Master’s in Criminal Justice Programs in Florida

What Can I Do With My Master’s in Criminal Justice in Florida?

If you are ready to take the next step in your criminal justice career or find out how you can use your education to get into this field, learn more by contacting criminal justice Master’s programs in Florida.

Juvenile justice is one of the highest priorities in Florida (Jacksonville, 2015). In fact, industry experts hope to overhaul the juvenile justice system. In doing so, they hope to decrease the adult incarceration rate in coming years. With a Master’s degree, you may be able to study how these movements can affect the lives of offenders and whether or not they will have a negative impact on community safety.

Criminal justice in Florida has also been utilizing research more and more in recent years. A recent call for research in Florida indicates the need to examine the use of force by police officers (New York Times, 2015).

Career paths in this field are diverse, as they cover every possible work setting for criminal justice professionals. Through 2030, an average of 4,400 new correctional supervisor jobs are expected to be available per year nationwide (CareerOneStop, 2022). Correctional supervisors claim an average salary of $54,1070 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). The need for police supervisors is expected to swell 5% through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022). An average salary of $97,290 per year is reported in this field (BLS, 2022).

2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Florida contained here reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2023.

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

If you are extremely clear in your career goals and what you’d like to accomplish with your Master’s degree, you may be interested in some of the specialized criminal justice graduate programs in Florida.

Options offered at criminal justice schools in the state include:

• Forensic psychology
• Homeland security
• Legal studies
• Criminology
• Public administration
• Emergency planning and administration
• Law and society

Although tuition rates may be a helpful way to assess different schools, you should also remember that there are quite a few financial aid opportunities that can alleviate this burden. The Florida Sheriffs Association Scholarship provides awards every year to students in the field of criminal justice.
While looking at the curricula for different criminal justice programs in Florida, you may discover that these programs look at this industry in many different ways to give you a comprehensive understanding of the industry and your place within it. As a graduate student, you may be expected to take courses like Nature of Crime, Administration of Crime, Research Methods in Criminal Justice, Transitional Criminal Justice, Law and Social Control, and American Criminal Courts.

The type of practical experience you get depends on the program you choose and what your career goals are. Programs that focus more on leadership skills and working in the field may require you to complete a semester-long internship or a capstone project. Programs that are more interested in research and creating a solid body of criminal justice research may ask you to instead complete a thesis or research project.

You can change the future of criminal justice. Contact schools below to find out how you can earn a Master’s degree in criminal justice in Florida.