Criminal Justice & Corrections

Types of Degrees Criminal Justice & Corrections Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many criminal justice and corrections graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	7,135
Graduate Certificate	444
Doctor’s Degree	204

What Criminal Justice & Corrections Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to criminal justice 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 Criminal Justice Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in criminal justice 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.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• 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.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• 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 Criminal Justice Majors

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

• 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.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Criminal Justice Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a criminal justice student include the following:

• 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.
• 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).
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Criminal Justice & Corrections Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with criminal justice:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Accountants	10.0%	$70,500
Auditors	10.0%	$70,500
Business Intelligence Analysts	9.3%	$90,270
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	14.2%	$46,270
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Professors	12.1%	$61,900
Document Management Specialists	9.3%	$90,270
Emergency Management Directors	7.9%	$74,420
Financial Examiners	9.7%	$80,180
Forensic Science Technicians	16.9%	$58,230
Information Security Analysts	28.5%	$98,350
Information Technology Project Managers	9.3%	$90,270
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Loss Prevention Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Security Managers	8.0%	$107,480

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice & Corrections?

Criminal Justice and Corrections runs middle of the road when it comes to popularity, ranking #30 out of all the graduate majors we track. In 2021, about 7,135 graduates completed their master’s degree in this field. The major attracts more women than men. About 59% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	132
Black or African American	1,666
Hispanic or Latino	1,056
White	3,379
International Students	137
Other Races/Ethnicities	765

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Criminal Justice. About 1.9% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• Saudi Arabia
• Canada
• China
• South Korea
• United Arab Emirates

How Much Do Criminal Justice & Corrections Majors Make?

Master’s Degree Starting Salary

The median early-career salary of criminal justice and corrections students with a master’s degree is $45,048 a year according to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $39,115 (25th percentile) and $53,283 (75th percentile).

We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to criminal justice so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Criminal Justice majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $56,810 to $90,310 (25th to 75th percentile). 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 & Corrections

Some degrees associated with criminal justice 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 have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	0.2%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	22.4%
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)	8.7%
Some College Courses	12.7%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	12.1%
Bachelor’s Degree	31.9%
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.	2.1%
Master’s Degree	8.8%
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.	0.5%
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	0.6%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Criminal Justice & Corrections Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 1,915 schools offered some type of criminal justice and corrections program. 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)	534	68
Certificate (2-4 Years)	8	0
Associate’s Degree	1,523	300
Bachelor’s Degree	89	36
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	355	139
Post-Master’s	6	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	36	8
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	1
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Criminal Justice & Corrections Worth It?

The median salary for a criminal justice 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!

Majors Related to Criminal Justice & Corrections

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

Major	Number of Grads
Homeland Security	2,759
Security Science and Technology	1,875
Other Homeland Security	456
Fire Protection	172

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.