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Corrections Administration

Types of Degrees Corrections Administration Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing Corrections Administration have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	11
Associate’s Degree	7
Bachelor’s Degree	70
Master’s Degree	9

What Corrections Administration Majors Need to Know

Studies in Corrections Administration emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Corrections Administration graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Corrections Administration emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Public Safety and Security — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.4 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

The skill set built by a Corrections Administration program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Corrections Administration careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Corrections Administration graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Documenting/Recording Information	4.6 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.2 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.1 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Corrections Administration professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Jail management software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Guardian RFID	Data base user interface and query software	—
3M Electronic Monitoring	Data base user interface and query software	—
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database	Data base user interface and query software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Corrections Administration graduates include:

• Shift Supervisor
• Correctional Case Records Supervisor
• Correction Warden
• Commissary Manager
• Juvenile Justice Supervisor
• Corrections Lieutenant
• Correctional Program Supervisor
• Correctional Officer Captain
• Correctional Housing Unit Manager
• Correctional Supervisor
• Detention Director
• Prison Guard Supervisor
• Unit Manager
• Correction Officer Supervisor
• Guard Supervisor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Corrections Administration graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	49.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	20.6%
Bachelor’s degree	9.7%
Master’s degree	6.3%
Postsecondary certificate	6.1%
Doctoral degree	4.1%
Some college courses	1.9%
Post-master’s certificate	1.4%
First professional degree	0.3%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in Corrections Administration?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 67% of Corrections Administration degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	65	67.0%
Men	32	33.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Corrections Administration graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	63	64.9%
Asian	2	2.1%
Hispanic or Latino	21	21.6%
Black or African American	2	2.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	1.0%
Two or More Races	4	4.1%
Race Unknown	2	2.1%
International Students	2	2.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Corrections Administration Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Corrections Administration graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$40,812
4 years	$44,073
5 years	$49,815

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $49,815 — roughly 22% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Online Corrections Administration Programs

Distance learning are documented by IPEDS for Corrections Administration. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	4	0
Master’s	2	0

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in Corrections Administration Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Corrections Administration graduates earn a median of $44,073 four years after completion — roughly 16% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Criminal Justice and Corrections	43.01
Corrections and Criminal Justice, Other	43.0199
Corrections	43.0102
Criminal Justice and Corrections	43.0100
Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement Administration	43.0103
Criminal Justice/Police Science	43.0107
Criminal Justice/Safety Studies	43.0104
Criminalistics and Criminal Science	43.0111
Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations	43.0119
Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection	43.0123
Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism	43.0116
Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation	43.0117

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.