Online Master's Degree in Criminal Justice

Online criminal justice master’s programs suit working professionals well and consistently earn top national rankings for career outcomes. Among all graduate programs in criminal justice and criminology, the online master’s in criminal justice has the most natural affinity with online delivery—more so than the theory-intensive criminology master’s, and more so than doctoral programs where laboratory research and close mentoring relationships are central. Criminal justice’s applied, institutional curriculum translates readily to asynchronous online formats: policing administration, corrections management, criminal justice policy analysis, homeland security planning, and criminal justice ethics are all content domains that can be taught effectively through carefully designed online courses without fundamental loss of quality relative to in-person instruction. This natural alignment, combined with the large population of working criminal justice professionals who need scheduling flexibility that residential programs cannot provide, has produced a graduate market in which some of the nation’s strongest criminal justice master’s programs are primarily or exclusively online.

Introduction

The online master’s degree in criminal justice has emerged as one of the most mature and competitive segments of online graduate education in the United States. Programs including Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice—which pioneered online criminal justice graduate education and has been ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News and World Report for nine consecutive years—demonstrate that online delivery and academic excellence are not in tension in this field. The conditions that make online criminal justice master’s programs particularly strong align precisely with what the criminal justice practitioner population needs.

Criminology and criminal justice degree programs at the master’s level serve a graduate student population that is, in criminal justice specifically, overwhelmingly composed of working professionals. Research by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) documents that the majority of criminal justice master’s students are already employed in the field—Sam Houston State University, for instance, reports that 73 percent of students are employed in criminal justice when they enroll (NCES, 2022). This demographic reality shapes what strong online criminal justice master’s programs must provide: scheduling flexibility that accommodates shift work, applied curriculum that connects directly to professional practice, and career support oriented toward advancement in specific criminal justice sectors rather than entry-level placement.

This article examines the online criminal justice master’s degree from several angles that competitors do not address: why online delivery suits this degree type specifically, how the major national rankings evaluate these programs and what their methodologies reveal, the student populations that different programs serve best, specific program profiles drawn from the current ranking landscape, veteran-specific program features, the dual-degree expansion, community college instructor pathways, financial aid strategies, and the program evaluation framework appropriate specifically for online criminal justice master’s programs.

Why Online Delivery Suits the Criminal Justice Master’s

The online master’s in criminal justice translates better to online delivery than the online master’s in criminology for reasons rooted in the fundamental differences between the two disciplines—differences examined in earlier articles in this series.

Curriculum That Travels Well Online

The core content of criminal justice master’s programs—policing administration, corrections management, criminal justice policy analysis, homeland security, ethics, organizational behavior—consists primarily of knowledge domains that can be effectively transmitted through carefully designed asynchronous learning: reading, written analysis, case study examination, policy memo preparation, and discussion-board engagement with policy problems and administrative challenges. Unlike criminological theory seminars, which derive much of their educational value from real-time intellectual debate and spontaneous argumentation, criminal justice administration content is well-suited to the deliberate, written-exchange format of asynchronous online instruction.

This curriculum-delivery fit means that the quality gap between online and residential criminal justice master’s programs is substantially smaller than for criminology master’s programs. A well-designed online criminal justice administration course can produce learning outcomes comparable to a residential equivalent because the primary activities—reading, analyzing, writing, discussing policy problems—do not depend on synchronous social dynamics for their effectiveness (Means et al., 2013). Students who complete an online criminal justice ethics course with carefully designed case analysis assignments, substantive instructor feedback, and structured peer discussion have developed the ethical reasoning skills that the course aims to develop, regardless of delivery modality.

Evidence-based practice content—increasingly central to strong criminal justice master’s programs—is similarly well-suited to online delivery. Teaching students to read research, evaluate program evidence, and apply findings to practice decisions is an inherently individual analytical skill that is developed through repeated practice with research articles, instructor feedback on analytical quality, and reflection on how evidence applies to specific practice contexts. None of these activities require synchronous social interaction to be effective; all can be supported through well-designed online course materials (Sherman et al., 1998; Weisburd & Farrington, 2010).

The Practitioner Population’s Learning Context

The working professional population that dominates criminal justice master’s enrollment brings something to online learning that traditional residential students often lack: professional context that makes course content immediately meaningful. A correctional officer taking an online evidence-based corrections course can connect RNR framework principles to specific clients on their caseload, making abstract theory immediately applicable. A police sergeant taking an online course in police administration can analyze their department’s organizational structure, supervision practices, and use-of-force policies against course frameworks, grounding learning in real-world experience.

This experiential learning dynamic makes online criminal justice master’s programs more intellectually rich than their course catalogs might suggest. Discussion boards where experienced practitioners share field perspectives on course topics—policing students describing their departments’ community policing programs, corrections students analyzing their facilities’ treatment offerings—create a collective learning environment in which theoretical content is continuously tested against real-world knowledge. Programs that design their online curricula to draw on this practitioner expertise—through discussion prompts that engage professional experience, case studies based on real agency contexts, and capstone projects that apply learning to students’ actual workplaces—are providing an educational experience that residential programs with less experienced student populations cannot replicate (Tewksbury, Jennings, & Gover, 2006).

How Rankings Evaluate Online Criminal Justice Master’s Programs

Understanding how major rankings methodologies work for online criminal justice programs helps prospective students use rankings intelligently—as one input among several rather than as definitive quality determinations.

The U.S. News Methodology for Online Programs

U.S. News and World Report evaluates online criminal justice master’s programs on five dimensions: student engagement (including graduation rates and the proportion of courses delivered fully online); student services and technology (advising availability, library resources, career services, technical support); faculty credentials and training (percentage of full-time faculty, doctoral degrees, online teaching preparation); expert opinion (peer assessment surveys completed by academic leaders at other criminal justice programs); and student excellence (GRE/GMAT scores of incoming students, where reported, and academic credentials).

This methodology has specific strengths and limitations for prospective students. It measures inputs and processes well—faculty credentials, student services infrastructure, and peer reputation are genuine quality indicators. It measures academic outcomes less well—the methodology does not specifically examine salary outcomes, employer recognition, or alumni advancement in criminal justice careers. And it weights expert opinion surveys heavily, which means that programs at institutions with established national reputations may receive higher peer assessment scores than newer programs whose quality improvements have not yet been widely recognized in the field.

The U.S. News ranking is most useful for identifying programs with established faculty infrastructure and student service investments, and least useful for evaluating new programs, niche programs serving specific student populations, or programs whose primary strength is employer relationships and career placement rather than academic quality indicators.

The Limits of Rankings for This Program Type

For online criminal justice master’s programs specifically, several quality dimensions that rankings do not capture are more consequential for specific student populations than the factors that rankings measure. Programs with strong relationships to specific federal agencies—FBI, DEA, DHS—provide career placement advantages that no ranking methodology captures. Programs with specific state certifications for educational incentive pay—Massachusetts Quinn Bill certification, for example—provide financial value to their target populations that rankings cannot reflect. Programs with strong military benefit compatibility and veteran support services may serve their veteran student population far better than their overall ranking would suggest.

Prospective students should treat rankings as a starting point for program identification rather than a basis for final program selection. A program ranked #5 nationally that lacks relationships with agencies in the student’s career market may produce worse individual outcomes than a program ranked #30 that has placed dozens of graduates in the student’s target agencies over the past decade (Rydberg & Terrill, 2010).

Student Populations Served by Online Criminal Justice Master’s Programs

Online criminal justice master’s programs serve several distinct student populations, and the programs best suited to each population differ substantially.

The Mid-Career Law Enforcement Professional

The largest single population in online criminal justice master’s programs consists of law enforcement officers pursuing graduate credentials for promotional eligibility, educational incentive pay, or professional development. These students typically have five to fifteen years of field experience, hold bachelor’s degrees from a range of programs, and are pursuing the master’s as a deliberate career investment with specific promotional timelines in mind.

Programs that best serve this population provide scheduling structures compatible with shift work (fully asynchronous delivery with no required real-time participation), curricula with direct applicability to police administration and leadership, prior learning credit recognition for professional training and experience, and connections to law enforcement employer networks that facilitate career advancement after graduation. Michigan State University’s online MSCJ, Sam Houston State’s online offerings, and Texas State University’s Executive Concentration are among the programs most explicitly designed for this population—with curricula built around law enforcement leadership challenges and agency connections that provide career advancement support beyond the credential itself.

The Federal Criminal Justice Employee

Federal government employees in criminal justice and related fields—Bureau of Prisons staff, DHS employees, federal probation and parole officers, intelligence analysts, and administrative personnel in federal law enforcement—represent a distinct population with specific credential needs. These students often need degrees that satisfy GS pay scale grade requirements, that are recognized under the DoD Tuition Assistance program, and that provide curriculum relevant to federal agency operations rather than local law enforcement or state corrections.

Programs that best serve this population maintain explicit DoD Tuition Assistance approval, curriculum relevant to federal agency operations and intelligence, and faculty with federal agency backgrounds who understand the specific career contexts of this student population. University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), which has served federal and military students in the mid-Atlantic region for decades, and American Military University (AMU), which has built the largest federal and military enrollment in online criminal justice education, are the programs most specifically designed to serve this population’s combination of scheduling needs, curriculum expectations, and financial aid compatibility.

The Military Veteran Transitioning to Criminal Justice

Military veterans represent a substantial and growing population in online criminal justice master’s programs, driven by the combination of GI Bill educational benefits that fund graduate study and the natural alignment between military experience and criminal justice careers. Michigan State University’s online criminal justice master’s program has been ranked #7 nationally for veterans specifically by U.S. News—reflecting the program’s investment in veteran-specific support, its GI Bill compatibility, and the career placement support it provides to veterans transitioning to civilian criminal justice careers.

Programs that best serve veteran students provide clear processes for translating military experience into prior learning credit, dedicated veteran services staff who understand GI Bill benefit structures, and alumni networks with veterans already working in target criminal justice sectors who can provide transition mentoring. AMU/APU’s explicit military orientation, UMGC’s decades of experience serving the federal military community, and MSU’s veteran-specific ranking recognition all reflect genuine investments in this population that prospective veteran students should investigate through direct contact with veteran services offices rather than relying on rankings alone.

The Traditional Graduate Student Seeking Career Entry

A smaller but significant segment of online criminal justice master’s enrollment consists of students who have recently completed undergraduate degrees, who are not yet employed in criminal justice, and who are pursuing the master’s as a pathway into the field rather than as an advancement credential within it. This population needs programs with strong career placement support, internship opportunities, and alumni networks that can facilitate entry-level employment after graduation.

Programs serving this population best combine academic quality with active career services—employers who recruit on-campus or virtually, internship placement assistance, resume and interview preparation, and alumni networks that include recent graduates willing to mentor incoming students. Boston University’s online MSCJ offers multiple specialization options and BU’s institutional career services reputation; University of New Haven’s programs in criminal justice draw on strong relationships with Connecticut and New York area employers; and John Jay College of Criminal Justice provides access to New York City’s unparalleled concentration of criminal justice agencies for students able to complete field placements in that market.

Leading Online Criminal Justice Master’s Programs

The following programs are distinguished by specific strengths that address different student populations and career contexts.

Michigan State University: The Pioneer’s Continued Excellence

Michigan State University’s School of Criminal Justice developed the first online master’s program in criminal justice ever offered and has maintained top-10 national rankings for nine consecutive years under the U.S. News methodology. The program’s consistency reflects sustained institutional investment in online program quality, faculty with research expertise across policing, terrorism, community violence prevention, corrections, youth and crime, and cybercrime, and a student service infrastructure developed through decades of online program operation.

MSU offers three distinct online master’s credentials: the MS in Criminal Justice (the primary degree), an MS in Law Enforcement Intelligence and Analysis, and an MS in Cybercrime and Digital Investigation. This three-program structure allows students to select the credential most specifically aligned with their career domain—a flexibility that single-program institutions cannot match. The specialized cybercrime and intelligence credentials are particularly well-positioned for students targeting federal agencies and private sector security firms where domain-specific credentials carry weight alongside general criminal justice training.

MSU’s veteran-specific ranking (#7 nationally) reflects the program’s compatibility with GI Bill benefits and the career transition support provided to veterans—an investment that is documented in program outcomes data rather than merely asserted in marketing.

University of Massachusetts Lowell: Consistent Top Ranking

UMass Lowell’s online Master’s in Criminal Justice has achieved consistent top-5 placement in U.S. News online criminal justice rankings and maintains the Massachusetts Quinn Bill certification that provides law enforcement officers in participating Massachusetts municipalities with salary supplements upon completing the degree. The program’s combination of top national ranking, Massachusetts educational incentive certification, and NECHE regional accreditation makes it an outstanding choice for Massachusetts law enforcement officers specifically—and a strong option for students outside Massachusetts who prioritize nationally recognized program quality.

UMass Lowell’s five certificate concentration options—domestic violence prevention, forensic criminology, leadership and policy development, security studies, and victim studies—provide specialized credential documentation alongside the master’s degree itself. The ability to complete a graduate certificate with courses that simultaneously count toward the master’s degree increases the degree’s credential value at no additional course or cost requirements, making UMass Lowell’s program structure among the most efficient in the market.

Boston University: Flexibility and Specialization

Boston University’s online MSCJ stands out for its scheduling flexibility—the program allows students to complete coursework at their own pace within program timelines—and for the breadth of specialization options across cybercrime, criminal justice policy, public health and criminal justice, and security management. BU’s institutional reputation and alumni network in the Boston metropolitan area provide career placement advantages in one of the Northeast’s most active criminal justice markets.

BU’s online program benefits from the same accreditation, faculty credentials, and career services infrastructure as its residential programs, providing online students with access to institutional resources that nationally focused online institutions cannot match. The BU brand carries recognition in federal law enforcement hiring, public policy organizations, and academic institutions that programs at smaller or less well-known institutions may not, making it particularly valuable for students whose career aspirations extend to competitive federal positions or policy organizations.

Sam Houston State University: Deep Practitioner Connections

Sam Houston State University’s graduate programs draw on one of the deepest criminal justice program histories in the nation—its College of Criminal Justice has historical ties to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and a faculty that includes scholars with extensive practitioner collaboration. With 73 percent of enrolled students already working in criminal justice, Sam Houston’s online programs operate in a learning environment enriched by pervasive practitioner experience that few academic programs can match. The curriculum reflects this practitioner orientation, and the program’s alumni network in Texas state criminal justice agencies provides career advancement support particularly valuable for students who plan Texas-based careers.

University of Nebraska Omaha: Midwest Research-Practice Balance

University of Nebraska Omaha’s online programs occupy a distinctive position in the national ranking landscape—consistently ranked in the top 10 by U.S. News while maintaining the public university tuition rates that make graduate education affordable without institutional prestige premiums. UNO’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice has a research-active faculty whose work spans policing, juvenile justice, corrections, and victimology, providing a stronger theory and research foundation than many practitioner-focused programs without abandoning the applied orientation that criminal justice professionals need.

UNO’s location in the Midwest provides alumni network advantages for students planning careers in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and surrounding states—regional networks that nationally focused online programs cannot replicate—while its national ranking ensures that the credential is recognized in competitive markets beyond the Midwest.

Florida State University: The Dual-Program Advantage

FSU’s online criminal justice offerings provide a distinctive advantage through the institution’s dual program structure: students can pursue either the criminology-oriented master’s or the criminal justice studies master’s online, allowing them to select the program whose orientation—theory-first or practice-first—best matches their goals. FSU waives out-of-state tuition fees for online students and requires no campus visits, providing cost and schedule advantages that many public university online programs cannot match. Graduates receive the same diploma as residential students, with no online delivery notation—a feature that matters to students concerned about credential recognition.

FSU’s alumni network in Florida state government, the court system, corrections, and law enforcement is unmatched in the state, and the program’s location in Tallahassee provides access to state agency internship opportunities that online students can pursue without relocating.

Programs Designed for Specific Sectors

Beyond the broadly recognized top programs, several online criminal justice master’s programs have developed distinctive strengths for specific career sectors.

Texas Christian University has developed an online master’s program that benefits from TCU’s institutional investment in career development infrastructure and strong faculty connections to the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area’s large concentration of federal law enforcement, courts, and corporate security employers.

University of Cincinnati delivers the Cincinnati School’s evidence-based corrections expertise in online format with concentrations in policing, corrections, and victimology—making it particularly strong for students whose career targets are corrections administration and evidence-based program development.

Bowling Green State University offers an online MS in Criminal Justice consistently ranked by U.S. News (ranked #17 in recent years) at public university tuition rates with a curriculum sequence that completes one course approximately every seven weeks—a pacing that many working professionals find more manageable than programs requiring simultaneous enrollment in multiple courses.

Jacksonville State University has climbed from #59 in 2023 to #21 in the 2025 U.S. News rankings—a 38-spot improvement reflecting new faculty investment and curriculum development specifically for the working professional population. Jax State’s online MSCJ is now the highest-ranked program in Alabama and provides strong value for students in the Southeast region.

Veteran-Specific Features and Military Benefit Considerations

Veteran students represent a significant enough segment of online criminal justice master’s enrollment to warrant specific analysis of program features that affect their experience and outcomes.

GI Bill Compatibility and Housing Allowance

Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits for online students calculate the housing allowance at half the national average Military Housing Allowance rate—substantially less than the rate that would apply at a physical school location. This financial distinction means that veterans in online-only programs receive reduced monthly support relative to students in programs with hybrid or residential components. Veterans should calculate the total financial package—tuition coverage plus reduced housing allowance—for fully online programs against hybrid alternatives where the in-person component would trigger a higher housing allowance calculation.

Programs that participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program can reduce or eliminate the gap between GI Bill tuition coverage caps and actual tuition at private institutions. AMU/APU, UMass Lowell, and several private online criminal justice master’s programs participate in Yellow Ribbon, allowing veterans whose GI Bill benefits do not fully cover private tuition to complete programs at reduced or no out-of-pocket cost.

Veteran Prior Learning Credit

Veterans transitioning from military police, criminal investigation, intelligence, or security roles have substantial prior learning credit potential that can accelerate completion and reduce costs. Programs with mature ACE credit evaluation processes—UMGC, AMU, Charter Oak State (for degree completion), and several regional universities with veteran populations—provide the most predictable and favorable prior learning credit outcomes for veteran students (Klein-Collins, 2010).

Veterans should specifically request that programs evaluate their DD-214 service records and military occupational specialty (MOS) documentation for prior learning credit before comparing programs on tuition alone. The difference between a program that awards 12 prior learning credits for relevant military training and one that awards 3 can represent an entire semester of coursework—a time and cost savings that substantially affects the true total cost of the degree.

Dual Degrees and Stackable Credentials

The online criminal justice master’s market has expanded beyond single-degree programs to include dual degree options and stackable graduate certificate credentials that extend the degree’s career value.

Dual Degree Programs: MSCJ/MPA

Several institutions offer dual degree programs combining the master’s in criminal justice with the master’s in public administration (MPA), providing graduates with criminal justice domain expertise alongside public administration’s organizational management, budgeting, and policy analysis competencies. The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s MSCJ/MPA dual degree is among the programs providing this combination online, allowing students to complete both credentials with shared coursework that reduces total required credits below what sequential enrollment in two separate programs would require.

The MSCJ/MPA combination is particularly well-suited for students whose career aspirations include criminal justice agency director, budget director, or senior administrative roles where both criminal justice knowledge and public administration skills are required. In federal and state government, the MPA credential is recognized as qualification for administrative roles that the criminal justice credential alone may not satisfy, making the dual degree’s breadth a genuine career advantage in competitive administrative markets.

Graduate Certificate Stacking

Many online criminal justice master’s programs now allow students to pursue graduate certificates alongside or in addition to the master’s degree, with certificate courses counting toward the master’s credit requirements. Certificate concentrations in cybercrime, homeland security, forensic psychology, leadership, or victim studies provide specific skill documentation that is portable and recognizable by employers independent of the master’s degree credential itself.

UMass Lowell’s certificate structure—where five distinct certificate options integrate with the master’s curriculum—provides the clearest example of how certificate stacking can extend a degree’s credential value without extending its time or cost requirements. Students who complete both the master’s degree and a certificate graduate with two verifiable credentials—the master’s degree and a certificate in a specialized domain—that together demonstrate both breadth and depth to employers and promotion boards (Nettles & Millett, 2006).

The Community College Instructor Pathway

An underappreciated career pathway for criminal justice master’s graduates is the community college instructor position. Community colleges offering criminal justice programs—which enroll hundreds of thousands of students annually nationwide—require instructors with master’s degrees for most teaching positions, making the criminal justice master’s a direct gateway to community college teaching careers.

What Community College Instructors Earn

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports median wages for postsecondary teachers of $83,980, with community college instructors in criminal justice earning $55,000–$75,000 depending on location, institution, and full-time versus part-time status (BLS, 2023). Full-time community college criminal justice instructors at larger institutions in high-cost regions can earn above $90,000, with full benefit packages that match or exceed law enforcement agency benefits.

Community college teaching positions appeal to criminal justice professionals who have accumulated substantial field experience and want to transition to an educational role that allows them to share that experience with the next generation of practitioners. The scheduling structure of community college positions—typically concentrated in weekday daytime hours—also provides a substantial quality-of-life improvement over shift work for officers who have spent careers on irregular schedules.

How to Position a Master’s Degree for Community College Teaching

Criminal justice professionals planning community college teaching careers should take specific steps during their master’s program to position themselves for these positions. Taking pedagogy or curriculum development courses, if available in the program, provides direct preparation for teaching responsibilities. Completing a teaching assistantship or serving as an adjunct instructor while completing the master’s degree provides the teaching experience that full-time community college instructor applications require. Building a portfolio of course syllabi, course materials, and student assessment samples provides concrete evidence of teaching preparation that hiring committees evaluate alongside academic credentials.

Most community colleges prefer applicants with prior teaching experience for full-time positions, making adjunct teaching at a community college while completing the master’s degree a valuable investment for professionals planning this career transition. Many online criminal justice master’s programs have connections to regional community colleges through faculty relationships and alumni networks that can facilitate access to adjunct teaching opportunities during the degree program.

Selecting the Right Online Criminal Justice Master’s Program

The program selection framework for online criminal justice master’s programs combines the general online program evaluation criteria with criminal justice-specific considerations that reflect the practitioner orientation and career contexts of this degree’s primary student populations.

Career Goal Alignment

The most important selection criterion is alignment between the program’s strengths and the student’s specific career goals. Law enforcement officers seeking promotional credentials should prioritize programs with law enforcement leadership curricula, agency connections in their region, and alumni in command positions at target agencies. Federal employees should prioritize programs with DoD Tuition Assistance compatibility, federal agency connections, and curricula relevant to federal criminal justice operations. Career-changers entering criminal justice should prioritize programs with strong career services, internship placement, and employer recruitment networks. Veterans should prioritize programs with mature veteran services, prior learning credit evaluation expertise, and veteran alumni networks.

The Accreditation and Program Approval Check

Regional accreditation is the non-negotiable baseline. Beyond regional accreditation, students should verify program-specific approvals relevant to their career context: DoD MOU participation for Tuition Assistance eligibility, state educational incentive pay certification for law enforcement officers in applicable jurisdictions, and VA benefit approval for GI Bill coverage. These program-specific approvals cannot be assumed from regional accreditation alone and must be verified directly with program staff before enrollment (Deming, Goldin, & Katz, 2012).

Evaluating Program Quality Beyond Rankings

Students who have identified programs that satisfy accreditation, career alignment, and program approval requirements should evaluate remaining options on outcomes-based criteria: graduation rates through the College Scorecard, earnings outcomes for graduates, employer recognition in target career markets, and direct conversations with alumni who can describe their post-graduation career trajectories. Programs whose graduates consistently advance in their target career sectors are providing genuine value; programs whose outcomes data is unavailable or inconsistent with their marketing claims warrant additional scrutiny before enrollment.

Conclusion

The online master’s degree in criminal justice is among the most well-developed online graduate credentials in American higher education—a product of sustained institutional investment by programs that have served working criminal justice professionals for decades, combined with the natural affinity between criminal justice’s applied curriculum and online delivery’s strengths. Programs that have been consistently ranked in the top 10 nationally for multiple consecutive years have demonstrated that the online format is not a compromise for this degree type but a genuine match between educational content and delivery mechanism.

Students who approach program selection with the specificity that their individual career context requires—verifying agency approval, calculating true cost after financial aid and prior learning credit, assessing career placement outcomes rather than rankings metrics, and matching curriculum concentrations to specific career sector needs—will find online criminal justice master’s programs that provide far greater career value than their tuition rates or ranking positions alone would suggest.

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