Criminal Justice Degrees (2026 stats)

Criminal Justice: what the data shows

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

What is a criminal justice degree?

A Criminal Justice program is classified under NCES CIP 43.0103 in the Criminal Justice and Corrections field family (43.01).

A program that prepares individuals to apply theories and practices of organization management and criminal justice to the administration of public law enforcement agencies and operations. Includes instruction in law enforcement history and theory, operational command leadership, administration of public police organizations, labor relations, incident response strategies, legal and regulatory responsibilities, budgeting, public relations, and organizational leadership.

IPEDS counted 12,382 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of criminal justice 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 - Law Enforcement Administration (CIP 43.0104)
• Criminal Justice - Police Science (CIP 43.0107)
• 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 degree?

Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 43.0103 in our file:

• 8,605 Associate (36.5% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
• 12,382 Bachelor's (52.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
• 2,605 Master's (11.0% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
• 1 Doctorate (0.0% 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?

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

What degree do you need?

For Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists (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%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 43.0103, but occupation data show multiple pathways.

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

What jobs can you get with a criminal justice degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Criminal Justice 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 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 $11,790 and median net price is $16,866.

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