involve research, analysis, program evaluation, and communication and collaboration among diverse stakeholders.    

When it comes to choosing a grad program, the biggest considerations for many prospective students are cost and time. As you compare criminal justice graduate programs, you’ll find that cost, credit requirements, and time commitments vary.

You’ll want to consider cost and value when you are comparing criminal justice programs. For example, it doesn’t make sense to choose a lower-priced program if that program’s strengths don’t align with your goals or preferences. 

Still, there are many factors that can make a master’s degree more affordable. For example, some employers offer tuition reimbursement.

And you may be eligible for tuition benefits from some criminal justice graduate programs. For example, RSC offers a 10% discount to employees at New York’s Albany County Department of Probation and dozens of other Workforce Development partners. 

(And all that said, Russell Sage College — a private college — has a cost-per-credit that is very competitive with public institutions!)

You’ll also want to consider the time commitment of a criminal justice master’s program, from week to week, but also from start to finish. 

Many graduate students balance master’s degree coursework with work and family responsibilities and prefer online asynchronous programs that do not require them to be in a class at the same time every week.

Russell Sage’s online criminal justice master’s program is asynchronous and at 36-credits, can be completed in two years.  

By now, you probably have a clearer idea of whether a master’s in criminal justice is a valuable investment for you, but we have a few more tips and resources to help you make your final decision with confidence. 

Our blog posts titled “Exploring a Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections: Your Path to a Rewarding Career” and “Why Pursue a Master’s in Criminal Justice and Community Corrections” are other good resources to help you determine what kind of master’s degree aligns your career goals in criminal justice. 

If you are still wondering, “Is a master’s in criminal justice worth it?”, you might want to explore other graduate programs that are applicable to advancing in criminal justice careers. 

For example, Russell Sage’s certificate and master’s in Forensic Mental Health prepare you for work across the criminal justice, mental health, substance abuse and social service systems. Sage’s master’s in community psychology and master’s in mental health counseling are also relevant to the criminal justice field.  

If you’d like to learn more about the master’s in criminal Justice and community corrections at Russell Sage College, reach out to a graduate admission counselor or program director Jeffrey Golden. You can also apply today.