Corrections Administration

Types of Degrees Corrections Administration Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many corrections administration graduations there were in 2021-2022 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	95
Undergraduate Certificate	19
Associate Degree	3
Basic Certificate	1

What Corrections Administration Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to corrections administration were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Corrections Administration Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in corrections administration should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• 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.

Skills for Corrections Administration Majors

corrections administration majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Abilities for Corrections Administration Majors

A major in corrections administration will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Corrections Administration?

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	0
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	0
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	0

How Much Do Corrections Administration Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Corrections Administration majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $68,350 to $72,390 (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 Corrections Administration

Some degrees associated with corrections administration 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.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to corrections administration have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	41.1%
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)	5.4%
Some College Courses	5.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	7.6%
Bachelor’s Degree	4.6%
Master’s Degree	19.3%
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.	4.3%
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.	0.8%
Doctoral Degree	12.7%

Online Corrections Administration Programs

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)	3	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	3	1
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	2	1
Post-Master’s	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Corrections Administration Worth It?

The median salary for a corrections administration grad is $68,350 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 71% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $569,000 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Corrections Administration

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

Major	Number of Grads
Criminal Justice Studies	46,895
Criminal Justice	31,754
Criminal Justice & Police Science	20,976
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice	3,988
Corrections	3,042
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General	1,323
Securities Services Administration/Management	797
Security & Loss Prevention Services	685
Law Enforcement Investigation & Interviewing	277
Juvenile Corrections	97
Protective Services Operations	19
Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations	0

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.