What can you do with a degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice?

There are three reasons why you should earn a 100% online Master of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice at Kent State University:

1. Gain New Skills
2. Change Jobs
3. Advance Your Career

We’d like to focus on those last two, changing jobs or advancing your career, specifically within the frame of our current landscape, The Great Resignation.

The pandemic has changed how millions of people view employment and people are ready to make a switch.¹ In fact, 26% of workers are planning to switch jobs post-COVID, and 80% are doing this because they are concerned about career advancement.²

What better time than now to think about changing careers and exploring education?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in legal occupations is projected to grow 9 percent from 2020 to 2030, resulting in approximately 116,600 new jobs with 53,000 of those new jobs in law enforcement. What’s more, the median criminal justice degree salary is around $84,910.³

Graduates from our 100% online master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice are equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, insight, and sensitivity to occupy positions in public and private criminal justice, juvenile justice, and victim’s service agencies.

What Career Opportunities exist with a Master’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice?

The online master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice is versatile, with multiple career paths to choose from. It can increase your earning potential and set you apart in the field.

In criminal justice, careers centered around law enforcement include work as a police officer, FBI agent, or private investigator. Careers within corrections and in the court system include those as bailiff, victim’s advocate, paralegal, jury consultant, court clerk, and social worker.

Professionals in criminology may be involved in collecting and analyzing the evidence or exploring crime from a psychological perspective. These careers include forensic scientists, criminal psychologists, and criminologists (who are often sociologists).

Possible career areas include the following (but are certainly not limited to):

• Clinical Social Worker
• Correctional Officer
• Criminal Investigator
• Criminal Profiler
• Criminal Psychologist
• Criminologist
• Criminology Professor
• Drug Enforcement Administration Agent
• Forensic Psychologist
• Forensic Scientist
• Jury Consultant
• Lawyer
• Paralegal
• Police Officer/Detective
• Private Detective
• Probation Officer
• Social Worker
• U.S. Board Patrol Agent
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent
• U.S. Marshal

Because criminal justice and criminology encompass many disciplines—law enforcement, sociology, psychology, research, computer science (for cybersecurity), and the life sciences (in the case of forensics)—a well-rounded academic curriculum, like that at Kent State University, that explores these different areas will make you a stronger candidate overall.

Why apply to Kent State University?

• No GRE required for admission
• Learn from dedicated, full-time faculty who are invested in student success
• Graduate in as few as two years
• One of the most affordable online master’s programs in criminology and criminal justice in the state of Ohio
• 100 percent of our alumni rated the program as high or very high⁴

Kent State University’s Online Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice

The Online Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice program at Kent State University helps prepare you for the diverse career paths associated with criminology, or the theoretical exploration of crime, as well as the practical application and execution of criminal justice policies, policing and corrections practices, victim advocacy initiatives, and contemporary global security measures.

Designed for busy working professionals and students seeking graduate education, our online program challenges students to expand their scope of knowledge, with options to concentrate in three areas:

• Global Security
• Policing
• Victimology

For more information on Kent State’s Online Master of Criminology and Criminal Justice degree, visit https://onlinedegrees.kent.edu/sociology/criminal-justice.

¹ Retrieved on October 19, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1007914455/as-the-pandemic-recedes-millions-of-workers-are-saying-i-quit

² Retrieved on October 18, 2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2021/05/16/why-millions-of-employees-plan-to-switch-jobs-post-covid/?sh=144a588a11e7

³ Received on October 12, 2021, from https://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/home.htm

⁴ Based on a limited sample of self-reported data from Kent State alumni from graduating cohorts between 2016-2020