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criminal law and procedure

Types of Degrees criminal law and procedure Majors Are Earning

People majoring in criminal law and procedure may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Master’s Degree	38

What criminal law and procedure Majors Need to Know

Coursework for criminal law and procedure build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that criminal law and procedure graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in criminal law and procedure emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Law and Government — Importance 4.9 / 5; level 6.1 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.3 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.2 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills developed in a criminal law and procedure program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Learning Strategies — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to criminal law and procedure careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 5.3 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, criminal law and procedure graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.6 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.6 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.5 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.2 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.1 / 7
Analyzing Data or Information	4.0 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.8 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by criminal law and procedure professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
AbacusNext HotDocs	Document management software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
CT Summation iBlaze	Document management software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
LexisNexis	Information retrieval or search software	—
Thomson Reuters Westlaw	Information retrieval or search software	—
Microsoft Publisher	Desktop publishing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
LexisNexis CaseMap	Data base user interface and query software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for criminal law and procedure graduates include:

• Law Professor
• Clinical Law Professor
• Criminal Law Professor
• Legal Writing Professor
• Law Lecturer
• Adjunct Professor
• University Faculty Member
• Faculty Member
• Law Instructor
• Law Adjunct Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Associate Professor
• Adjunct Law Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Instructor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to criminal law and procedure graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
First professional degree	43.2%
Doctoral degree	40.6%
Master’s degree	13.5%
Post-master’s certificate	1.8%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	0.9%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in criminal law and procedure?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 68.4% of criminal law and procedure degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	26	68.4%
Men	12	31.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of criminal law and procedure graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	32	84.2%
Asian	2	5.3%
Hispanic or Latino	1	2.6%
Black or African American	1	2.6%
Two or More Races	2	5.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do criminal law and procedure Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of criminal law and procedure 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	$78,306
4 years	$93,383
5 years	$107,509

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $107,509 — roughly 37% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online criminal law and procedure Programs

Online study is reported by IPEDS for criminal law and procedure. 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 criminal law and procedure Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, criminal law and procedure graduates earn a median of $93,383 four years after completion — roughly 146% 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
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies	22.02
Advanced Legal Research/Studies, General	22.0201
Agriculture Law	22.0214
American/US Law/Legal Studies/Jurisprudence	22.0203
Arts and Entertainment Law	22.0215
Banking, Corporate, Finance, and Securities Law	22.0205
Canadian Law/Legal Studies/Jurisprudence	22.0204
Comparative Law	22.0206
Compliance Law	22.0216
Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law	22.0207
Entrepreneurship Law	22.0218
Family/Child/Elder Law	22.0219

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.