Online criminal justice programs usually lead to associate level degrees, bachelor level degrees or master level degrees. At most schools you will need to complete on average 60 semester credit hours for an associate level degree or a master level degree and about 120-128 semester credit hours for a bachelor level degree.

Each course comprising on average 4 semester credit hours will take anywhere between six to twelve weeks to be completed and you will have to spend a minimum of 12-15 hours a week to keep up with the coursework. Of course, this will mainly depend on the program you sign up for and the institution you choose to do your criminal justice degree from, whether you are a full time student or a part-time one and your own pace of work.

But an online program of a properly accredited college or university will roughly take more or less the same time to complete as a similar degree from a traditional college or university – about two years for an associate or master's degree and about 4 years for a bachelor's degree.

Some institutions offer students the option of accelerating the course if they so wish. You will need to find out if your institute offers this option before enrolling for the program of your choice. If you are someone who can find some spare time beyond the class schedule, this would be a good choice since online study material and class assignments are all accessible 24 hours a day in case of those programs that are fully online.

The time taken to complete a degree may be less if the institution you are enrolled in allows you to get credit for your job experience or any on-the-job training that you may have undergone. Not all online colleges or universities offer this option but there are some who do.

In case you are a working adult and have considerable job experience and on-the-job training, you can often complete an online degree in almost half the time compared to non-working adults wishing to complete the same degree or the time that will be required in traditional colleges or universities for the same degree.

This is one of the biggest advantages of online degrees for working adults with considerable professional experience and on-the-job training.