Criminal Justice Degrees
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Salaries For Degrees in Criminal Justice
Those who majored in Criminal Justice can be employed in a variety of jobs. It is impossible to say what you personally will do with a degree in Criminal Justice, our survey panel picked the following occupations as likely options:
- Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
- Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers
- Legal secretaries
- Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates (Best salary!)
Salaries are highly dependent on individual negotiating skill, years of related experience, your employer, region, and more. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.
Where does this come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a team of freelancers to get their opinion on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.
From this, we calculated the average salary for Criminal Justice degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.
If you have a desire to protect the public from a variety of dangers, you may want to consider majoring in Criminal Justice. The duties of Criminal Justice professionals vary greatly, from investigating crimes and patrolling public places to keeping the peace within the prison system. Our society would not function without the security and safety that is ensured by criminal justice professionals. For this reason, a degree in Criminal Justice is extremely valuable.
What does a Criminal Justice Student Learn?
Students studying Criminal Justice are required to take a wide range of classes that cover a variety of disciplines. These classes may include community based corrections, ethics, criminological theories, abnormal psychology, Criminal Justice administration, substantive criminal law, procedural criminal law, forensic science, civil liberties, victimology or law enforcement, among many others. Graduates from Criminal Justice programs need to have strong background knowledge in human rights, all of the programs and the processes involved in the criminal justice system, police function, how to prevent crime and how society affects law and its execution.
Online Schools Offering Accredited Criminal Justice Degree Programs
Some students do not have the option of attending a traditional university in order to study Criminal Justice. This is a common problem for working adults who do not have the necessary time or money to attend school full time. Fortunately, there are several schools that offer online criminal justice programs. These online programs can be extremely convenient for the working student, allowing him or her to attend class and study on his or her own watch. Online programs typically take three or four years to compete, although with intensive study they can be finished in as little as two years. Often, a portion of the online Criminal Justice program will require students to observe police and other criminal justice professionals in action and on the job. But most classes required for these Criminal Justice programs can be attended online. The professors are experts in the field and as such, an excellent resource for aspiring Criminal Justice professionals. These professors make use of video conferencing, online discussion boards and a variety of other tools in order to teach a well rounded class.
- Popular online schools that allow students to earn an Associated Degree in Criminal Justice include the University of Phoenix, Saint Leo University, Rasmussan College, American Intercontinental University, Kaplan University, LA College, Herzing University, Bryant and Stratton College, Colorado Technological University, and Everest University Online.
- Several online schools also offer Bachelor's degrees in Criminal Justice, such as Kaplan University, the University of Phoenix, Rasmussan College, Ashford University, Argosy University, Liberty University, Westwood University and Herzing University.
- There are also a limited number of online universities that offer Master's Degrees in Criminal Justice. These include Boston University, Virginia College Online, Everest University Online, Colorado Technical University and the University of Phoenix.
Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Criminal Justice Degrees
Criminal Justice Programs are offered in most traditional universities these days. Although these degree programs may require a greater time commitment and high tuition payments, they offer several benefits that students may miss with online Criminal Justice Programs. For example, students taking part in offline Criminal Justice programs are allotted more face-to-face time with Criminal Justice educators and professionals who can answer any questions on the spot. Also, many Criminal Justice professors are available to work on one with students during office hours. Working with an expert in the field of Criminal Justice in person is often quite valuable to aspiring Criminal Justice professionals.
Most Criminal Justice programs at accredited offline universities offer a quality education, but the Criminal Justice programs for undergraduates at Drury University, the University of Louisville and Syracuse University are considered the top three in the nation by US News and World Report. Other great Criminal Justice programs for undergraduates include California State University Fullerton, Buena Vista University, Indiana University, the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, Seton Hall University, the University of Delaware, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and Villanova University, among others. Top schools offering Master's programs in Criminal Justice include the University of Cincinnati, Boston University, California State University Long Beach, Michigan State University, the University of Baltimore, Penn State and Northeastern University.
Famous Students of Criminal Justice
A Criminal Justice program can take you far. Just ask the many professionals who enjoy rewarding careers. The chief of police in nearly every major city in the United States began his or her career with a degree in criminal justice. These well known individuals include Raymond Kelly, the current chief of police in New York City, as well as Bailiff Holly Evans on the popular television show Judge Joe Brown. With hard work, any criminal justice student can go far.
