PhD in Criminal Justice Programs in Montana

Updated October 8, 2026

Federal College Scorecard data shows no Montana institution currently reporting a doctoral-level program in the criminal justice family. Below you’ll find what that data does show for in-state options, plus a sourced pay figure for one of the career paths a criminal justice PhD typically connects to.

Montana is sparsely populated by national standards: 7.4 people per square mile against roughly 93.8 nationally, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census. That geography shapes the criminal justice problems worth studying here more than crime headlines do.

Doctoral-level study digs into questions state agencies don’t have the staff to investigate on their own: how tribal and state jurisdiction overlaps on and off reservation land, what a sheriff’s department covering a few thousand square miles with a handful of deputies can realistically enforce, and how a corrections budget stretches across a state this size. That’s the research gap a PhD is built to fill, not a four-year degree.

None of the featured programs below are based in Montana. Here’s what that means for you before you apply.

Featured Programs:

What a Criminal Justice PhD Connects To

Montana has lived through exactly the kind of policy shift that criminal justice research exists to study. When voters passed Marsy’s Law (CI-116) in 2016, a constitutional amendment expanding victims’ rights that took effect in July 2017 after a Montana Supreme Court ruling settled its start date, it reshaped procedure across the state’s courts and prosecutors’ offices, as The Missoulian covered at the time. That’s the kind of change doctoral-level research is built to analyze. It isn’t evidence that researchers get hired because of it.

One occupation commonly connected to a criminal justice PhD is postsecondary teaching. Montana doesn’t have its own wage line for postsecondary criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, so the closest sourceable figure is national: the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median at $76,590 a year as of May 2025, with ProjectionsCentral projecting 1.9% national growth in the role between 2024 and 2034. That’s an occupational median, not a “criminal justice PhD salary.” Actual pay depends on the institution, rank, and your own research output.

Earning the degree is an academic milestone, not an occupational license. Whatever role you move into afterward, teaching, corrections leadership, policy work, or anything else, carries its own separate hiring, certification, or licensing requirements that the degree itself doesn’t satisfy.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary. Long-term (2024-34) job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, ProjectionsCentral. Figures reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed October 2026.

Before You Apply: What to Ask Each Program

Doctoral programs differ sharply from each other on exactly the things that matter most: how many credits the dissertation or capstone carries, whether a thesis or comprehensive exam is required instead, and how teaching or research assistantships are structured, if they’re offered at all. None of that is standardized across criminal justice PhDs, so treat any course outline you see on a program’s marketing page as a sample, not a syllabus, until you’ve confirmed it against that school’s actual current catalog.

Funding works differently from school to school too. Some programs fund doctoral students through research or teaching assistantships. Others, particularly fully online tracks, don’t offer assistantships at all and expect tuition to come from loans or your own income. Ask each program directly what it actually funds before assuming any typical PhD funding pattern applies to your situation.

Where to Study a Criminal Justice Doctorate When You Live in Montana

Per U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data (institution file May 2025, field-of-study file April 2025), no Montana institution currently reports a doctoral-level program in the criminal justice family. The same dataset lists one Montana school, University of Providence in Great Falls, with a master’s-level credential under the Criminal Justice and Corrections CIP code. That listing is worth confirming directly with the school: its accreditor-reported current program list doesn’t show that credential among its active graduate offerings, which is the exact kind of gap Scorecard data is known to have, since it reflects what a school reported to the Department of Education at the time of collection, not necessarily what’s enrolling students today.

Confirm current enrollment, program format, admission requirements, and exact program title with any school directly before applying, in Montana or elsewhere. Federal data lags what’s actually on a school’s current course catalog.

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

Does any school in Montana offer a PhD in criminal justice?

Per U.S. Department of Education data, no. The same federal dataset lists a master’s-level program at University of Providence in Great Falls, though it’s worth confirming that credential is still active directly with the school before counting on it.

Can I earn a criminal justice doctorate online while living in Montana?

Several programs, including Walden University, structure their criminal justice doctorates as fully online, so relocating to a campus isn’t a requirement for every program. Whether that’s the right path for you depends on your own situation, not a rule that applies to every Montana resident.

What can I actually do with a criminal justice PhD?

Possible directions include postsecondary teaching and research work that feeds into agency policy. The degree itself doesn’t carry any Montana occupational license or certification. Whatever role you move into afterward, in teaching, corrections, courts, or elsewhere, has its own separate hiring and credentialing requirements.

How long does a criminal justice doctorate take to finish?

It varies by program. Completion time depends heavily on each school’s specific dissertation or capstone requirements and credit load, which is exactly why confirming program-level details before enrolling matters more than any general estimate would.

Is there funding available for criminal justice doctoral students?

It depends entirely on the program. Some schools fund doctoral students through research or teaching assistantships. Many fully online programs don’t offer assistantships at all. Ask each program directly what it funds before assuming a standard structure applies.

Key Takeaways

No Montana school currently reports the doctorate – per federal Scorecard data, not an absolute claim about every possible in-state path.
One in-state master’s listing needs confirming – University of Providence’s CJ master’s shows in federal data but isn’t on the school’s current accredited graduate program list; verify directly.
The only sourced payoff figure here is national – $76,590 median for postsecondary CJ teachers, May 2025 BLS, an occupational median, not a PhD-specific salary.
The degree is academic, not a license – whatever career follows has its own separate licensing, certification, or hiring requirements.
Program structure varies too much for generic advice – confirm dissertation requirements, credit loads, and funding directly with each school.

If a Montana-based option matters to your decision, that’s worth settling with University of Providence directly, since federal data and the school’s own current program list don’t fully agree here. Otherwise, the real comparison is between the specific doctoral programs above, not against anything Montana itself currently offers to CJ doctoral students.

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