Study Criminal Justice in Maryland
Whether you have plans to become an attorney, a sheriff’s deputy, a correctional officer, or something in between, a degree in criminal justice is an excellent first step. With many online bachelor’s degree options available in Maryland, you have your pick of schools where you can get the education you need to jumpstart your career.
Better still, Maryland offers many online graduate programs in this field, too. So, not only can you get the foundational education you need to make a positive difference in your community, but you can also get the advanced education required for administrative, supervisory, and research roles.
The question is, which online criminal justice degree in Maryland is your best bet? Consult the list below – which includes some of the popular bachelor’s and master’s programs – to find out!
Online Criminal Justice Degrees in Maryland
Listed below are some of the popular schools offering online criminal justice degrees in Maryland:
- University of Maryland Global Campus
- Stevenson University
- Strayer University
- Liberty University
- Purdue Global
- Maryville University
- UMass Global
- Southern New Hampshire University
University of Maryland Global Campus
Online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) offers an online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice that requires 120 credits to complete. Typically, four years of study are required to finish this degree, but the program is flexible to allow you to finish your studies sooner or later than that if need be.
This program is also a good option if you’ve started your undergraduate degree somewhere else. UMGC allows you to transfer up to 90 credits. This enables you to use as many of your previous credits as possible while minimizing the time you need to complete the requirements to graduate with this degree.
The curriculum is divided into three components: general education credits, minor and elective credits, and required major credits. The general education credits encompass studies in a broad range of liberal arts fields. For example, you’re required to take seven credits in Research and Computing Literacy, 12 credits in Communication, and three credits in Math. Furthermore, you’ll take six credits of Arts and Humanities courses, six credits of Behavioral and Social Science courses, and seven credits of Biological and Physical Science courses.
As for the minor and elective requirements, you have a lot of leeway regarding the courses you take. UMGC offers more than three dozen academic minors to choose from, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Sociology
- Emergency Management
- Diversity Awareness
- Communication Studies
- Homeland Security
The electives you choose can be from any undergraduate field of study. Use these credits to supplement your major by studying related fields like human services, psychology, or sociology. Or, expand your knowledge by taking electives in areas further afield, like biology, human resources management, or speech communication.
You’ll take 33 credits of coursework within the criminal justice major. This includes lower-division and upper-division classes that explore a wide range of topics. You’ll begin with a 100-level Introduction to Criminal Justice class that provides a very broad overview of this field. You’ll learn about law enforcement, the court system, and corrections. You’ll also learn about criminal justice policy, criminological theory, and community relations, to name a few.
Another basic introductory-level class you’re required to take is Criminal Law in Action. As the course title suggests, this class explores how criminal cases unfold. You’ll examine how charges are brought against a defendant, the historical development of criminal law, and the basic elements of providing a criminal defense in court.
An example of an upper-division class you’re required to take is Correctional Administration. This course focuses on prison administration and dives deep into leadership, institutional management, and organizational concepts. You’ll also learn about theories of management, strategic operational planning, and human resources.
Other required courses include the following:
- Law Enforcement Administration
- Introduction to Security Management
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Victimology
- Ethical Behavior in Criminal Justice
UMGC also offers an accelerated pathway, wherein you can complete this program in conjunction with a Master’s in Management with a criminal justice management specialization. This option allows you to use up to six credits for your undergraduate and graduate degrees, which saves you time and money.
The following admissions requirements apply:
- Have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- Submit official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
Online Master of Science in Management with a Criminal Justice Management Concentration
In addition to the bachelor’s degree, UMGC offers an online Master of Science in Management with a Criminal Justice Management Concentration. This degree allows you to pursue higher positions in criminal justice settings, which often results in positions with greater responsibilities and more pay. The skills you gain in administration, leadership, and management might lead to employment in areas like criminal justice research, criminal justice risk assessment, criminal justice program design, and policy development, to name a few.
This 36-credit program typically requires two years of full-time studies to complete. However, UMGC allows you to transfer up to 12 credits toward this total, which can significantly reduce the amount of time needed to finish the program. In fact, if you are allowed to transfer the maximum credits, you could finish this degree in as little as three semesters.
The curriculum is structured in three components: core coursework, concentration courses, and a capstone course. The core coursework introduces you to essential topics in management. For example, the Organizational Theory and Behavior class evaluates management theories, the role of managers, and the designs of organizational structures. You’ll cover topics like team dynamics, organizational culture, and communication, too.
The other core courses include Financial Decision-Making for Managers and Statistics for Managerial Decision-Making. In both cases, you’ll acquire critical skills that enable you to be a leader in your organization, make effective decisions, and improve the functioning of the organization you lead.
The concentration courses focus specifically on management issues within criminal justice. On the one hand, you’ll take a class called Perspectives in Law Enforcement Management that examines the philosophies and techniques used by organizations to reduce crime. You’ll learn about police and community relations, emerging problems in policing, and political issues of policing as well.
On the other hand, you’ll also take courses like Issues in Criminal Justice Leadership, which examine case studies of successful leaders in this field to demonstrate the qualities leaders should have. You’ll discuss leadership theories, examine leadership models, and evaluate practical applications of leadership principles in criminal justice settings, too.
Other concentration courses include the following:
- Seminar in Security Management
- Legal Aspects Within the Criminal Justice System
- Criminal Justice Intelligence Systems and Approaches
- Issues in Correctional Administration
- Critical Analysis of the Criminal Justice System
Lastly, you’re required to complete a Strategic Management capstone. This serves as a summative assessment experience in which you synthesize what you’ve learned in your coursework and apply it to a real-world criminal justice situation. You’ll examine how strategic management guides a criminal justice organization, including how to design, implement, and evaluate management processes. You’ll also examine issues like organizational structure, leadership, and policy.
You can complete the UMGC application for graduate admission here. The requirements for applying are as follows:
- Complete the application for admission linked above.
- Have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Provide evidence of English proficiency if it is not your native language.
If you’re currently in the military, you must also provide documentation showing your estimated separation date. Veterans of the armed forces must likewise provide the official separation date and current status.
Stevenson University
Online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Stevenson University is specifically designed for working adults. As such, the program is highly flexible, allowing you to continue working at your current job while also earning a degree that will help you advance your career.
This program offers a curriculum that’s a mix of theory and practice. It’s also interdisciplinary, with studies in sociology, psychology, technology, and law alongside your coursework in criminal justice. These and other courses are offered in an accelerated format, with each session lasting just eight weeks as opposed to traditional 16-week terms.
As with any undergraduate degree, you must complete general education requirements as part of your studies. As discussed earlier, general education coursework helps you build a foundation of knowledge and skills that enhance your ability to be an effective student and a competent leader in your field. These courses, which run the gamut from math and science to the humanities and English, are a critical part of your development and help you acquire skills related to effective communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and leadership.
You’ll complete most of the general education requirements in your first two years in this program. After that, you must complete 47 credits of major-area coursework. Your studies in this field will begin with basic courses like Introduction to Criminal Justice, Corrections, Law Enforcement, and Criminology. You’ll also take a class on Writing for Criminal Justice, which enhances your reading, writing, and critical thinking skills through analyses of research literature.
Additionally, you’ll take more advanced classes like Criminal Investigation and Procedure, which offers a detailed examination of the principles used by law enforcement officers to investigate crimes. You’ll explore the procedural differences for investigating different types of crimes while also learning the proper procedures for collecting and analyzing evidence.
Another advanced class you’ll take is Research Methods in Criminal Justice. You’ll explore research design, data collection, and sampling. You’ll also learn about quantitative and qualitative research methods, data analysis methods, and ethics in social research.
Other required classes include the following:
- Constitutional Law
- Criminal Law
- State and Local Government
- Writing and Research for the Adult Learner
This degree also requires you to complete a criminal justice capstone. Broadly speaking, the capstone is an opportunity for you to highlight what you’ve learned and demonstrate your competencies in key criminal justice areas. To do so, you’ll complete an applied research project or paper on a topic of your choice, and then present your work in a professional setting.
Aside from the required criminal justice courses listed above, you must also take six elective courses. These courses, which must total at least 18 credits, must be in the criminal justice field and cannot duplicate the required coursework. At least one of the electives you choose to take must be at the 300 or 400 level.
Stevenson University offers a bachelor’s to master’s option in criminal justice as well. If you wish, you can combine these degrees, earn credits for both at the same time and finish both degrees in just five years – which is a full year ahead of schedule.
The application for undergraduate admission to Stevenson University is available online. You must meet the following requirements to apply:
- Have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- Have a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
- Submit official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
Strayer University
Online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Strayer University’s Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice is a flexible online program requiring the completion of 40 courses. Each class is 11 weeks long – shorter than the traditional 16-week format but not as intense as the 8-week courses common in other accelerated degree programs.
Another interesting feature of studying at Strayer University is that you can use transfer credits to satisfy up to 28 classes worth of credits. In other words, if you transfer the maximum number of credits, you’ll only need to complete 12 classes to finish this degree.
Just like the previous undergraduate degrees described above, this one requires you to complete general education courses as part of your criminal justice studies. From quantitative reasoning to rhetoric and writing to the natural sciences, these classes will give you insights into a broad range of fields and help you develop skills that serve you well beyond the classroom.
Of course, this degree also includes many opportunities to study what you want. General electives can be chosen from virtually any undergraduate field of study, so you can customize your learning to a certain level. For example, you might take several psychology courses to supplement your studies in criminal justice. Alternatively, you might take public administration electives if you envision yourself working in a criminal justice administration setting at some point.
You don’t have to take electives that relate to your major, though. You can take courses in Medieval history, performance art, and economics if you so choose. The purpose of these electives is to allow you to explore whatever fields are of interest to you so you graduate with a well-rounded set of skills.
Within the major, you’ll take 67.5 credits of coursework in areas ranging from Crime and Criminal Behavior to Criminal Investigation to U.S. Courts. You’ll learn how to write detailed investigative reports in the Criminal Justice Report Writing class. In the Criminal Justice Technology course, you’ll learn how to use information technology to carry out the day-to-day duties of working in a law enforcement, legal, or correctional setting.
Another required class that’s especially helpful for preparing you for your career is Ethics and Leadership in Criminal Justice. In this class, you’ll explore major theories of ethics, examine ethical dilemmas and problems that might arise on the job, and acquire ethical decision-making tools that help you maintain professional integrity throughout your career.
Other required major courses include the following:
- Criminal Procedure
- Sociology of Class, Gender, Ethnicity, and Race
- Social Intelligence
- Criminal Investigation
- Juvenile Delinquency and Justice
This program also requires you to complete an 18-credit concentration. Strayer offers a wide variety of concentrations that enable you to customize your learning experience. For example, you can focus on artificial intelligence and its place in criminal justice. You can also choose the Probation and Parole concentration if you prefer to gain skills in the human services side of criminal justice. Other options include Computer Forensics, Crime and Criminal Behavior, Criminal Justice Administration, and Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
The following criteria must be met before applying:
- Have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
- Submit official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
- Provide a copy of a valid, current, and legible government-issued photo ID.
Liberty University
Online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
At Liberty University, you can complete a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice within four years. During this period, you’ll earn 120 or more credits across a wide range of academic disciplines, preparing you for various careers in the criminal justice field. This degree equips you for roles such as police officer, correctional officer, or probation officer. Additionally, you can pursue employment in victim advocacy, social research, and criminal justice policy development.
One notable feature of this program is the option to choose from nine different degree tracks. If you prefer a broad-based education, you might select the Generalized Track. Alternatively, if you have specific career goals, you might opt for Juvenile Justice, Crime Scene Investigation, or Corrections and Human Services. Other available tracks include:
- Business Administration and Management
- Criminal Psychology
- Homeland Security
- Public Administration
- Strategic Intelligence Studies
Regardless of the specialization you choose, you’ll benefit from 8-week accelerated courses. This format allows you to take fewer classes at a time, reducing your workload while still enabling you to graduate within four years.
All specializations share foundational coursework and major-area requirements. Similar to other degrees, you’ll need to complete broad studies in liberal arts fields such as communications, civics, social and scientific inquiry, and math. Since Liberty is a religious institution, you are also required to take Christianity courses.
Before starting the core criminal justice coursework, you must complete two major foundational courses: American Government and Constitutional Government and Free Enterprise. After completing these courses, you’ll proceed with the 39-credit core sequence of major courses.
You’ll begin with lower-division classes such as Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Research and Writing, and Criminal Justice Report Writing. These courses help you develop essential skills for your studies and future career. For instance, Introduction to Criminal Justice introduces you to various theories, techniques, and practices in the field, including modern theories of crime and punishment. The research and writing courses enhance your abilities in these critical areas, which are necessary throughout your degree and professional life.
Subsequently, you’ll take upper-division criminal justice courses. Examples include classes focused on the Judicial Process, Criminal Law, and Constitutional Criminal Procedure. Additionally, you are required to study Juvenile Justice, Corrections, and Criminology.
Finally, you’ll complete a series of Cognate courses related to your chosen specialization. Each of the nine concentration areas has different cognate requirements.
For example, the Strategic Intelligence Studies track includes:
- Introduction to Intelligence and National Security
- Intelligence Analyst
- Counter-Terrorism
- Military Operations and Intelligence
- Strategic Intelligence
In contrast, the Criminal Psychology track includes:
- Overview of Theory and Treatment of Substance Abuse
- Crisis Intervention
- Behavior Management
- Abnormal Psychology
- Psychology of Criminal Behavior
To qualify for admission, you must meet the following requirements:
- Complete the online application for admission.
- Submit a $50 application fee.
- Provide official high school transcripts or equivalency scores.
- Submit official transcripts from every college or university you’ve attended.
You must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher for admission in good standing.
How Do I Know If Criminal Justice is for Me?
Determining if criminal justice is the right field for you involves considering your interests, skills, and career goals. You should reflect on whether you are passionate about law enforcement, public safety, and upholding justice.
Consider if you enjoy working in a structured environment with clear rules and procedures. Assess your skills in communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving, as these are essential in criminal justice careers. Think about whether you are comfortable with the potential risks and challenges associated with jobs in this field.
Additionally, consider if you have a strong sense of ethics and integrity, as these qualities are crucial for success in criminal justice. Evaluating your interest in the study of criminal behavior, law, and societal issues can also help you decide if this field aligns with your personal and professional aspirations.
Talking to professionals in the field, seeking advice from career counselors, and gaining some hands-on experience through internships or volunteer work can provide valuable insights into whether criminal justice is a good fit for you.