SHSU College Of Criminal Justice Online Program Ranked No. 2 Nationally

HUNTSVILLE, TX -- Sam Houston State University offers one of the best online criminal justice program for graduate education in the nation, according to the 2020 rankings released by U.S. News & World Report in January.

The College of Criminal Justice has consistently ranked among the top criminal justice programs in the country for value and quality by U.S. News & World Report and other college ranking sites.

This is the sixth year in a row that SHSU has maintained a top ranking among 60 universities across the country offering online graduate programs in criminal justice. In 2019, the program was ranked in the top three, and ranked No. 1 in 2016 and 2017. The online criminal justice degree program debuted at No. 5 in 2015, the first year SHSU was invited to participate in the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking process.

“We are very pleased to retain our status in U.S. News and World Report, one of the more influential ranking sources in the country,” said Phillip Lyons, dean of the College of Criminal Justice. “We are grateful for their acknowledgement of our accomplishment in expanding the reach of our highly successful offerings into the digital space, thereby enhancing our ability to meet our students where they are—geographically and otherwise.”

The U.S. News & World Report ranking take into account many key factors in online education programs, including graduation rates, class size, retention rates, tenured faculty, technical staff and support services. It also measures admissions standards based on experience, acceptance rates and undergraduate grade point average as well the reputation of the program among top college administrators and faculty in criminal justice and criminology.

Sam Houston State University offers four online masters’ programs in criminal justice, which specialize in practitioner pursuits in criminal justice, victim studies and security studies. They include:

- The Master of Science in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management, designed for professionals in mid-management positions seeking promotion in the criminal justice field
- The Master of Science in Criminal Justice, geared toward working professionals pursuing career advancement in law enforcement, corrections, security or social services
- The Master of Science in Victim Services Management, intended to prepare graduates to work in victim services, organizational management or social policy development
- The Master of Science in Homeland Security Studies, oriented toward meeting the needs of students to meet the needs of the homeland security enterprise at all levels of government as well as the private sector

In addition to its online offerings, the college offers face-to-face graduate programs in Criminal Justice and Criminology and Criminal Justice Leadership and Management. It also features one of the first Ph.D. programs in criminal justice, a Master of Science in Forensic Science and the first multi-disciplinary Ph.D. degree in Forensic Science. The college boasts one of the largest faculty in the country to meet the growing need for criminal justice professionals across the globe.

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