Criminal Justice - Police Science Degrees (2026 stats)

Criminal Justice - Police Science: what the data shows

Common questions about criminal justice - police science degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a criminal justice - police science degree?

A Criminal Justice - Police Science program is classified under NCES CIP 43.0107 in the Criminal Justice and Corrections field family (43.01).

A program that prepares individuals to perform the duties of police and public security officers, including patrol and investigative activities, traffic control, crowd control and public relations, witness interviewing, evidence collection and management, basic crime prevention methods, weapon and equipment operation and maintenance, report preparation and other routine law enforcement responsibilities.

IPEDS counted 2,162 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of criminal justice - police science degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 43.01 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

• Corrections (CIP 43.0102)
• Corrections Administration (CIP 43.0113)
• Criminal Justice (CIP 43.0103)
• Criminal Justice - Law Enforcement Administration (CIP 43.0104)
• Criminalistics and Criminal Science (CIP 43.0111)
• Critical Incident Response/Special Police Operations (CIP 43.0119)
• Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection (CIP 43.0123)
• Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism (CIP 43.0116)
• Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation (CIP 43.0117)
• Forensic Science and Technology (CIP 43.0106)
• Juvenile Corrections (CIP 43.0110)
• Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis (CIP 43.0118)
• Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing (CIP 43.0114)
• Law Enforcement Record-Keeping and Evidence Management (CIP 43.0115)
• Maritime Law Enforcement (CIP 43.0122)
• Protective Services Operations (CIP 43.0120)
• Securities Services Administration/Management (CIP 43.0112)
• Security and Loss Prevention Services (CIP 43.0109)
• Suspension and Debarment Investigation (CIP 43.0121)

How long does it take to get a criminal justice - police science degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 43.0107 in our file:

• 5,420 Associate (70.4% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
• 2,162 Bachelor's (28.1% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
• 109 Master's (1.4% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
• 4 Doctorate (0.1% of IPEDS total)—varies by program

Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.

What do you learn in criminal justice - police science?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Listening, Active Learning, Instructing, Reading Comprehension, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What degree do you need?

For Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).

O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.

What jobs can you get with a criminal justice - police science degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Criminal Justice - Police Science to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a criminal justice - police science degree worth it?

College Scorecard national medians for the Criminal Justice and Corrections bachelor's program family: median debt $21,330, median earnings $55,378 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.57.

About 5.0% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $11,018 and median net price is $18,165.

We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.