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Special Police Operations

Types of Degrees Special Police Operations Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Special Police Operations can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	35

What Special Police Operations Majors Need to Know

Coursework for Special Police Operations emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Special Police Operations graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Special Police Operations emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Public Safety and Security — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Law and Government — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.6 / 7.
• Psychology — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills emphasized by a Special Police Operations program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

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

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Special Police Operations careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Problem Sensitivity — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Inductive Reasoning — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.0 / 7.
• Deductive Reasoning — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Special Police Operations graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public	4.4 / 7
Documenting/Recording Information	4.3 / 7
Working with Computers	4.3 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.2 / 7
Communicating with People Outside the Organization	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Special Police Operations professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Corel WordPerfect Office Suite	Office suite software	—
Law enforcement information databases	Data base user interface and query software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Internet Explorer	Internet browser software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Special Police Operations graduates include:

• Border Patrol Agent
• Drug Enforcement Agent
• Deputy Sheriff
• Deputy Sheriff Generalist
• City Marshal
• Canine Handler (K-9 Handler)
• Patrol Deputy
• Police Park Officer
• City Constable
• Border Patrol Officer
• Public Safety Officer
• Police Corporal
• Sheriff Department Corporal
• Protective Service Specialist
• Security Specialist

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
High school diploma or equivalent	33.1%
Bachelor’s degree	26.4%
Some college courses	13.6%
Postsecondary certificate	9.5%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	9.0%
Master’s degree	4.5%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.7%
Doctoral degree	0.8%
Post-master’s certificate	0.3%
First professional degree	0.1%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Special Police Operations?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 60% women and 40% men among Special Police Operations graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	21	60.0%
Men	14	40.0%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Special Police Operations graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	22	62.9%
Hispanic or Latino	3	8.6%
Black or African American	2	5.7%
Race Unknown	8	22.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Special Police Operations Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of Special Police Operations graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb 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 Special Police Operations Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for Special Police Operations. 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
Master’s	1	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 Special Police Operations Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Special Police Operations 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
Criminal Justice/Safety Studies	43.0104
Criminalistics and Criminal Science	43.0111
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.