Criminal Justice Studies

 

Types of Degrees Criminal Justice Studies Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many criminal justice studies graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	31,240
Associate Degree	7,460
Basic Certificate	2,521
Undergraduate Certificate	1,525

What Criminal Justice Studies Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to criminal justice studies 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 Criminal Justice Studies Majors

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

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

Skills for Criminal Justice Studies Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to criminal justice studies:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• 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.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for Criminal Justice Studies Majors

As a criminal justice studies major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• 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.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

What Can You Do With a Criminal Justice Studies Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with criminal justice studies:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	6.6%	$89,030

Who Is Getting an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice Studies?

The major attracts more women than men. About 56% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of criminal justice studies majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	114
Black or African American	1,162
Hispanic or Latino	2,238
White	3,357
International Students	46
Other Races/Ethnicities	543

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Criminal Justice Studies. About 0.6% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Criminal Justice Studies Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

Average salaries range from $68,350 to $93,100 (25th to 75th percentile) for careers related to criminal justice studies. This range includes all degree levels, so you may expect those with a more advanced degree to make more while those with less advanced degrees will typically make less.

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 Criminal Justice Studies

Some degrees associated with criminal justice studies may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

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

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	38.7%
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)	6.4%
Some College Courses	13.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	14.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	10.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	0.7%
Master’s Degree	10.0%
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.	1.8%
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.	0.3%
Doctoral Degree	5.3%

Online Criminal Justice Studies 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)	95	33
Certificate (2-4 Years)	1	0
Associate’s Degree	444	142
Bachelor’s Degree	26	13
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	155	65
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	24	5
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Criminal Justice Studies Worth It?

The median salary for a criminal justice studies grad is $72,390 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 81% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $649,800 after 20 years!

Trades Related to Criminal Justice Studies

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to criminal justice studies.

Major	Number of Grads
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
Corrections Administration	143
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.