2020 Most Affordable Master's in Criminal Justice Online
All 24 of these colleges and universities offer affordable online master's in criminal justice programs. Fort Hays State University, our top-ranked school, has the lowest tuition on the list at only $4,316 per year. In the #2 spot is Missouri State University, offering a tuition rate of $4,425 per academic year. Classes at Missouri State include Applied Research in Criminal Justice, Crime Theory and Policy, Criminal Justice Policy, Juvenile Justice, Law Enforcement and Community, and Legal Issues in Criminal Justice.
You can read more about our ranked schools below or browse our rankings of the most affordable online bachelor's in criminal justice degrees. View our methodology or learn more about OnlineU.
All tuition numbers were manually collected and verified
| Rank | School | Annual Tuition |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Hays State University | $4,316 | |
| Missouri State University | $4,425 | |
| California Coast University | $4,485 | |
| Albany State University | $4,500 | |
| Northeastern State University | $4,518 | |
| Missouri Southern State University | $4,698 | |
| University of North Alabama | $5,250 | |
| Valdosta State University | $5,274 | |
| Columbus State University | $5,418 | |
| Wichita State University | $5,434 | |
| University of North Georgia | $5,454 | |
| Southeast Missouri State University | $5,475 | |
| Columbia Southern University | $5,670 | |
| Marshall University | $5,677 | |
| William Carey University | $6,000 | |
| Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville | $6,116 | |
| Midwestern State University | $6,219 | |
| Fairmont State University | $6,270 | |
| Abraham Lincoln University | $6,300 | |
| American Public University System | $6,300 | |
| University of Central Missouri | $6,586 | |
| Claflin University | $6,744 | |
| Auburn University at Montgomery | $6,750 | |
| University of Arkansas at Little Rock | $6,894 |
- Annual Tuition: $4,316
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 2,743
- Example Classes: Advanced Sociological Research; Classic Readings; Justice in Modern Cinema; Situational Ethics; Violence in Society; Workplace Violence
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Professional Studies - Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $4,425
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 3,559
- Example Classes: Applied Research in Criminal Justice; Crime Theory and Policy; Criminal Justice Policy; Juvenile Justice; Law Enforcement and Community; Legal Issues in Criminal Justice
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Professional Studies - Criminal Justice
- Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $4,485
- School Type: For-Profit
- School Accreditation: DEAC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: Not Provided
- Example Classes: Computer Crime; Correctional Counseling; Criminal Justice Administration; Deviant Behavior; Drugs, Justice and Society; Multicultural Issues in Law Enforcement
Online Master's Degrees
- M.S. Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $4,500
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 370
- Example Classes: Law Enforcement Management & Planning; Law Enforcement Operations; Management of Correctional Institutions; Policing in a Democratic Society; Technology and Criminal Justice; The Social Service Role of Criminal Justice Personnel
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $4,518
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 1,167
- Example Classes: Criminal Justice Communications; Criminal Procedure; Police Systems; Race, Ethnicity and Crime; Survey in American Policing; Victimology
Online Master's Degrees
- M.S. in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $4,698
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 155
- Example Classes: Civil Law and Liability; Comparative Criminal Justice Systems; Contemporary Juvenile Justice; Crime and Criminal Justice Policy; Criminal Justice Theory; Ethics in Criminal Justice
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Capstone Seminar Option)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Coursework & Comprehensive Essay Option)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Internship Option)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Thesis Option)
- Annual Tuition: $5,250
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 1,335
- Example Classes: Contemporary Issues in Juvenile Justice; Crime in America; Criminal Evidence; Criminal Investigation; Criminological Theory; Forensic Investigation; Nature and Function of the American Judicial System; Psychological Dimensions of Criminal Justice Practice; Theory and Control of Crime
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Non-Thesis Option)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Thesis Option)
- Annual Tuition: $5,274
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 2,511
- Example Classes: Advanced Crime Prevention; Advanced Research Methods for Criminal Justice; Ethical and Legal Issues; Seminar in Forensic Investigation; Seminar in Gang, Group, and Multiple Offender Criminality; Seminar in Law Enforcement
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $5,418
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 1,436
- Example Classes: Administration and Management in Justice Systems; Correctional Practices and Problems; Courts and Judicial Administration; Criminal Justice, Race, and Class; Distributive Justice; Public Personnel Administration
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Public Administration in Public Administration - Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $5,434
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 2,772
- Example Classes: Community Policing; Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice; Crime Causation and CJ Policy; Forensic Psychiatry; Profiling; Sex Crimes
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice (Non-Thesis)
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice (Thesis)
- Annual Tuition: $5,454
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 681
- Example Classes: Criminal Justice Policy; Global Crime and Justice; Homeland Security; Legal Liabilities of Criminal Justice; National Security Policy of the United States; Police and Society
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $5,475
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 1,030
- Example Classes: Civil Law and Liability; Crime and Criminal Justice Policy; Death Penalty in America; Ethics in Criminal Justice; Research Methodology in Criminal Justice; Restorative Justice
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $5,670
- School Type: For-Profit
- School Accreditation: DEAC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 5,859
- Example Classes: Adult and Juvenile Correctional Systems; Comparative Criminal Justice; Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice; Forensics Criminal Intel Analysis; Global Terrorism; Multiculturalism, Diversity, and Ethics
Online Master's Degrees
- M.S. Criminal Justice Administration
- M.S. Homeland Security - Criminal Justice
- Master of Public Administration-Criminal Justice Administration
- Annual Tuition: $5,677
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 3,611
- Example Classes: Advanced Criminal Law and Procedure; Applied Ethics in Criminal Justice; CJ Response to Domestic Violence; Race, Ethnicity, Class, and Crime; Research Methods in Criminal Justice; Terrorism; Understanding Cybercrime
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $6,000
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 1,793
- Example Classes: Advanced Criminal Investigation; Civil Liberties; Community Corrections; Economics of Crime and Justice; Industrial Security; Juvenile Delinquency
Online Master's Degrees
- MS - Criminal Justice (Non Thesis)
- MS - Criminal Justice (Thesis)
- Annual Tuition: $6,116
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 2,448
- Example Classes: Applied Research in Criminal Justice; Criminal Justice and the Mental Health System; Criminal Justice Planning and Budgeting; Criminal Justice Statistics; Cybercrime; Human Trafficking
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice Policy
- Annual Tuition: $6,219
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 730
- Example Classes: Comparative and International Criminal Justice; Critical Analysis of Justice Administration; Global Terrorism; Legal Aspects of the Criminal Justice System; Police in Society; The Ethics of Criminal Justice
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $6,270
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 273
- Example Classes: Comparative Analysis of Criminal Justice Systems; Seminar in Criminal Justice Planning and Evaluation; Seminar in Offender Rehabilitation; Terrorism; Victimology; White Collar Crime
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Capstone Option)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Thesis Option)
- Annual Tuition: $6,300
- School Type: For-Profit
- School Accreditation: DEAC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 170
- Example Classes: Criminology; Drug Enforcement; Dynamics of Family Violence; Forensic Science; Interview & Interrogation; Law Enforcement Management
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MS)
- Annual Tuition: $6,300
- School Type: For-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 8,342
- Example Classes: Criminal Justice Ethics; Criminal Law; Criminology; Drug Cartels and the Narcotics Threat; Drugs, Justice, and Society; Negotiations: Crisis and Hostage
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice - Business Administration
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice - Emergency Management and Disaster Management
- Master of Arts in Criminal Justice - General
- Master of Arts in Homeland Security - Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $6,586
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 2,187
- Example Classes: Comparative Criminal Justice Systems; Criminal Justice Studies in Group Behavior; Legal Aspects of the Criminal Justice; Methods of Criminal Justice Research; Statistics for Criminal Justice; The Criminal Justice System
Online Master's Degrees
- Accelerated Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology (Non-Thesis)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology (Thesis)
- Annual Tuition: $6,744
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 92
- Example Classes: Advanced Criminological Theory; Advanced Research Methods in Criminal Justice; Criminal Justice Policy; Criminal Justice Systems; Public Policy Portfolio; Statistical Analysis
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Non-Thesis)
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice (Thesis)
- Annual Tuition: $6,750
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: SACS COC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 579
- Example Classes: Cold Case Investigations; Community Corrections; Comparative Criminal Justice; Criminal Justice Writing; Family Law; Security Administration
Online Master's Degrees
- Master of Science in Criminal Justice
- Annual Tuition: $6,894
- School Type: Non-Profit
- School Accreditation: HLC
- Total Graduate Enrollment: 2,800
- Example Classes: Corrections Administration; Criminal Justice Organizations and Management; Criminal Justice Policy; Criminal Law; Ethics in Criminal Justice; Juvenile Delinquency Problems
Online Master's Degrees
- MS in Criminal Justice