General Career Info

Great Careers in Criminal Justice

There are so many criminal justice jobs that you may be looking for a starting point to get you headed in the right direction. We fully believe that each of these careers really are a calling. It takes a truly special person to answer the call to serve their community, their State, and their country. We are proud to be a part of you taking the next step regardless of the career path you choose. Once again, we would like to thank you for considering a career in public service.

Local law enforcement:

• Park police
• County police
• Juvenile Justice Centers
• Sheriff Department

State law enforcement:

• Crime labs
• State Crime Commissions
• Court System
• Attorney General Offices
• Narcotics Bureaus
• Liquor Control Boards
• State Police

Federal law enforcement:

• Department of Defense
• Department of Homeland Security
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Department of Transportation
• Federal Trade Commission
• Veterans Affairs
• Customs Agency
• Immigration and Naturalization Service
• Food and Drug Administration
• Office of the Inspector General

Private sector law enforcement:

• Insurance companies
• Private detectives
• Safety officers
• Security patrol officers

What are the educational requirements for me to start one of the criminal justice careers above?

	American Intercontinental University - American Intercontinental University was founded in 1970 and has been providing a quality education ever sense. They offer multiple criminal justice degree options including specializations in forensic science, law enforcement, and special populations. American Intercontinental University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission which is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
	Everest University – This university has a great variety of both associate’s degree programs and bachelor’s degree programs in a variety of criminal justice fields. For example, they have some excellent criminal investigation degrees, homeland security degrees, and paralegal programs. Everest University is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
	Kaplan University - Kaplan has several programs available in the Criminal Justice and law fields including an accelerated program that makes it easy for you to complete a degree if you have already taken some college credits. This is one of the top online colleges in the country and it offers a solid foundation in the areas of law enforcement, courts, corrections, and security. Kaplan University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission which is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
	Virginia College - Virginia College has the widest selection of programs at all degree levels in Criminal Justice. Their programs will help you prepare for or enhance your law enforcement career. Each program will emphasize the use of technology to prepare you for the future of law enforcement where new technologies are constantly being introduced to combat, solve, and prosecute crimes. Virginia College is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.
	Upper Iowa University – This university was established in 1857 and multiple CJU employees attended this great university. They have multiple criminal justice programs and some innovative emergency and disaster management degrees (including a bachelor’s degree in Fire Science). Upper Iowa University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association
Don’t see the Criminal Justice College you are looking for? CLICK HERE to see a listing of all the colleges in your area.

It is the case that the amount of education you will need depends completely on the career path you choose. Like most fields, there are certificates in criminal justice, associate’s degrees in criminal justice, bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice, master’s degrees in criminal justice, doctorate’s in criminal justice. There are also several advanced or specific types of degrees in fields like forensic science as well as future criminal justice teachers.

The most common types of criminal justice programs are:

1. Certificates – They provide you with highly specialized training in a specific area of criminal justice. You may be educated on how to become a crime scene technician or some other area of specialization. People that earn certificates in a particular criminal justice discipline usually use those as a spring board into other criminal justice programs (like an associate’s degree). These are a great place to start as you pick up some excellent real-world skills that can almost immediately be applied. This is especially a great starting point if you are not sure whether or not a career in criminal justice is right for you.

2. Associate’s Degrees in Criminal Justice – These will generally take two years to complete if you take them in a traditional setting (basically in continuous periods or semesters). Associate’s degrees are similar to certificates in that they generally focus on very specific technical aspects of a criminal justice job. Most people that get an associate’s degree find work in local or state law enforcement. For instance, most local police departments are now requiring recruits to have completed at least some college education and those with a completed associate’s degree have a definite competitive advantage. Most of the credits that you earn in an associate’s degree program can be transferred to a bachelor’s degree program as well making it another great step forward in your criminal justice career.

3. Bachelor’s Degrees in Criminal Justice – These will generally take four years to complete (two years if you already received an associate’s degree in criminal justice) If you are wanting to pursue a career with federal agencies (FBI, CIA, DEA, etc.) then you will want to pursue a bachelor’s degree as most of those agencies require them even for entry-level positions. Bachelor’s degrees vary from college-to-college but almost all colleges will have a general bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. You may also want to look at the forensic science degrees if you are interested in crime scene investigations, etc. Bachelor’s degrees are also required for any graduate level degrees (like a master’s degree or doctorate). In general, a bachelor’s degree will be the best option to open up a wide range of careers to you and it is the degree which we recommend.

We wanted to provide you with some specific criminal justice specializations as well:

Criminal Justice (certificate, associate’s degree, or bachelor’s degree): You can get any of the three main education designations in criminal justice as noted above. A quick summary from above can be broken down based upon the type of criminal justice job you are looking for. If you want a local or job with your State, then a certificate or associate’s degree is adequate. If you are wanting to work for the U.S. federal government, then you will need to pursue a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.

Crime Scene Technologists (certificate, associate): We have all seen the many CSI television shows and those have inspired a whole new series of associate’s degrees that help people obtain careers in all levels of law enforcement as well as in medical examiner’s offices. Crime scene techs gain skills that focus on collecting evidence and making sure that the evidence stays preserved as it goes from collection into the crime scene labs for evaluation. In many of these programs you will also need to gain strong communication skills as you deal with people at the crime scene and potentially in the court room if a case you are working on goes to trial.

Security Management (certificate): This certificate will allow people to specialize in anti-terrorism techniques and careers. The certificate can and usually is achieved after obtaining an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. While that is the normal path it is not required. Since the U.S. government is facing more threats on nearly a daily basis, this certificate is valuable and an important one to obtain to expand your career opportunities.