PhD in Criminal Justice Programs in Arizona

As a criminal justice professional, you have personal insight into this industry, challenges unique to Arizona, and changes that need to be made at every level of the justice system. Earning a PhD at an accredited Arizona university positions you as an authority in the world of criminal justice.

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What Can I Do With My PhD in Criminal Justice in Arizona?

Overall, there are many ways in which Arizona can improve its criminal justice system. One of the most serious legislative and administrative issues in Arizona criminal justice is the guaranteeing of private prisons. There are six private prisons in Arizona for which the state has guaranteed quotas of 90% to 100% (Tri Valley Central, 2016). As agencies across the country try to decrease incarceration rates, this move seems to put Arizona in a place where it must incarcerate people to reach quotas. Arizona leads every other state in guaranteeing private prisons (Tri Valley Central, 2016).

With a PhD in criminal justice, Arizona graduates may have the qualifications needed to work in legislation, criminal justice management, research, and higher education. Demand for judicial law clerks is expected to remain steady, while job openings for criminal justice professors may jump 20% through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022).

Arizona judicial law clerks earn an average income of $46,120 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). Criminal justice professors claim an average salary of $67,700 annually (BLS, 2022).

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

Learn more about spearheading systemic change in criminal justice by requesting information from criminal justice PhD programs below.

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

If you have a Bachelor’s degree, earning a PhD in criminal justice may involve five or more years of full-time study. Over the course of your degree, you’ll complete Master’s-level courses and your PhD dissertation, thesis, or research project. If you have a graduate degree in criminal justice or another relevant field, you may be able to apply up to 30 credits of your graduate degree to your PhD.

At the doctoral level, educational funding works much differently than it does at the undergraduate or graduate level. Programs tend to be extremely selective about the students they accept, since they often offer 100% funding to PhD students. This is supposed to help PhD students focus on their thesis. However, in turn, you must work as a teaching assistant or research assistant for a specific amount of time. In addition, taking a semester off or taking too long to complete your thesis may cause you to lose your funding.

As you work your way through your PhD degree in criminal justice in Arizona, you should enhance your education in many areas of policing, corrections, and criminology.

To reach the learning goals of your selected school, you may enroll in courses like:

Seminar on Criminological Theory
Seminar on Criminal Justice Theories and Practices
Advanced Research Design
Advanced Statistical Analysis
Seminar on Courts and Sentencing
Seminar on Women and Crime
Seminar on Violent Crime and Criminal Behavior
Advanced Topics in Theoretical Criminology
Advanced Topics in Policing

Criminal justice graduate degrees in Arizona often give you the option of choosing an area of concentration. This narrows your area of expertise and provides extra preparation for specific career fields. If you choose an area of concentration, your thesis must directly relate to your chosen subject. Options in Arizona include:

Communities and Justice
Law, Policy and Social Change
Transnational Crime and Justice

A PhD in criminal justice paves the way to increased career potential, a more cohesive understanding of criminal justice issues, and leadership roles in Arizona. Request information from graduate criminal justice programs below.

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