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Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs in Minnesota

A master’s in criminal justice isn’t required for most Minnesota law enforcement, corrections, or probation jobs. Professionals pursue it for administration, policy, or research roles. Seven Minnesota institutions offer a CJ-family master’s, per federal education data. Minnesota’s police supervisors earn a median $118,750 a year, per May 2025 BLS data.

Minnesota hires peace officers, corrections staff, and probation agents through separate paths, each with its own education and licensing rules. A master’s doesn’t replace any of that. What it does is open doors into administration, policy analysis, and research work that a patrol shift or a cell block doesn’t touch. Here’s what the degree covers, where you can earn it in-state, and what the state’s own wage data says about the roles it can lead to.

What Graduate Coursework in Criminal Justice Covers

Graduate-level criminal justice programs generally build on undergraduate coursework with more research methods, policy analysis, and administration-focused classes. Depending on the school, you may find concentrations or elective tracks in areas like administration and security, forensic psychology, homeland security, public safety administration, or emergency management, though exact offerings vary by program. Confirm what a specific school actually offers before you apply, since a program’s title doesn’t always match its course catalog.

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What It Takes to Earn a Criminal Justice Graduate Degree

Program length and course requirements vary by school. Many master’s programs in this field run in the range of 36 to 42 credits, roughly two years of full-time study, but treat that as a general example rather than a statewide standard, and confirm the actual credit count with any program you’re considering. The same goes for funding: some programs offer teaching assistantships, research assistantships, or scholarships, but availability differs by school and by year. Ask the financial aid office directly rather than assuming funding is standard.

Where to Study a Master’s in Criminal Justice in Minnesota

Seven Minnesota institutions report a master’s-level program in the federal criminal-justice-family CIP codes. Five report it under the Criminal Justice and Corrections code specifically. Capella University and Walden University report it under Criminal Justice as well as Homeland Security and, for Capella, Security Science and Technology.

Institution	City	Control	Program Area Reported
Metropolitan State University	Saint Paul	Public	Criminal Justice
Minnesota State University-Mankato	Mankato	Public	Criminal Justice
Saint Cloud State University	Saint Cloud	Public	Criminal Justice
University of St Thomas	Saint Paul	Private nonprofit	Criminal Justice
Concordia University-Saint Paul	Saint Paul	Private nonprofit	Criminal Justice
Capella University	Minneapolis	Private for-profit	Criminal Justice, Homeland Security, Security Science and Technology
Walden University	Minneapolis	Private for-profit	Criminal Justice, Homeland Security

Federal records flag Capella and Walden as distance-only at the institution level, but that classification describes the school generally, not necessarily the delivery format of this specific degree. Confirm format, current enrollment, and admission requirements directly with any school before you apply.

School and program data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, institution file May 2025 and field-of-study file April 2025. Data accessed October 2026.

What Supervisory Roles Pay in Minnesota

These figures describe occupational wages, not a master’s-degree premium. BLS collects pay by job title, not by the education level of the people holding it. As of the May 2025 BLS wage data, Minnesota’s first-line supervisors of police and detectives earn a median $118,750 a year, and first-line supervisors of correctional officers earn a median $96,720. Minnesota projects 3.9% growth in police-supervisor positions through 2034, a measure of expected job openings in that occupation, not of demand for any particular degree. No comparable growth projection, state or national, exists for the correctional-supervisor line in the current data, so that figure is left out rather than estimated.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives and First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers. Long-term (2024-34) job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, ProjectionsCentral. Figures reflect state-level data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed October 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a master’s in criminal justice to work in Minnesota law enforcement?

No. Minnesota licenses peace officers through the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (the POST Board), which requires completing a POST-certified professional peace officer education program and passing the Minnesota Peace Officer Licensing Examination. That’s a separate track from a master’s degree, and it sits apart from an individual agency’s own hiring process. Corrections and probation positions follow their own employer-specific hiring and statutory requirements, not POST licensing.

How long does a Minnesota criminal justice master’s program take?

It depends on the school. Many run in the range of 36 to 42 credits, close to two years full-time, but treat that as a general example and check the specific credit requirements and format with any program you’re considering.

Can I earn the degree while working in Minnesota?

Some Minnesota-registered institutions, including Capella University and Walden University, are flagged as distance-only at the institution level in federal education data. That doesn’t guarantee a specific program’s delivery format. Confirm directly with the school whether the master’s itself is offered online, in person, or in a hybrid format.

Does a master’s guarantee a promotion to supervisor?

No. Promotion to a supervisory role in Minnesota law enforcement or corrections is set by the hiring agency, not by a degree. Depending on the department, that can involve civil-service exams, rank and seniority requirements, assessment centers, collective bargaining provisions, or a combination of these. A master’s may be viewed favorably by some agencies, but it isn’t a universal prerequisite.

Key Takeaways

Minnesota licenses by role, not by degree – peace officers go through the POST Board. Corrections and probation positions follow separate employer-specific paths, and a master’s sits outside all three licensing tracks.
Seven Minnesota institutions report a CJ-family master’s – five under Criminal Justice specifically, per College Scorecard data. Confirm concentration, format, and funding directly with each school.
Supervisory pay runs well above line-level work – Minnesota’s police supervisors earn a median $118,750 a year, per May 2025 BLS data, though promotion itself is agency-specific, not degree-driven.
Program length and funding vary by school – 36 to 42 credits is a common range, not a guarantee, and assistantship or scholarship funding differs from program to program.

If program cost is what’s holding you back, don’t assume you’re stuck paying full tuition before you’ve asked. Research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and scholarships are worth checking with each school’s financial aid office before you rule a program out.