MS Criminal Justice Studies at University of North Dakota

Programme overview

Deepen your knowledge of the causes and impact of criminal behavior. A master's in Criminal Justice Studies will prepare you to effectively implement and assess programs and policies to enhance the quality of criminal justice services for diverse populations. You will be ready to tackle some of our nation's most pressing challenges affecting all areas of the criminal legal system from community safety to corrections, and from juvenile justice issues to victim support services.

What you will study

Thesis students choose 9 credits from the following electives. Non-thesis students choose 12 credits from the following electives. CJ 540 and CJ 545 are repeatable to 9 credits when the course is differently subtitled. Required courses include CJ 501 Foundations in Crime and Criminal Justice; CJ 502 Theories of Crime; CJ 503 Research Methods in Criminal Justice; CJ 504 Visualization and Interpretation of Criminal Justice Data; CJ 505 Administrative Decision Making in Criminal Justice; CJ 507 Program Evaluation in Criminal Justice.

Career pathways

This program will prepare you to have an instrumental role in administering criminal justice and influencing the future of the discipline. You will be able to work in any aspect of the criminal justice system including as a manager, director or supervisor for careers in:

Official programme page

Application information

Entry requirements

In addition to the admission requirements of the School of Graduate Studies, the following requirements must be met by all applicants: A bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or allied field from an accredited college or university. A cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in all undergraduate coursework. Submit a resume. Submit a personal statement for evaluation describing academic and professional accomplishments; reasons for pursuing a graduate degree in Criminal Justice Studies; and any additional information the applicant would like the admissions committee to know. Satisfy the School of Graduate Studies’ English Language Proficiency requirements as published in the graduate catalog. Outstanding applicants are evaluated on an individual basis and those with limited backgrounds in fields related to criminal justice but a distinguished record in another discipline, or a lower cumulative GPA but an otherwise strong application, may be accepted in a qualified or provisional status.

Domestic applicants: USD 13,441 a year (2026-27). North Dakota resident rate. On-campus tuition for 2026/2027 as shown in the programme's tuition table (fall and spring semesters, rate band 'Arts & Science'); excludes mandatory student fees, housing and books. The same table lists Minnesota residents $17 Source

International applicants: USD 26,882 a year (2026-27). International student rate. On-campus tuition for 2026/2027 as shown in the programme's tuition table (fall and spring semesters, rate band 'Arts & Science'); excludes mandatory student fees, housing and books. Source

Terms run Fall (August-December), Spring (January-May) and Summer (May-August).

Graduate applications go through the UND admissions application with a $35 non-refundable fee (no waivers); each graduate program sets its own deadline, listed in the Program Finder. Three academic or professional references and a statement of goals are required.

International graduate applicants: Fall May 1, Spring Sept. 1, Summer Feb. 1, unless the program sets a specific deadline. Application fee $35.

Apply through the official page: https://und.edu/admissions/graduate/apply.html

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