PhD in Criminal Justice Programs in South Dakota

Updated October 9, 2026

South Dakota has no on-campus doctoral program in the criminal-justice-and-protective-services field, per federal education data. The state’s one doctoral credential here is a distance-only Homeland Security doctorate, not a criminal justice PhD. Program length and admission requirements vary by university. Criminal justice professors earn a national median of $76,590 a year, per May 2025 BLS data.

Every criminal justice doctorate starts the same way for a South Dakotan: you won’t find a campus-based program in your own state, and you’ll spend years working toward original research nobody can finish for you. That’s not a dead end. It’s part of what makes the degree valuable once you’re done, whether that’s research, policy work, or a shot at a tenure-track teaching position.

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What Can I Do With My PhD in Criminal Justice in South Dakota?

South Dakota’s criminal justice system has been genuinely in flux lately, and that’s the kind of research question a criminal justice doctoral program trains you to study, not a job guarantee. Gov. Larry Rhoden signed Senate Bill 83 in March 2025, dropping first- and second-offense drug ingestion from a felony to a misdemeanor, reversing the policy the Argus Leader flagged as one of the nation’s harshest back in 2016. Whether that change actually reduces incarceration or case backlogs over the next several years is an open question, and exactly the sort of thing doctoral research is built to answer.

Mental health and the courts are part of that research picture too, though the clearest data point here is now dated. The Rapid City Journal reported on a backlog in court-ordered competency evaluations back in 2016. By 2021, the state had expanded its pool of certified evaluators from six to 33, according to KELOLAND’s reporting on the state’s Oversight Council for Improving Criminal Justice Responses for Persons with Mental Illness. Treat that as historical progress, not a current status report. We couldn’t verify anything more recent than 2021 on actual wait times.

A Career You Can Aim For: Postsecondary Teaching

Criminal justice and law enforcement professors earn a national median of $76,590 a year, as of May 2025 BLS data. A research-oriented PhD is a common credential for this track at many four-year programs, though faculty qualifications vary by institution, department, and rank, so confirm exact hiring requirements with any school you’re targeting. South Dakota doesn’t publish its own wage figure for this occupation, but it does publish a state-specific growth figure: 6.5% through 2034, per ProjectionsCentral (2024-34). The base is tiny, just 30 positions statewide, rounding to the same 30 by 2034, so treat that percentage as a small-number effect, not a hiring wave.

A Related Field, Not a Direct Outcome: The Judiciary

You’ll sometimes see criminal justice PhD programs mentioned alongside judicial careers, and it’s worth being precise about why that’s misleading. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates earn a national median of $153,990 a year, per May 2025 BLS data, with openings projected to grow 2.6% nationally through 2034 per ProjectionsCentral (2024-34, no South Dakota-specific figure published). But becoming a judge in South Dakota follows the state’s own legal and selection requirements, set independently of any graduate degree. A criminal justice PhD does not qualify you for the bench on its own. We’re including this wage data for context, not as a PhD career outcome.

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

What Will It Take to Earn My Criminal Justice Graduate Degree in South Dakota?

Admission requirements vary by program. Some schools admit applicants directly from a bachelor’s degree into the PhD track; others require a completed master’s first. Check the specific requirements for any program you’re considering rather than assuming one path applies everywhere.

Completion time varies just as much, depending on your enrollment status (full-time or part-time), transfer credit, prior graduate coursework, and how long your dissertation research takes. Ask any program you’re evaluating for its typical time-to-degree instead of assuming a fixed number of years.

Coursework is set by each university, not standardized nationally. Depending on the program, you might take courses covering topics like:

National Security Policy: American security policy, how it’s applied, and where it has succeeded or failed.
Police Administration: Leading police departments and the legal and ethical issues in police management and leadership.
Criminal Procedure: Criminal procedure in the United States, where the system has produced miscarriages of justice, and how reform efforts try to address that.
Criminal Law: Federal and state criminal statutes, how they’re applied, and how they’re used to drive policy reform.
Courts and Judicial Politics: How court systems function and the political dynamics that shape them.

Some programs also include a practicum or internship component. Ask whether yours does, since it isn’t universal.

A defining feature of research-oriented PhD programs, as distinct from professional doctorates or master’s degrees, is the dissertation: original research you develop and defend with faculty oversight. Exact candidacy, committee, and defense requirements are set by each university’s graduate school, so confirm them directly with any program you’re applying to.

Pick your advisor as carefully as you pick your program. Look for faculty whose published research actually overlaps with what you want to study.

Where to Study a Criminal Justice PhD in South Dakota

Per U.S. Department of Education data, no South Dakota institution currently offers an on-campus doctoral program in the broader field the federal data groups together, which spans general criminal justice and corrections, legal support services, fire protection, homeland security, security science and technology, and criminalistics, not just a criminal justice PhD specifically.

The one South Dakota-registered doctoral-level credential in that broader group belongs to National American University-Rapid City’s Henley-Putnam School of Strategic Security: a Doctorate in Strategic Security, a homeland-security-focused credential delivered entirely online, not a general criminal justice PhD. The school reported 11 doctoral graduates from its homeland-security programs in 2024. Confirm current enrollment status and program details directly with the school before applying, since federal data can lag a school’s current catalog.

That leaves two realistic paths for a criminal justice PhD specifically: an online program, or a residential program based in another state.

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

Can I earn a PhD in criminal justice in South Dakota?

Not on a campus. Per federal education data, no South Dakota institution currently offers an on-campus doctoral program in the broader criminal-justice-and-protective-services field. The state’s one doctoral-level credential in that group is a distance-only Homeland Security doctorate at National American University-Rapid City, not a general criminal justice PhD. Your realistic options are an online criminal justice PhD or a residential program in another state.

Do I need a master’s degree before starting a criminal justice PhD?

It depends on the program. Some admit applicants directly from a bachelor’s degree; others require a completed master’s first. Check the specific admission requirements for any program you’re considering.

How long does a criminal justice PhD take to complete?

It varies by program and by student. Full-time versus part-time enrollment, transfer credit, and how long your dissertation research takes all affect the timeline. Ask prospective programs for their typical time-to-degree rather than assuming a fixed number.

What can I do with a criminal justice PhD?

Postsecondary teaching is the clearest degree-related path. Criminal justice and law enforcement professors earn a national median of $76,590 a year, per May 2025 BLS data, though exact faculty requirements vary by school, department, and rank. A criminal justice PhD doesn’t qualify you for judicial office or confer any South Dakota professional license or certification on its own.

Key Takeaways

No in-state on-campus option: federal education data shows no South Dakota institution with an on-campus doctoral program in the criminal-justice-and-protective-services field. The one in-state doctoral credential is a distance-only Homeland Security doctorate, not a criminal justice PhD.
Admissions and timelines vary by program: there’s no universal entry point or completion time. Ask each program directly.
Coursework, internships, and dissertation requirements are set by each university, not standardized nationally.
Postsecondary teaching is the clearest career path: CJ professors earn a national median of $76,590 a year (May 2025 BLS), though the degree alone grants no South Dakota license, certification, or judicial eligibility.

If the in-state gap bothers you less than the tuition bill will, start comparing programs by what they actually require: GRE waiver policies, research fit with specific faculty, and whether the program funds doctoral students through assistantships. Ask every admissions office that before you ask about rankings.

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