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Criminal Justice Studies

Types of Degrees Criminal Justice Studies Majors Are Earning

Those studying Criminal Justice Studies have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	1,261
Associate’s Degree	6,232
Bachelor’s Degree	27,949
Master’s Degree	6,249
Doctor’s Degree	179

What Criminal Justice Studies Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Criminal Justice Studies emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Public Safety and Security — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set built by a Criminal Justice Studies program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Monitoring — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Criminal Justice Studies careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

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

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Criminal Justice Studies graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Documenting/Recording Information	4.5 / 7
Getting Information	4.5 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.3 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.1 / 7
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.1 / 7
Processing Information	4.0 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.0 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Criminal Justice Studies professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Internet Explorer	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Visio	Process mapping and design software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database	Data base user interface and query software	—
SmartDraw Legal	Graphics or photo imaging software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Criminal Justice Studies graduates include:

• Shift Supervisor
• Police Captain
• Harbor Patrol Chief
• Vehicle Maintenance Unit Commanding Officer (Vehicle Maintenance Unit CO)
• Patrol Commander
• Police Shift Commander
• Detective Chief
• Traffic Lieutenant
• Precinct Captain
• Police Superintendent
• Uniform Force Captain
• Harbor Police Launch Commander
• Community Relations Police Lieutenant
• Motorized Squad Commanding Officer (Motorized Squad CO)
• Safety Supervisor

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	48.8%
Bachelor’s degree	18.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	12.1%
Some college courses	9.9%
Postsecondary certificate	4.5%
Master’s degree	2.7%
Doctoral degree	1.8%
Less than a high school diploma	0.8%
Post-master’s certificate	0.6%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.4%
First professional degree	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Criminal Justice Studies?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 60% women and 40% men among Criminal Justice Studies graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	25,144	60.0%
Men	16,751	40.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Criminal Justice Studies graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	17,550	41.9%
Asian	1,030	2.5%
Hispanic or Latino	11,906	28.4%
Black or African American	7,191	17.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native	261	0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	177	0.4%
Two or More Races	1,569	3.7%
Race Unknown	1,804	4.3%
International Students	407	1.0%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Criminal Justice Studies Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Criminal Justice Studies 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 Criminal Justice Studies Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Criminal Justice Studies. 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
Associate’s	146	61
Bachelor’s	109	106
Master’s	62	35
Doctoral (Research)	5	2

^{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 Criminal Justice Studies Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Criminal Justice Studies 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 Administration	43.0113
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
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.