How to Get a Master's Degree in Juvenile Justice

Juveniles convicted of crimes present a unique challenge for the criminal justice system. With respect to juvenile offenders, the justice system aims not only to punish but also to protect and remediate its young charges. To meet these goals, juvenile justice professionals work directly with youth or indirectly, shaping the justice system as it applies to them. Roles range from counseling and evaluation to high-level policy advocacy.

The graduate juvenile justice program helps you build the criminal justice expertise to function effectively as an administrative leader, researcher, or social worker. Earn a master's degree online or on campus in about two years, and graduate with an advanced credential in high demand across the juvenile justice sector.

WorldWideLearn.com helps you take the crucial first steps toward completing a master's degree in juvenile justice. Bring your career ambition and academic interests into focus, and pursue the education to make your professional goals a reality.

Guide to Master's Degrees in Juvenile Justice

Juvenile justice occupies a unique niche in the criminal justice discipline. Because the welfare of children is at stake, the field reaches out to resources in related social science fields--social work, developmental psychology, child education, and communication strategies.

As a juvenile justice master's student, you have the opportunity to build:

• A deep knowledge of how the juvenile justice system works
• A comparative understanding of different approaches to juvenile justice worldwide
• A foundation in juvenile criminal law and rights
• Quantitative and qualitative research skills, with an emphasis on program evaluation

Professional and Academic Master's Degrees

Master's degrees in juvenile justice reflect different professional competencies. Options include:

• Master of Science (MS). The standard academic social science degree emphasizes broad education in criminal justice fundamentals in the first year, followed by specialized, self-directed research and a master's thesis. This versatile master's degree offers a springboard to careers across the juvenile justice sector. It can be combined with one of the professional degrees below for a more career-focused graduate experience.

• Master of Public Administration (MPA). The MPA focuses on the challenges juvenile justice professionals face when administering justice effectively--developing remediation programs, protecting child welfare, setting policies, and using public resources to achieve specific institutional outcomes. The MPA program can incorporate an internship or research project.

• Master of Social Work (MSW). The MSW focuses on direct work with juveniles in the justice system, emphasizing psychology and counseling, personal evaluation, and communication.

• Joint MS and Juris Doctor (JD). Juvenile justice experts who intend to work in the courts as legal advocates, juvenile defenders, and judges need a three-year professional law degree, the JD, to practice.

Most of these degrees are available through digital graduate education, making them accessible for professionals who want to earn a master's degree online while they work.

Specializations

Specializations in juvenile justice can focus on a specific area of the justice system, an issue or problem in youth justice, or an applied professional role. Examples of a few specialized fields include:

• Juvenile Corrections
• Juvenile Justice Policy
• Juvenile Rehabilitation Programs
• Juvenile Mental Health and Counseling
• Substance Abuse and Prevention
• Juvenile Forensic Psychology
• Global Juvenile Justice

Many degrees are designed to accommodate independent research interests, pursued under the guidance of a faculty expert in the field.

Career Track

A master's degree in juvenile justice qualifies you for high-level administrative, research, and social work counseling positions. Career paths include:

• Policy and administration. Job titles in public administration include law enforcement or corrections officers, rehabilitation program director, policy analyst, prison reform advocate, and researcher.
• Social work. Juvenile justice social workers offer psychological and substance abuse counseling and evaluation, ensure the welfare of children within the justice system, and develop rehabilitation programs.
• Academic scholarship and teaching. The master's degree can serve as a stepping stone to the PhD in criminal justice or juvenile justice, which in turn prepares you for a career as a university professor and researcher. Academic scholarship focuses on fundamentals of juvenile justice such as criminology, sociology, and global comparative studies.
• Juvenile courts. A master's degree can lead to a juvenile advocate role. For more active legal positions--child advocacy lawyer, juvenile court judge, or juvenile defender--you need a JD as well.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, correctional specialists can expect "excellent" job opportunities in the decade ending in 2018, with jobs growing nearly twenty percent. Social workers also face favorable prospects, with 12 percent new employment overall and 20 percent growth for substance abuse and mental health social workers.

Plan for a Master's Degree in Juvenile Justice

A master's degree in juvenile justice exposes you to new career opportunities throughout the justice system. To take full advantage of the credential, plan your academic journey well in advance. The following steps position you for success.

Step One: Find the Right Graduate Juvenile Justice Program

With dozens of juvenile justice and criminal justice master's degree programs to choose from, it's important to do your homework before you apply. Narrow down your options and identify the right campus or online graduate program for you.

1. List Accredited Programs

Survey your options by accessing lists of accredited master's degree programs. To get a full sense of your options in the field, consider both juvenile justice master's degrees and criminal justice degrees with a concentration in juvenile justice.

Accreditation is an important baseline requirement at this initial stage in your research. Periodic program reviews by independent third parties speak to the value of your degree on the job market, the quality of your education, and your eligibility for federal financial aid programs. The U.S. Department of Education website posts a searchable database of approved accreditation agencies.

Resources

• WorldWideLearn.com represents accredited campus and online master's degrees in criminal justice. Search Degrees by Subject for graduate juvenile justice programs.

• The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC) accredits online programs. Search the site for online master's degrees in criminal justice or corrections management.

2. Choose Program Format: Campus or Online Master's Degree?

In an effort to accommodate working professionals interested in upgrading their academic credentials, more and more graduate criminal justice programs are developing online and hybrid program formats. The option to earn a master's degree online helps busy, mid-career adults access the virtual classroom without putting their career on hold. Hybrid programs combine online courses with in-person training via campus residencies or applied internships.

The right program format for you depends on:

• Life circumstances
• Career goals
• Learning style
• Access to research facilities

Continuing undergraduates can benefit from the support and local resources of a campus program. Returning students, by contrast, can take advantage of the convenience, no-nonsense career training, and networking opportunities of an online program.

Resources

• WorldWideLearn.com lays out the program format options at Online Degree Programs and Campus Education. You can also identify campus graduate programs in your region by searching Degrees by Location.

3. Explore Academic Programs

Each juvenile justice master's degree program takes a slightly different approach to the discipline. Department resources influence the professional opportunities available to you. To get a sense of which program fits your goals, evaluate these features:

• Curriculum and specializations
• Degree format and requirements
• Department affiliations
• Public agency and employer affiliations
• Faculty areas of expertise
• Research facilities

It's at this stage that your professional focus pays off. Look for programs that match your academic interests, with courses, faculty experts, internships, conferences, and prospective employers in your field.

Resources

• WorldWideLearn.com helps you get started with an interactive search tool. Input your academic program criteria, and the system identifies schools that match your specifications. Add your contact information if you want to talk directly with a school representative. The system streamlines your program research, helping you cover more ground.
• School websites facilitate deeper exploration, providing detailed information about degree requirements, course descriptions, public agency internships and special programs, campus facilities, and more. Look for links to student handbooks, faculty CVs, course webpages, and graduate research publications.

4. Evaluate Program Quality

Finally, assess each program on your list for quality and selectivity. Features to consider include:

• Reputation
• Admissions selectivity
• Job placement
• Student support services (academic counseling, career placement)
• Student demographics

Aim for a final list of five or six schools that represent strong educational value while remaining within your reach as an applicant. Your strength as a program candidate depends on your undergraduate GPA, standardized test scores, letters of recommendation, and in some cases, work experience.

Resources

• Rankings give you a general sense of the program's reputation. Influential publications include U.S. News & World Report, Top Graduate Schools in Criminology or Social Work. The Journal of Criminal Justice Education also periodically publishes a ranking of criminal justice programs. Access to the journal is available through the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
• Admissions counselors can pass along key metrics related to program quality and selectivity such as placement rates, employers, and starting salaries; demographic data including average years of work experience; and selectivity data including acceptance rates and average admitted students' GPAs and test scores.
• Campus visits and informational interviews offer the most reliable insight into student support services and the quality of the learning environment. Meet with graduate students, faculty, and alumni to gauge the availability of key resources, the quality of campus facilities, and the value of the degree on the job market.

Step Two: Apply to Graduate Juvenile Justice Programs

Applications are pretty standard across the criminal justice academy. Expect to complete the following steps on the road to admission into a master's degree in juvenile justice.

1. Complete Prerequisites

Most graduate programs in juvenile justice specify the following eligibility requirements:

• A bachelor's degree in criminal justice or a related field from an accredited institution, with a minimum GPA
• Prerequisite courses, if your undergraduate degree is in another field
• Standardized tests: GRE and TOEFL (for international students)
• Work experience (required by some professional master's programs)

2. Prepare Application Materials

Look for an application form and instructions on the school's website, or contact the admissions department for an application. Most criminal justice master's degree programs require an information form, application fee, and these supporting documents:

• Academic transcripts
• Letters of recommendation
• Test scores
• Personal statement of interests

Because some of these documents arrive from third parties, it's important to start your application well in advance of the deadline.

3. Finance Your Master's Degree in Juvenile Justice

Distance graduate education has reduced the cost of going back to school by allowing professionals to earn a master's degree online while they work. Still, most graduate students rely on some financial aid to cover the cost of their graduate education. Financial aid options for a juvenile justice degree include:

• Scholarships and fellowships
• Public-funded research grants
• Teaching and research assistantships
• Employer-funded tuition, loan forgiveness, or other continuing education incentives
• Low-interest student loans

Investigate these options with the help of a financial aid advisor, who can point you to the right programs and applications. Fill out university and/or federal FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) financial aid applications. To learn more about financial aid, visit the WorldWideLearn.com resource page on graduate education funding.

Step Three: Build an Academic Support Network

The interim period between applying and starting the program offers a golden opportunity to establish yourself within the academic community. Meet your peers and mentors, and learn about the issues current in your field of research today. Resources in your self-guided program orientation include:

• Professional Associations. The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) and National Center for Juvenile Justice are the major national associations. Also explore groups in your specialty area and contact local public juvenile justice agencies.
• Journals. Publications specific to juvenile justice include Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Justice Journal, and Journal of Knowledge and Best Practices in Juvenile Justice and Psychology.
• Conferences and Networking Events. Universities, juvenile justice agencies, and nonprofit organizations sponsor local networking events. These conferences, lectures, and social events foster intellectual exchange and a sense of community among justice professionals.

The value of a graduate degree in juvenile justice depends as much on the people you meet as the knowledge you gain. Start building your network now, and you can have the support you need to thrive in the program and in your future career.

Conclusion

A master's degree in juvenile justice gives you the contacts, expertise, and perspective to make a difference in the field. Whether your hope is to reform the system or make a meaningful change in the lives of juvenile offenders, the graduate credential can help you attain a leadership role and realize your professional vision.

Sources

• Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
• Accredited Institutions, Distance Education and Training Council
• College of Criminology and Criminal Justice: Master's Degree Programs, Florida State University
• Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs, U.S. Department of Education
• Master of Science in Criminal Justice, Kaplan University
• MS in Juvenile Justice, Prairie View A & M University
• National Center for Juvenile Justice
• Online Graduate Program in Correctional/Juvenile Justice Studies, Eastern Kentucky University
• "Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists," Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Programs in Law, The Sloan Consortium
• "Social Workers," Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-2011 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Top Criminology Graduate Programs, U.S. News & World Report (2009)