PhD in Criminal Justice Programs in Nebraska

Updated October 8, 2026

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is the only Nebraska institution reporting a doctoral program in criminology and criminal justice, per federal education data. The program requires a master’s in the field, a two-part comprehensive exam, and a dissertation. Graduates most often pursue postsecondary teaching or research roles. The degree carries no Nebraska occupational license or certification.

If you already hold a master’s in criminal justice or criminology and you’re weighing whether a PhD is worth it, the honest starting point is this: it’s an academic research credential, not a hiring requirement for most criminal justice careers, and it doesn’t come with any Nebraska license or certification attached. What it does is open doors in teaching and research that a master’s generally doesn’t. Here’s what the degree actually requires at Nebraska’s one program, what the closest related occupation pays, and where you’d apply.

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Career Paths Associated With the Degree

The clearest match for this degree is postsecondary teaching. Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers at the postsecondary level in Nebraska earn a median $61,650 a year, according to May 2025 BLS wage data. The state projects the occupation growing from 120 to 130 jobs by 2034 (4.1%), per ProjectionsCentral, with about 10 annual openings. That figure reflects both new positions and replacement needs, not a specific reason like retirement. That’s not a large occupation in Nebraska, and a PhD doesn’t guarantee a teaching position. Hiring committees weigh publication record, teaching experience, and fit alongside the credential itself.

Related occupation, not a typical outcome: Judicial law clerk is sometimes mentioned alongside CJ doctoral programs because both touch the court system, but it’s worth being direct about this: clerkships are normally filled by JD holders, not criminal justice PhDs, and hiring is set by individual judges and courts. For reference only, Nebraska’s judicial law clerks earn a median $49,570 a year (May 2025 BLS data), with the state projecting growth from 110 to 120 positions by 2034 (2.7%). Treat this as adjacent labor-market context, not as evidence of what the doctorate itself pays.

What UNO’s PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice Requires

UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice has run its PhD program since 1994 and has graduated more than 100 doctoral students. Degree requirements, pulled from UNO’s current graduate catalog:

Admission

A master’s degree in criminology or criminal justice from an accredited institution is required for unconditional admission. Applicants with a master’s in a related social science field (psychology, sociology, political science, public administration, and similar) may be admitted provisionally, becoming unconditional once they complete 18 hours of criminology and criminal justice core coursework.

Coursework and Comprehensive Exam

The curriculum includes seminars such as Criminal Justice Systems, Race, Ethnicity, and Criminal Justice, and Women and Criminal Justice, plus electives. Before advancing to candidacy, students sit a comprehensive exam with two parts: criminological theory and criminal justice systems. This is an academic milestone specific to the degree, not a Nebraska licensing or occupational certification exam of any kind.

Dissertation

The dissertation must represent original scholarship, with at least one committee member drawn from outside the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. UNO requires a minimum of 20 credit hours of dissertation research (CRCJ 9990). The program doesn’t publish a fixed completion timeline, and how long yours takes will depend heavily on your research topic, your committee, and your own pace.

Confirm current total credit hours, course sequencing, and any funding or assistantship opportunities directly with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Catalog requirements can shift between academic years.

Where to Study a PhD in Criminal Justice in Nebraska

Per U.S. Department of Education data, the University of Nebraska at Omaha is the only Nebraska institution reporting a doctoral-level program in the criminal-justice-and-corrections CIP family in the dataset we’re citing. That’s the real count in this specific federal dataset, not a claim that no other pathway exists.

Institution	Control	Program	Credential
University of Nebraska at Omaha	Public	Criminal Justice	Doctoral Degree

Confirm current admission requirements, format, and curriculum directly with UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice before applying. Federal data reflects what the school reported as of 2025, not this semester’s catalog. If UNO isn’t the right fit, out-of-state campus programs and online doctoral programs based elsewhere are also worth researching. Confirm enrollment eligibility and state authorization individually with any program you’re considering before assuming it accepts Nebraska residents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a PhD required to work in criminal justice?

No. Most criminal justice careers, including police work, corrections, and most supervisory roles, hire with a bachelor’s or master’s degree. A PhD is built for people aiming at teaching or research, not a general requirement for the field.

Does this degree come with any Nebraska certification or license?

No. A PhD in criminology and criminal justice is an academic credential. It doesn’t confer any Nebraska occupational license, and it doesn’t substitute for agency-specific training, certification, or promotion requirements in law enforcement, corrections, or any other criminal justice occupation. Those requirements are set by individual employers and state bodies, separately from this degree.

How long does UNO’s PhD program take to complete?

UNO doesn’t publish a fixed timeline. Completion depends on your research topic, your committee, and your coursework pace, including the comprehensive exam and the minimum 20 credit hours of dissertation research the program requires.

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

UNO’s program is the only Nebraska-based doctoral option in this CIP family per federal data. Some programs based in other states accept online students from Nebraska, but authorization and enrollment eligibility vary. Confirm directly with any specific program rather than assuming it applies.

What’s the difference between a PhD and a Doctor of Criminal Justice (DCJ)?

A PhD trains you as a researcher, with a dissertation built around original scholarship. A DCJ is typically more practice-focused, aimed at senior practitioners. Schools use these labels differently, so check each program’s own description rather than assuming the distinction holds everywhere.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary and Judicial Law Clerks. 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. 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.

Key Takeaways

Only Nebraska program – University of Nebraska at Omaha is the only Nebraska institution reporting this doctoral program in the federal dataset cited here
No license attached – The degree carries no Nebraska occupational license or certification and doesn’t replace agency-specific hiring requirements
What UNO requires – A master’s in the field (or a related master’s plus 18 credit hours of core coursework), a two-part comprehensive exam, and a dissertation with a minimum of 20 credit hours of research
Related wage data – Criminal justice postsecondary teachers in Nebraska earn a median $61,650 (May 2025 BLS). That’s related labor-market data, not a guaranteed outcome of the degree
Confirm before applying – Current admission requirements, curriculum, and any funding directly with UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Before you apply, reach out to UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice directly and ask what funding options are actually available to incoming doctoral students. That’s a better answer than any general claim this page could make.

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