PhD in Criminal Justice Programs in Maryland

Updated October 6, 2026

A PhD in criminal justice in Maryland is built for research, teaching, and senior policy roles, not entry-level jobs. The University of Maryland, College Park runs the state’s only in-person program, through its Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Plan on four-plus years, a dissertation, and funding through a teaching or research assistantship rather than your own pocket.

Maryland’s criminal justice system reaches far beyond patrol cars and courtrooms: legislators, sentencing-policy researchers, forensic scientists, and university faculty all answer to it, too. If you’re weighing a PhD in criminal justice, you’re looking at one of the paths that leads into those research and policy roles, not the roles most people picture when they hear “criminal justice.”

Featured Programs:

What Can You Do With a PhD in Criminal Justice in Maryland?

Maryland’s legislature has been active on criminal justice reform lately. Gov. Wes Moore signed more than 90 bills into law after the 2025 legislative session, including several measures affecting criminal justice and public safety (CBS News Baltimore, 2025). One of those, the Maryland Second Look Act, allows certain people convicted between ages 18 and 24 who have served at least 20 years to seek a sentence reduction, subject to statutory exclusions. Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice Integration is also a named priority in the state’s Comprehensive State Crime Prevention Plan for 2025 through 2027, built around tighter coordination between the justice system and the behavioral health system. This is exactly the kind of policy terrain a CJ doctorate trains you to study and shape.

Job growth for postsecondary criminal justice faculty in Maryland is steady, not explosive. It’s projected at 4.3% from 2024 to 2034, with about 20 average annual openings statewide. Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary in Maryland had a median annual wage of $99,600 in May 2025.

Worth saying plainly, since judges come up constantly in criminal justice career research: a CJ PhD doesn’t lead to the bench. Maryland judges must be admitted to the Maryland Bar, be at least 30 years old, and meet the state’s constitutional citizenship and residency requirements. A law degree and bar admission get you there, not a criminal justice doctorate. For context on the system a CJ doctorate trains you to study, Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates in Maryland had a median annual wage of $172,190 in May 2025, with projected growth of 4.5% from 2024 to 2034.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary and Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates. 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.

Your education and experience could benefit Maryland’s criminal justice system. The Featured Programs above are a place to start comparing options.

What Will It Take to Earn Your Criminal Justice Graduate Degree?

Funding varies by program, so don’t assume it works the same everywhere. At the University of Maryland, College Park, graduate research and teaching assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships are available, and many admitted doctoral students have received assistantship funding in recent years. It’s also worth checking what your employer or any professional association offers. The Maryland Criminal Justice Association funds multiple scholarships a year.

UMD runs the state’s only in-person PhD program in criminology and criminal justice, through its Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (CCJS), ranked No. 1 nationally among criminology graduate programs by U.S. News & World Report (2022). Per UMD’s current graduate catalog, the required curriculum includes:

Advanced Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice
Advanced Statistical Methods
Criminal Justice System Planning/Policy Analysis
Electives
A research practicum
12 dissertation credits

Your advisor relationship carries real weight in a program like this. Research CCJS faculty and their specialties before you apply, not after.

An internship isn’t universal at the doctoral level. Most research-focused programs skip it, though some still recommend one.

If College Park isn’t realistic for you, you’re choosing between an online PhD and relocating. The CIP-coded federal data this site otherwise draws school counts from doesn’t carry a separate “criminology” field (the same gap that affects psychology and social work programs), so a second Maryland option can’t be ruled in or out from that dataset alone.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a PhD required to work in criminal justice?

No. A PhD is built for research, postsecondary teaching, and senior policy roles, not front-line work. Education, training, certification, and hiring requirements for front-line jobs vary by occupation, state, and employing agency. In Maryland, police candidates complete a Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission-approved entrance-level program of at least 850 hours, while parole and probation agents are typically required to hold a bachelor’s degree, per Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services job classifications.

How long does a criminal justice PhD take?

It depends on the program. UMD’s PhD requires 12 dissertation credits on top of coursework and a research practicum; confirm current expected timelines directly with the department rather than assuming a fixed number of years.

Can you work while earning a criminal justice PhD?

It depends on the program and your funding. At UMD, assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships are available, and many admitted doctoral students have received assistantship funding in recent years.

Does Maryland have a school offering a criminal justice PhD?

Yes. The University of Maryland, College Park runs the state’s only in-person program, through its Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, ranked No. 1 nationally among criminology graduate programs by U.S. News & World Report (2022).

What can you do with a criminal justice PhD in Maryland?

The degree points toward postsecondary teaching, criminal justice research, and senior-level policy work, including the kind of sentencing and behavioral-health policy initiatives Maryland has been actively building out. It does not, by itself, qualify you to become a judge.

Key Takeaways

This is a research and policy degree, not a hiring requirement. Front-line jobs don’t require a PhD, and requirements for them vary by occupation, state, and agency.
Funding varies by program. At UMD, assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships are available, and many admitted doctoral students have received funding in recent years.
Maryland has one in-person option. The University of Maryland, College Park’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, ranked No. 1 nationally by U.S. News & World Report (2022).
A PhD doesn’t lead to the bench. Becoming a judge takes a law degree and bar admission, a separate path from a criminal justice doctorate.

Whatever policy problem in Maryland’s criminal justice system you want to spend a career on, the credentials have to come first. The Featured Programs listed above are a reasonable place to start comparing options.

Want the bigger picture? Read the full guide to Doctoral Degrees in Criminal Justice | DCJ and PhD.