Criminal Justice
Types of Degrees Criminal Justice Majors Are Getting
The following table lists how many criminal justice graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Bachelor’s Degree | 13,153 |
Associate Degree | 8,845 |
Master’s Degree | 2,651 |
Basic Certificate | 2,408 |
Undergraduate Certificate | 732 |
Graduate Certificate | 115 |
Doctor’s Degree | 84 |
What Criminal Justice Majors Need to Know
In an O*NET survey, criminal justice majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.
Knowledge Areas for Criminal Justice Majors
This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Skills for Criminal Justice Majors
The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to criminal justice:
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Abilities for Criminal Justice Majors
Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a criminal justice student include the following:
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
What Can You Do With a Criminal Justice Major?
People with a criminal justice degree often go into the following careers:
Job Title | Job Growth Rate | Median Salary |
---|---|---|
Compliance Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Professors | 12.1% | $61,900 |
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives | 6.6% | $89,030 |
Investment Fund Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Loss Prevention Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Regulatory Affairs Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Security Managers | 8.0% | $107,480 |
Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice?
Racial-Ethnic Diversity
At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of criminal justice majors is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 388 |
Black or African American | 2,237 |
Hispanic or Latino | 3,514 |
White | 5,691 |
International Students | 118 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 1,205 |
Geographic Diversity
Students from other countries are interested in Criminal Justice, too. About 0.9% of those with this major are international students.
Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Criminal Justice
Some degrees associated with criminal justice may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.
How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to criminal justice have obtained the following education levels.
Education Level | Percentage of Workers |
---|---|
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) | 14.4% |
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) | 5.7% |
Some College Courses | 7.3% |
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 10.4% |
Bachelor’s Degree | 38.1% |
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. | 0.8% |
Master’s Degree | 18.1% |
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. | 2.2% |
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. | 0.9% |
Doctoral Degree | 2.9% |
Online Criminal Justice Programs
The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.
Degree Level | Colleges Offering Programs | Colleges Offering Online Classes |
---|---|---|
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) | 0 | 0 |
Certificate (1-2 years) | 87 | 11 |
Certificate (2-4 Years) | 1 | 0 |
Associate’s Degree | 367 | 77 |
Bachelor’s Degree | 47 | 17 |
Post-Baccalaureate | 0 | 0 |
Master’s Degree | 154 | 80 |
Post-Master’s | 2 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Research) | 11 | 3 |
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) | 0 | 0 |
Doctor’s Degree (Other) | 0 | 0 |
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Majors Related to Criminal Justice
You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to criminal justice.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- College Scorecard
- National Center for Education Statistics
- O*NET Online
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
More about our data sources and methodologies.