Criminology

Types of Degrees Criminology Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many criminology graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	9,710
Master’s Degree	789
Associate Degree	217
Basic Certificate	175
Graduate Certificate	91
Doctor’s Degree	56
Undergraduate Certificate	1

What Criminology Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to criminology and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Criminology Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Skills for Criminology Majors

When studying criminology, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Criminology Majors

As you progress with your criminology degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Criminology Major?

People with a criminology degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Investment Fund 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 Criminology?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 9,710 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminology in 2021, making it rank #53 in popularity. The major attracts more women than men. About 62% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of criminology majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	303
Black or African American	1,130
Hispanic or Latino	2,441
White	5,037
International Students	136
Other Races/Ethnicities	663

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Criminology. About 1.4% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• China
• United Arab Emirates
• Canada

How Much Do Criminology Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Data from the U.S. Department of Education shows that criminology students who graduated in 2017-2019 with a bachelor’s degree made a median starting salary of $33,551 per year. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $30,482 (25th percentile) and $36,582 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to criminology so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Criminology majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $90,290 to $115,590 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Criminology

Some degrees associated with criminology 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.

Find out what the typical degree level is for criminology careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.8%
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)	2.2%
Some College Courses	0.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	4.4%
Bachelor’s Degree	47.5%
Master’s Degree	26.3%
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.	2.1%
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.	1.3%
Doctoral Degree	14.3%

Online Criminology Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 233 schools offered some type of criminology program. 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)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	10	5
Bachelor’s Degree	10	4
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	61	13
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	17	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Criminology Worth It?

The median salary for a criminology grad is $90,290 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 126% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $1,007,800 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Criminology

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to criminology.

Major	Number of Grads
Political Science & Government	49,282
Economics	49,055
Sociology	38,475
General Social Sciences	18,997
International Relations & National Security	14,306
Anthropology	11,415
Geography & Cartography	8,526
Other Social Sciences	2,414
Urban Studies	1,507
Sociology & Anthropology	541
Archeology	339
Demography & Population Studies	88

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.