People who already work in a field of criminal justice, like law administration, law enforcement, forensic science, correctional administration or security management; as well as those who are interested in a new career, could consider an MBA in Criminal Justice, which will significantly improve their job and advancement opportunities. The criminal justice MBA is one of the newest MBA programs, which demonstrates that the field of criminal justice is growing and changing significantly. Indeed, management and administration of this system is becoming vital to its success. The goal is to ensure justice prevails, by managing criminals, enforcing law and processing information in a competent and professional manner.
What We Do
Someone who has graduated from an MBA in Criminal Justice program will generally take on an administrative and managerial role in a field of criminal justice. Many students have already been working in law enforcement for many years and this degree usually qualifies them to move up the ladder and take on more senior positions. These positions can be held in juvenile detention centers, correctional facilities, law enforcement agencies, court houses and any other institution that is dedicated to enforcing the law and preventing and controlling crime.
Why It’s Hot
According to PayScale.com, the average salary of someone in law enforcement or criminal justice is $37,788 as of March 2015. This can rise to as much as $118,417, which is particularly true for those who hold an MBA. The field of law enforcement is changing rapidly as crime is becoming increasingly digital and international.
Work Environment
Someone who holds a criminal justice MBA can work in a range of environments. Much of the work will be done behind desks, but some will also work in the field. For instance, there are CIA Officers, ATF Agents, Crime Scene Investigators, Computer Forensics Officers, Custom’s Agents, Criminologists, DEA Officers, Homeland Security Officers, Police Detectives, INS Agents, Private Investigators, Secret Service Agents, Sheriffs, Probation Offices and US Marshall, to name but a few. This demonstrates just how varied the work environment actually is. Some will work solely in offices, others will work on the streets, others still across a range of different organizations.
How to Do It
In order to earn an MBA in Criminal Justice, you will need to hold a bachelor’s degree first. This takes around four years to complete. There are various bachelor majors that you could choose from that fit in with the MBA degree later. These include law, sociology, criminology, psychology and more. Admissions to these programs is incredibly competitive, not in the least because there are not that many schools yet who offer this program. In some cases, students must first pass the GMAT exam, and only those who do well on this and also show other core competencies will be accepted. It is for this reason that you should be properly prepared before starting the admissions process, and why you should apply to a variety of schools. Over the last few years, many top rated AACSB accredited schools have dropped the GMAT requirement for entrance.
While there are only limited numbers of MBA programs with this specialization available at present, those that do exist are very good. One on campus program is offered by the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice. Rutgers University also offers this Criminal Justice MBA program online. This school was established by the New Jersey State Legislature in 1972. This legislature was put in place because it was clear that there was a need for a formal education program to prepare the next generation of leaders in teaching, research and public policy, specific to the field of criminal justice. The influence of the school and the impact they have had can be seen all over the country.
MBA in Criminal Justice Online
Because the MBA in Criminal Justice is often a continuation of an existing career, many programs are offered online, thereby enabling students to work and study at the same time.
Southern New Hampshire University
Southern New Hampshire University’s online MBA in criminal justice provides students with an excellent business management foundation as well as a complete understanding of the many complexities of the criminal justice system in the United States.
The skills that you will gain with this MBA in criminal justice may qualify you for many high-level positions in both the private and public sectors. Many graduates of this two year, online program eventually pursue a criminal justice or law enforcement career in state or local government.
This program helps students to develop strong business management, data analysis and leadership skills, and the focus on criminal justice provides you with a better understanding of these areas:
- The roles and responsibilities of leaders in the criminal justice system
- Current trends and topics in the criminal justice and judicial systems in the US
- Vital issues in international terrorism that affect law enforcement in the US
- Modern theories of criminology and how public policy is developed and implemented to reduce crime
- Research methods that are used to evaluate the performance of various law enforcement agencies
- Research methods that are used in leadership, planning and law enforcement decision making
Past graduates of this MBA program have reported that they currently work in the following fields:
- State and local government and/or law enforcement
- Security and corrections
- Education
- Private security services
- Community advocacy
- Public policy
- Community advocacy
- Social services
Coursework in this program includes economics for business; financial reporting and analysis; business law, human behavior in organizations; accounting and financial analysis; and leading in an organization.
More information:
- Campus: Manchester, New Hampshire; online
- Format: 100% Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: New England Association of Colleges and Schools
- Tuition: Inquire
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Criminal Justice MBA
- Notables: Featured in America’s Best Online MBA Rankings for 2017
- Visit University Website: Southern New Hampshire University
Liberty University
Liberty University has an MBA in Criminal Justice Administration that prepares graduates for dynamic leadership roles in business and criminal justice. Students can pursue their passion for law and justice as they advance their knowledge of research, organizational administration and criminal justice.
Students will become familiar with the major issues that relate to law and business both in the US and around the world. Also, strengthen your managerial and leadership skills, potentially leading to promotion opportunities after graduation.
Your coursework will prepare you to serve as an effective leader in the business and criminal justice fields, with an emphasis on applying ethics to the practice of business and law.
Required courses include:
- Strategic Marketing Management
- Managerial Finance
- Legal Issues in Business
- Business Research Methods
- Criminal Justice Integration
- Administration of Justice Organizations
- Topics and Trends in Criminal Justice
- Operations Management
- Policy and Strategy in Global Competition
More information:
- Campus: Lynchburg, Virginia; online
- Format: 100% Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
- Tuition: Inquire
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: Criminal Justice MBA
- Visit University Website: Liberty University
Lamar University
Lamar University in Texas offers an MBA in Criminal Justice Management that is made for both experienced law enforcement professionals and also professionals who are new to the criminal justice field. You will study a broad range of business, leadership and criminal justice topics that will help you to advance in your criminal justice career.
Students study topics such as business management theory, business communication and organizational leadership. Also, you will explore legal matters and trends that are related to business and law enforcement leadership. Students become highly skilled managerial decision makers with strong traits of leadership and a deep understanding of crime prevention, punishment and control.
This program has been accredited by AACSB International, which is the most respected accreditation agency for business management education programs. This MBA also has been recognized as a top 10 program in Texas, and the Princeton Review ranked Lamar’s College of Business as one of the top business schools in the country.
Required courses include:
- Managerial Accounting
- Financial Management
- Marketing Management
- International Business
- Strategic Management
- Managerial Economics
- Criminal Justice System and Policy
- Theoretical Foundations of Crime Control
- Special Studies Applied Criminology Law
- Criminal Justice Leadership
More information:
- Campus: Beaumont, Texas; online
- Format: 100% Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: AACSB
- Tuition: Inquire
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: MBA in Criminal Justice Management
Alliant International University
Alliant International University has an online MBA with criminal justice concentration that is made to incorporate real world experience and practice in accounting, leadership, marketing and entrepreneurship, as well as the latest topics in criminal justice and law enforcement.
Learning outcomes in this two year, online criminal justice MBA are:
- Be able to evaluate business management decisions while also bearing social responsibility in mind.
- Show deep knowledge of business management foundations as they are applied to a global, modern economy.
- Understand current organizational and business practices and apply them to current matters in the criminal justice field.
- Show the ability to both present and analyze quantitative data, such as financial information, which is gathered from many different instruments.
Required courses include these:
- Accounting for Decision Makers
- Marketing Foundations
- Analytical Decision Making
- Managing Operations
- Constitutional Issues in Criminal Justice
- Legal and Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice
- Financial Analysis and Economics
- Grant Writing
- Criminal Justice Capstone
More information:
- Campus: San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, California; online
- Format: 100% Online
- Type: Non-Profit
- Accreditation: WASC Senior College and University Commission
- Tuition: Inquire
- GRE/GMAT Required: No
- Minimum Time Commitment: 24 months
- On Campus Requirements: No
- Programs Offered: MBA in Criminal Justice
Pros & Cons
There are a number of advantages and disadvantages to pursuing an MBA in Criminal Justice.
Pros:
- It is a field in which there will always be demand.
- Positions are reasonably well paid.
- You will enjoy a varied job, where no two days are ever the same.
Cons:
- It can be costly, but in terms of time and money, to complete this degree.
- You have to be thick-skinned, as many of the people you will deal with will either be criminals or victims.
- The risk of burnout is high, particularly as you may have to work long and unsociable hours.
Financial Aid
- Nellie Martin Carman Scholarship Fund – An award of up to $2,000 for those who study in the state of Washington. Around 30 awards are granted each year.
- North Carolina Sheriffs Association – Available to Criminal Justice undergraduates who are NC residents and full time students. The grant must go towards the cost of tuition.
- SFSB – David E. Maccianti Memorial Scholarship – Available to those who wish to enter a career in law enforcement.
- Islamic Scholarship Fund – Grants that encourage Muslims to take part in post-graduate education in a field relating to social sciences, humanities, law and liberal arts. Deserving students are granted between $1,000 and $10,000.
- Out To Protect Scholarship – Offered to students who are a member of the LGBT community and wish to become involved in law enforcement through a basic training program. The scholarship aims to provide positive role models for those who are “out”, as this will break down stereotypes about LGBT communities. Additionally, it recognizes the courage required in order to “come out”.
Career Paths
You have many exciting career options with an MBA in criminal justice. Here are some of the most popular and rewarding career paths for those seeking a criminal justice MBA:
- First line supervisor of detectives and police. This involves working in law enforcement management detectives, police offers and more. You will be the administrator in various investigative process, ensuring that the agency is working properly. You will coordinate and manage investigations, keep reports and logs, offer training, monitor performance, authorize promotions and transfers and more. To do well at this job, you must have strong communication and organizational skills.
- Prison warden. This involves managing correctional institutions across the country. Your role will be to make sure everybody is safe. This can be a highly stressful position, and it is highly likely that things will get out of control from time to time, which you must be able to manage. As a warden, you will plan policy, administer funds, maintain the build and be a leader to other staff members. You will also be responsible for hiring new people, making decisions in terms of prisoner placements and transfers, provide work programs and education for prisoners and more. Essentially, you will be the public face of the institution, meaning you will also have to deal with the media.
- Criminologist. These crime professionals normally work in local, state and federal law enforcement. They work on studying and analyzing the behavior of criminals so as to determine their motivations. Once you have determined a common criminal pattern, law enforcement then will use that information to assess future criminal situations to prevent these events from occurring. Most federal and private industry organizations today want their criminologists to hold a master’s degree in criminal justice or behavioral science, but an MBA focusing on criminal justice should be sufficient to enter the field.
- FBI agent. The US government is always looking for highly educated and qualified law enforcement candidates to help it conduct FBI investigations around the US. The main jobs of FBI special agents are to investigate federal crimes. Some of what you will do includes interviewing sources and doing FBI surveillance. This might include doing wiretapping that has been authorized by a court or working entirely undercover. FBI agents also often do arrests, raids, search warrants and other types of risky activities. The majority of FBI agents have a strong background in criminal justice, political science, computer science or accounting.
- Military police officer. Military police must protect both the lives and property of all enlisted personnel by enforcing relevant regulations and military laws. They also must deal with criminal matters on military bases. A military police officer goes on regular patrols, interviews witnesses, victims and suspects in criminal investigations and does crime scene security processing. To become an officer in the military police, you usually need to have at least a bachelor’s degree, preferably in the area of criminal justice. The armed forces have raised their standards in the last decade, and most likely you will find strong demand with an MBA.
- Border patrol agent supervisor. These are the law enforcement officers that work for US Customs and Border Protection. They are mainly charged with patrolling both the Mexican and Canadian international borders, as well as the coastal waters around Florida. While you do not need to have a particular degree to work in the Border Patrol, it is very helpful to have a degree in criminal justice, and having an MBA with a criminal justice focus can help you to working into supervisory roles quite rapidly.
- Private investigator. A person in this profession will look for vital information about financial, legal and personal matters. A private investigator can offer many types of legal related services, including verifying statements and backgrounds of people, looking for missing people and more. Most professionals in this line of work have to have several years of law enforcement experience, and many have graduate educations. Many in the private investigation field may work as corporate investigators, which often involves working in finance, accounting and business, so having an MBA is especially helpful for entering this competitive field and earning promotions.
- Customs agent. These federal employees work for US Customs and Border Protection, and are responsible for enforcing all US customs laws for all products and individuals that enter and leave the US. These agents work at every airport, seaport and land border crossing to make sure that to detect and confiscate any smuggled goods or people who are entering the US illegally.
- Court administrator. You will be managing the operations of a courthouse and ensuring the proceedings of the public and attorneys are coordinated properly. You will be responsible for the court budgets and perform accounting jobs, also ensuring it operates within the law. You will also deal with administration, including jury and pretrial services and assigning different attorneys. While this job can be done with a bachelor’s degree, rather than an MBA, it is becoming increasingly common for courts to require a master’s degree. Additionally, if you do hold an MBA, you will be more likely to receive higher pay and you will be more likely to be promoted. As dealing with revenues and budgets become increasingly important within court administration, there is a particularly high demand for those with an MBA, as they have a specific education to business management, enabling them to deal not just with the law, but also with regular administration.
Further Reading
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service
- NIJ Journal
- Journal of Criminal Justice
- International Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences
- The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice
Suggested Websites
Six websites with helpful resources for those working in field relevant to an MBA in Criminal Justice
