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Other Corrections & Criminal Justice

Types of Degrees Other Corrections & Criminal Justice Majors Are Earning

Those studying Other Corrections & Criminal Justice may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	149
Associate’s Degree	1,258
Bachelor’s Degree	1,956
Master’s Degree	905

What Other Corrections & Criminal Justice Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Other Corrections & Criminal Justice emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Public Safety and Security — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a Other Corrections & Criminal Justice program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Monitoring — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Social Perceptiveness — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Other Corrections & Criminal Justice careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Other Corrections & Criminal Justice graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.3 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.2 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.1 / 7
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others	4.1 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	3.9 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Other Corrections & Criminal Justice professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Facebook	Web page creation and editing software	—
Corrections housing software	Data base management system software	—
Guardian RFID	Data base user interface and query software	—
3M Electronic Monitoring	Data base user interface and query software	—
Adobe Acrobat	Document management software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Other Corrections & Criminal Justice graduates include:

• Jail Officer
• Correction Officer
• Civilian Jail Officer
• Station Jailer
• Cottage Supervisor
• Correctional Officer
• Jailor
• Deputy Jailer
• Protective Services Officer (PSO)
• Community Corrections Officer (CCO)
• Prison Officer
• Juvenile Corrections Officer
• Penal Officer
• Detention Deputy
• Prison Guard

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	84.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	7.6%
Master’s degree	3.5%
Doctoral degree	2.3%
Postsecondary certificate	1.0%
Post-master’s certificate	0.8%
Bachelor’s degree	0.4%
First professional degree	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Other Corrections & Criminal Justice?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 61.9% of Other Corrections & Criminal Justice degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	2,678	61.9%
Men	1,649	38.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	2,041	47.2%
Asian	73	1.7%
Hispanic or Latino	786	18.2%
Black or African American	798	18.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native	35	0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	16	0.4%
Two or More Races	181	4.2%
Race Unknown	368	8.5%
International Students	29	0.7%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Other Corrections & Criminal Justice Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Other Corrections & Criminal Justice graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise 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 Other Corrections & Criminal Justice Programs

Fully online options are documented by IPEDS for Other Corrections & Criminal Justice. 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	9	4
Bachelor’s	8	10
Master’s	8	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 Other Corrections & Criminal Justice Worth It?

Looking purely at the federal earnings tracker, Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 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	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.