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Key Infor­ma­tion:

  • Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty and Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty and two top schools for a bach­e­lor’s in cor­rec­tions.
  • A bach­e­lor’s degree in cor­rec­tions can lead to high­er-pay­ing jobs and faster career advance­ment com­pared to just start­ing with a GED or high school diploma.
  • These pro­grams pro­vide a thor­ough edu­ca­tion in cor­rec­tions, includ­ing course­work in crim­i­nal jus­tice, crim­i­nol­o­gy, law, and prac­ti­cal expe­ri­ences like intern­ships.
  • Grad­u­ates can pur­sue var­i­ous careers in law enforce­ment, pro­ba­tion, fed­er­al agen­cies, and more.

Some work­ing cor­rec­tions pro­fes­sion­als, or prospec­tive stu­dents, might won­der why they should get a degree in cor­rec­tions. This is a valid ques­tion to ask, espe­cial­ly in light of the fact that cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ties train their staff to do their duties after hir­ing. Most facil­i­ties only require a GED or high school diplo­ma from appli­cants seek­ing to ful­fill these roles. So why get a bach­e­lor’s degree in cor­rec­tions when the facil­i­ty offers training?

The fact is, get­ting a bach­e­lor’s degree in cor­rec­tions puts you on track to get­ting high­er-pay­ing jobs and makes it eas­i­er to advance your career. It’s true that peo­ple with­out cor­rec­tions degrees do man­age to work their way up the career lad­der as they gain expe­ri­ence, but they typ­i­cal­ly spend more time climb­ing the lad­der because they don’t have a degree in cor­rec­tions. Get­ting a bach­e­lor’s degree in cor­rec­tions offers more advan­tages to your future than start­ing out as a new recruit in a cor­rec­tion­al facility.

How We Ranked the Best Corrections Degrees in America

Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter is ded­i­cat­ed to point­ing stu­dents to degrees that will real­ly enhance their careers, so edi­tors focus on accred­it­ed, reputable pro­grams in crim­i­nal jus­tice and cor­rec­tions. From our ini­tial pool, schools are ranked accord­ing to fac­tors like cost, salary poten­tial, and stu­dent reviews, gath­er­ing data from sources includ­ing IPEDS and Niche.

1. Rutgers University

Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is con­sid­ered one of the best cor­rec­tions degrees avail­able. Stu­dents enrolled in this degree in cor­rec­tions pur­sue careers in the legal indus­try or for a state or fed­er­al gov­ern­ment agency as enforce­ment offi­cers or pol­i­cy­mak­ers. Course­work for Rut­ger’s Uni­ver­si­ty’s crim­i­nal jus­tice degree pro­gram includes ideas in jus­tice, crim­i­nal law, foren­sics, crimes against human­i­ty, and prison/prisoners, to name a few. Degree can­di­dates com­plete an intern­ship dur­ing either their junior or their senior year of the degree program.

Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1766. Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty oper­ates sev­er­al cam­pus­es through­out New Jer­sey, as the state’s flag­ship insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing. The school is a space-grant, sea-grant, and land-grant uni­ver­si­ty that serves near­ly 69,000 students.

What We Like: Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty is rec­og­nized as one of the Amer­i­can colo­nial col­leges estab­lished before the Amer­i­can Revolution.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

2. Michigan State University

Michi­gan State University’s School of Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers a degree in cor­rec­tions with its Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that pre­pares stu­dents for careers secur­ing risk soci­ety. Course­work for MSU’s 120 cred­it units of class­es like crim­i­nol­o­gy, polic­ing, juve­nile jus­tice, women and crim­i­nal jus­tice, law and crim­i­nal pol­i­cy, plus an inde­pen­dent cul­mi­nat­ing senior expe­ri­ence. Grad­u­ates of Michi­gan State University’s cor­rec­tions degrees work pro­fes­sion­al­ly appre­hend­ing offend­ers and sup­port­ing the adju­di­ca­tion efforts against the offenders.

Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1855. MSU’s cam­pus in East Lans­ing cov­ers more than 5,200 sub­ur­ban acres and serves near­ly 50,000 stu­dents. MSU is a sea-grant and land-grant insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion that is also the flag­ship cam­pus for Michi­gan’s state.

What We Like: The Mor­rill Land Grant Act used Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty to act as a mod­el for all oth­er land-grant uni­ver­si­ties estab­lished at that time.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

3. Boston University

The Met­ro­pol­i­tan Col­lege at Boston Uni­ver­si­ty offers a degree in cor­rec­tions with its Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is con­sid­ered among the best in the coun­try. Course­work for Boston University’s degree in cor­rec­tions includes police and soci­ety, soci­o­log­i­cal meth­ods, reha­bil­i­ta­tion & rein­te­gra­tion, urban affairs crim­i­nal law and courts, and crim­i­nal pro­ce­dures, among oth­ers. Degree can­di­dates grad­u­ate and find reward­ing work in the area of cor­rec­tions, court pro­ce­dures, crim­i­nal activ­i­ties, and social pol­i­cy in rela­tion to crime, to name a few.

Boston Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1839. The school oper­ates as a non-sec­tar­i­an insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion but has had an affil­i­a­tion with the Unit­ed Methodist Church. Boston Uni­ver­si­ty serves near­ly 35,000 stu­dents study­ing for aca­d­e­m­ic degrees offered by the uni­ver­si­ties eigh­teen colleges/schools.

What We Like: BU runs sev­er­al facil­i­ties in the Boston area in South End, Fen­way Park, Ken­more, and All­ston, MA.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Boston Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS — Corrections

4. University of Nebraska

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Nebraska’s School of Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. It offers stu­dents a study abroad option in Lon­don, Eng­land. UN’s cor­rec­tions degrees are rec­og­nized by US News among the top crim­i­nal jus­tice degree pro­grams in the nation. Stu­dents enrolled in the Uni­ver­si­ty of Nebraska’s degree in cor­rec­tions find reward­ing careers as a police offi­cer, a pro­ba­tion offi­cer, a fed­er­al agent, a ser­vice offi­cer, or an agent for the Drug Enforce­ment Agency.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Nebras­ka – Lin­coln (UNL) was found­ed in 1869 under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act only a cou­ple of years after Nebras­ka was adopt­ed as a state. UN Lincoln’s cam­pus in Urban Lin­coln serves more than 25,500 students.

What We Like: UNL holds the dis­tinc­tion of devel­op­ing cut­ting-edge agri­cul­tur­al tech­niques known as the “Nebras­ka Method.”

Degree: Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Uni­ver­si­ty of Nebras­ka Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

5. University Of Alabama at Birmingham

The Uni­ver­si­ty Of Alaba­ma at Birm­ing­ham offers a BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that pre­pares degree can­di­dates for careers in foren­sics, law, crim­i­nal jus­tice, or police. UAB’s cor­rec­tions degrees are the only aca­d­e­m­ic crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams in Alaba­ma that require stu­dents to com­plete an intern­ship to grad­u­ate. The required intern­ship for the degree in cor­rec­tions from UAB that lasts from 12 – 15 weeks, depend­ing on the semes­ter chosen.

UAB was found­ed in 1969. UAB serves as Alaba­ma’s largest state employ­er. This insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion’s cam­pus serves more than 22,000 that hail from more than 100 coun­tries. UAB pro­vides stu­dents with more than 125 degree pro­grams offered through the school’s twelve aca­d­e­m­ic departments.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty Of Alaba­ma Birmingham’s eco­nom­ic impact on the state is esti­mat­ed to exceed $7 bil­lion for the cal­en­dar year end­ing 2017.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Uni­ver­si­ty Of Alaba­ma at Birm­ing­ham BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

6. University Of Massachusetts Lowell

The Uni­ver­si­ty Of Mass­a­chu­setts Low­ell offers a BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice: Cor­rec­tions, which pre­pares stu­dents for careers in the prison sys­tem, offend­er treat­ment, or com­mu­ni­ty cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ties. UMass Low­ell’s degree in cor­rec­tions pro­gram requires stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it hours, of which 36 – 60 cred­it units ded­i­cat­ed to crim­i­nal jus­tice class­es. Course­work for these cor­rec­tions degrees includes Intro to Polic­ing, Crim­i­nal Law, Cor­rec­tions, Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Sys­tem, plus a cul­mi­na­tion cap­stone seminar.

UMass Low­ell was estab­lished in 1894. UMass Low­ell is home to more than 18,000 stu­dents vying for aca­d­e­m­ic degrees offered by the schools’ six colleges/schools. UMass Low­ell lays claim to be the first uni­ver­si­ty to offer under­grad­u­ate accred­it­ed pro­grams in nuclear or plas­tics engi­neer­ing and meteorology.

What We Like: UMass Low­ell oper­ates as the largest insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion in the Mer­ri­mack Mass­a­chu­setts Val­ley with the main cam­pus in Low­ell and a satel­lite facil­i­ty in Haverhill.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice: Cor­rec­tions, BS

Uni­ver­si­ty Of Mass­a­chu­setts Low­ell BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice: Corrections

7. University Of North Texas

The Uni­ver­si­ty Of North Texas Col­lege of Health and Pub­lic Ser­vice offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice (BSCJ) that is avail­able online or at UNT’s main cam­pus in Den­ton. The degree in cor­rec­tions pro­gram requires stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Degree can­di­dates pur­sue careers in inves­ti­ga­tions, vic­tim ser­vices, coun­sel­ing, cor­rec­tions, parole, law, cor­po­rate secu­ri­ty, and case man­age­ment, to name a few. Course­work for the Uni­ver­si­ty Of North Texas’ cor­rec­tions degrees includes crim­i­nal law, diver­si­ty issues, crim­i­nal jus­tice eth­i­cal issues, vic­ti­mol­o­gy, a sem­i­nar on vio­lence, and juve­nile jus­tice, among others.

The Uni­ver­si­ty Of North Texas (UNT) was estab­lished in 1890 as a teacher train­ing school. The school oper­ates as the State’s flag­ship state uni­ver­si­ty, with near­ly 40,000 stu­dents vying for aca­d­e­m­ic degrees offered by the uni­ver­si­ty’s thir­teen colleges/schools in Den­ton, Texas’ most pop­u­lat­ed region.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas Sys­tem oper­ates addi­tion­al facil­i­ties in Frisco, Fort Worth, and Dallas.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice (BSCJ)

Uni­ver­si­ty Of North Texas Crim­i­nal Justice

8. Indiana Wesleyan University

Through the Behav­ioral Sci­ences divi­sion, Indi­ana Wes­leyan Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice (BSCJ) that pre­pares stu­dents for careers in social work, voca­tion­al teach­ing, bailiffs, inves­ti­ga­tors, or judi­cial law clerks, to name a few. Course­work for IWU’s cor­rec­tions degrees includes crim­i­nol­o­gy, cri­sis inter­ven­tion, foren­sics, cor­rec­tions, and a crim­i­nal jus­tice internship/practicum. IWU’s rec­om­mends stu­dents dou­ble minor with a crim­i­nal jus­tice major. Sug­gest­ed dou­ble minors for this degree in cor­rec­tions include psy­chol­o­gy, addic­tion, or social work, among others.

Indi­ana Wes­leyan Uni­ver­si­ty (IWU) was found­ed in 1920 as Mar­i­on Col­lege. Indi­ana Wes­leyan Uni­ver­si­ty main­tains an affil­i­a­tion with the Wes­leyan Evan­gel­i­cal Church. IWU oper­ates more than a dozen aca­d­e­m­ic facil­i­ties through­out the states of Ohio, Ken­tucky, and Indi­ana. Indi­ana Wes­leyan University’s stu­dent enroll­ment on all cam­pus­es exceeds 13,000 students.

What We Like: Stu­dents enrolled in IWU rep­re­sent more than 75 Chris­t­ian denom­i­na­tions from all over the world.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Indi­ana Wes­leyan Uni­ver­si­ty BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

9. Portland State University

Port­land State University’s Col­lege of Urban and Pub­lic Affairs: Crim­i­nol­o­gy & Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers either a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) or a Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. Stu­dents enrolled in Port­land State University’s degree in cor­rec­tions requires the com­ple­tion of 68 cred­it units in crim­i­nal jus­tice plus the university’s under­grad­u­ate cri­te­ria. PSU’s cor­rec­tions degrees include course­work in pun­ish­ment and cor­rec­tions, court sys­tems, crime analy­sis, crim­i­nol­o­gy, and crime the­o­ries, to name a few.

Port­land State Uni­ver­si­ty (PSU) was estab­lished in 1946 as the Van­port Exten­sion Cen­ter to serve return­ing vet­er­ans after World War II. PSU’s cam­pus is home to more than 26,000 stu­dents vying for aca­d­e­m­ic degrees offered by the school’s six aca­d­e­m­ic colleges/schools.

What We Like: Port­land State Uni­ver­si­ty received the Carter part­ner­ship award in 2008 for main­tain­ing a water­shed table near the school with 27,000 volunteers.

Degree: Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS/BA

10. Old Dominion University

Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty’s cor­rec­tions degrees include either Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) or a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS), a degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is avail­able online or on-cam­pus in Nor­folk. Grad­u­ates enrolled in ODU’s degree in cor­rec­tions pur­sue careers in the fields of police work, court sys­tems, parole boards, or inves­ti­ga­tors, among oth­ers. Course­work for Old Domin­ion University’s cor­rec­tions degrees includes law and crim­i­nal jus­tice, crim­i­nal the­o­ry, soci­ol­o­gy of women, sub­stan­tive crim­i­nal law, cyber law, plus a cap­stone project in crim­i­nol­o­gy or crim­i­nal justice.

Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty (ODU) was found­ed in 1930 as a divi­sion in the Nor­folk area of the Col­lege of William and Mary. ODU’s stu­dent enroll­ment exceeds 24,000, with more than 600 stu­dents hail­ing from coun­tries across the world.

What We Like: Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty is rec­og­nized as one of the largest insti­tu­tions of high­er edu­ca­tion in the state of Virginia.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA/BS

Old Domin­ion Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA/BS

11. East Carolina University

East Car­oli­na University’s Depart­ment of Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice (BSCJ) that requires stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it hours to grad­u­ate. ECU’s degree in cor­rec­tions includes course­work in crime, crim­i­nal jus­tice research meth­ods, juve­nile jus­tice, crim­i­nal jus­tice issues, plus an intern­ship to grad­u­ate. Stu­dents grad­u­at­ing from ECU’s cor­rec­tions degrees pur­sue careers in the courts, vic­tim ser­vices, law enforce­ment, crime labs, or asset pro­tec­tion, to name a few. Degree can­di­dates train in class­rooms, labs, and in the field.

East Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty (ECU) was estab­lished in 1907 and is cur­rent­ly the fourth largest insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion in North Car­oli­na. ECU is a mem­ber school of the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Car­oli­na sys­tem. The school serves more than 30,000 stu­dents across six aca­d­e­m­ic sites through­out the state, study­ing for degrees pro­vid­ed by the school’s nine colleges/schools.

What We Like: ECU’s cam­pus has grown from 40 acres to more than 1,500 acres today.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

East Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

12. Park University

The cor­rec­tions degree pro­gram at Park Uni­ver­si­ty offers a Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) or a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that offers stu­dents three aca­d­e­m­ic tracks. The con­cen­tra­tions avail­able for Park Uni­ver­si­ty’s cor­rec­tions degrees include secu­ri­ty, law enforce­ment, or cor­rec­tions. The degree in cor­rec­tions offered by Park Uni­ver­si­ty includes class­es in crim­i­nal law, agency admin­is­tra­tion, crim­i­nol­o­gy, crim­i­nal pro­ce­dures, plus a senior sem­i­nar and a crim­i­nal jus­tice-relat­ed intern­ship. The total cred­it hours required to com­plete Park University’s cor­rec­tions degree pro­gram is 122 cred­it hours.

Park Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished as Park Col­lege in 1875. The school is named to hon­or George Park, who made a gen­er­ous dona­tion of the orig­i­nal prop­er­ty upon which the school sits. Park Uni­ver­si­ty’s stu­dent enroll­ment exceeds 11,000 students.

What We Like: Park University’s main cam­pus sits above the Mis­souri Riv­er, but the school oper­ates more than 40 cam­pus­es across 22 states.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Admin­is­tra­tion, BA

Park Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Admin­is­tra­tion, BA

13. St Mary’s University

St. Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that requires the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it hours to grad­u­ate. Course­work for these cor­rec­tion degrees offered by St Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty includes legal top­ics in crim­i­nol­o­gy, crim­i­nal law, crim­i­nal jus­tice ethics, and crim­i­nal jus­tice admin­is­tra­tion, to name a few. The degree in cor­rec­tions from St. Mary’s pre­pares stu­dents for a career as a jury con­sul­tant, expert wit­ness, police office, cor­rec­tions offi­cer, or crim­i­nal pro­fil­er, to name a few.

St. Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty (St. Mary’s) was estab­lished in 1852 in St. Louis, Mis­souri. St Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty main­tains an affil­i­a­tion with the Mar­i­an­ist – Roman Catholic Church but accepts stu­dents from any faith. St Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty’s cam­pus in San Anto­nio is home to near­ly 3,900 stu­dents vying for degrees in the arts, social sci­ences, engi­neer­ing, busi­ness, and law.

What We Like: US News rec­og­nizes St Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty among the top 21 schools in the west­ern US region.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

St. Mary’s Uni­ver­si­ty BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

14. Cedarville University

Cedarville University’s Depart­ment of His­to­ry and Gov­ern­ment offers a Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice with bib­li­cal inte­gra­tions in every class. Stu­dents grad­u­at­ing from Cedarville University’s cor­rec­tions degrees pur­sue careers as pro­ba­tion offi­cers, legal sec­re­tary, para­le­gal, inves­ti­ga­tor, cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer, or crime scene inves­ti­ga­tor, among oth­ers. Stu­dents enrolled in Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty’s degree in cor­rec­tions have the option to spend a semes­ter in Wash­ing­ton, DC, for a life-chang­ing learn­ing semester.

Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1887. While Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty began with an affil­i­a­tion with the Reformed Pres­by­ter­ian Church, it cur­rent­ly oper­ates as a Bap­tist insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion. The school’s cam­pus cov­ers more than 400 rur­al acres in Ohio and serves more than 4,100 students.

What We Like: All stu­dents enrolled at Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty are required to earn a minor in bible stud­ies and attend chapel ser­vices each week.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

Cedarville Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

15. SUNY College at Brockport

The SUNY Col­lege at Brock­port Depart­ment of Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice rec­og­nized among the top pro­grams on the east coast. SUNY Brockport’s degree in cor­rec­tions encour­ages stu­dents to dou­ble major with soci­ol­o­gy and crim­i­nal jus­tice. Stu­dents enrolled in these cor­rec­tions degrees from SUNY Brock­port includes course­work in race and crime, crime map­ping, white col­lar crime, crim­i­nal law, fam­i­ly vio­lence, and crime pat­terns, to name a few.

SUNY Col­lege at Brock­port was estab­lished in 1835. SUNY Brockport’s sub­ur­ban cam­pus in upstate New York is home to more than 8,000 stu­dents. The Col­lege at Brock­port oper­ates as a con­stituent school of the State Uni­ver­si­ty of New York.

What We Like: SUNY Brock­port holds the dis­tinc­tion of host­ing the Spe­cial Olympics for the State of New York in the mid-1970s.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

SUNY Col­lege at Brock­port Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

16. West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester Uni­ver­si­ty of Pennsylvania’s Col­lege of Busi­ness and Pub­lic Man­age­ment Jus­tice offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that offers stu­dents an accel­er­at­ed dual-degree option that includes a Mas­ter of Sci­ence that can be earned in only five years. West Chester University’s degree in cor­rec­tions pre­pares degree can­di­dates for careers in law offi­cers, pub­lic defend­ers, cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ties, child wel­fare agen­cies, and law enforce­ment agen­cies, to name a few. Degree can­di­dates enrolled in West Chester University’s cor­rec­tions degrees have the option of study­ing abroad through the university.

West Chester Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia (WCUPA) was estab­lished in 1871. WCU­PA’s stu­dent enroll­ment exceeds 17,000 stu­dents. Mon­ey Mag­a­zine rec­og­nized WCUPA as a best val­ue insti­tu­tion of high­er education.

What We Like: West Chester Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia is the largest mem­ber school of the Penn­syl­va­nia State Sys­tem of High­er Learning.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

West Chester Uni­ver­si­ty of Pennsylvania’s Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

17. Western Carolina University

West­ern Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is avail­able entire­ly online or at the Cul­lowhee cam­pus. WCU’s degree in cor­rec­tions requires stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it hours to grad­u­ate, of which 48 hours ded­i­cat­ed to the crim­i­nal jus­tice cur­ricu­lum. Stu­dents enrolled in WCU’s cor­rec­tions degrees pro­vide stu­dents with a vol­un­tary intern­ship oppor­tu­ni­ty to gain real-world expe­ri­ence. WCU’s online cor­rec­tions degree pro­gram is ranked as a best buy pro­gram by ‘Get Educated.’

West­ern Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1889 as Cul­lowhee Acad­e­my. The university’s cam­pus in Cul­lowhee cov­ers more than 550 rur­al acres and serves more than 12,000 stu­dents vying for degrees offered by WCU’s six colleges/schools.

What We Like: West­ern Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty is a mem­ber school (the 5th old­est) of the Uni­ver­si­ty of North Carolina.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

West­ern Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

18. California Baptist University

Cal­i­for­nia Bap­tist University’s Depart­ment of His­to­ry and Gov­ern­ment offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that includes a bib­li­cal world view. CBU’s cor­rec­tions degrees include course­work regard­ing crim­i­nal jus­tice, con­sti­tu­tion­al law, police sys­tems, crim­i­nal research meth­ods, hate crime, nar­cotics, and com­par­a­tive crim­i­nal jus­tice. This degree in cor­rec­tions pro­gram offers stu­dents hands-on train­ing in the areas of CSI and firearms, plus the oppor­tu­ni­ty to attend rel­e­vant con­fer­ences through­out the Unit­ed States dur­ing the semester.

Cal­i­for­nia Bap­tist Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1950 as the Cal­i­for­nia Bap­tist Col­lege. This pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion is con­nect­ed to the Cal­i­for­nia South­ern Bap­tist Con­ven­tion. The school serves more than 11,000 stu­dents on more than 150 acres in California.

What We Like: Stu­dents at CBU have the option of serv­ing over­seas for sev­er­al weeks each sum­mer through the Inter­na­tion­al Ser­vice Projects.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Cal­i­for­nia Bap­tist Uni­ver­si­ty Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

19. Regent University

Regent University’s BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice can be com­plet­ed 100% online or on the Vir­ginia Beach cam­pus. Stu­dents enrolled in the degree in cor­rec­tions offered by Regent Uni­ver­si­ty must com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Course­work for these cor­rec­tions degrees includes crim­i­nol­o­gy, cor­rec­tions, crim­i­nal evi­dence, research meth­ods, home­land secu­ri­ty, pub­lic pol­i­cy, and domestic/international ter­ror­ism. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents are required to select from an inde­pen­dent study or an intern­ship in crim­i­nal justice.

Regent Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1977. The uni­ver­si­ty main­tains an affil­i­a­tion with the inter­de­nom­i­na­tion­al evan­gel­i­cal church. More than 8,600 stu­dents attend this school ini­tial­ly char­tered by Pat Robert­son. The school Regent Uni­ver­si­ty offers asso­ciate, bach­e­lor’s, mas­ter’s, and doc­tor­al pro­grams through its eight schools/colleges.

What We Like: US News rec­og­nizes Regent Uni­ver­si­ty among top Chris­t­ian universities.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Regent Uni­ver­si­ty BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

20. Marist College

Marist College’s Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Depart­ment offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that requires degree can­di­dates to com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Marist College’s cor­rec­tions degrees include course­work in crim­i­nal jus­tice ethics, crim­i­nal courts, crim­i­nal law pro­ce­dure, polic­ing in Amer­i­ca, plus an intern­ship in a crim­i­nal jus­tice-relat­ed field. The degree in cor­rec­tions pro­gram offers intern­ships in the secret ser­vice, NYC police depart­ment, the county’s dis­trict attorney’s office, or a near­by cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ty in Greenhaven.

Marist Col­lege was found­ed in 1929 by the reli­gious orga­ni­za­tion of the Marist Broth­ers. The school remains con­nect­ed to the Roman Catholic Church. More than 6,500 stu­dents attend Marist Col­lege, locat­ed on a bluff above the majes­tic Hud­son River.

What We Like: Marist Col­lege pro­vides stu­dents with inter­na­tion­al study oppor­tu­ni­ties on its cam­pus in Italy and many oth­er locations.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Marist Col­lege Crim­i­nal Jus­tice BS

21. Lindenwood University

Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. Stu­dents enrolled in the degree in cor­rec­tions pro­gram from Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty com­plete intern­ships in a law office, a cyber­crime unit, or in a vic­tim assis­tance agency. Stu­dents grad­u­ate from Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty’s cor­rec­tions degrees pre­pared for careers in social ser­vice, juve­nile facil­i­ties, pro­ba­tion ser­vices, courts, police depart­ments, or fed­er­al agen­cies, to name a few. Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty part­ners with the St Louis Coun­ty Police Academy.

Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1827 as the Lin­den­wood School for Girls. Lin­den­wood University’s stu­dent enroll­ment nears 7,500 stu­dents on its cam­pus about 20 miles north of down­town St. Louis, MO.

What We Like: Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty holds the dis­tinc­tion of being the sec­ond old­est insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing sit­u­at­ed west of the Mis­sis­sip­pi River.

Degree: Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

Lin­den­wood Uni­ver­si­ty BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Justice

22. University of the Cumberlands

The Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands offers a bachelor’s degree in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that pre­pares grad­u­ates for reward­ing careers in cor­rec­tions, the FBI, the DEA, the ATF, a Deputy Sher­iff, or a Police Offi­cer, to name a few options. The Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands’ degree in cor­rec­tions includes course­work in polic­ing, cor­rec­tions, home­land secu­ri­ty, crim­i­nal jus­tice ethics, child abuse inves­ti­ga­tion and death inves­ti­ga­tion, plus an intern­ship if approved by the program’s admin­is­tra­tors. The cor­rec­tions degrees offered by the Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands requires the com­ple­tion of crim­i­nal jus­tice course­work equal to 36 semes­ter hours.

Bap­tist min­is­ters found­ed the Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands in 1888. The Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands has no reli­gious affil­i­a­tion at present. More than 13,000 stu­dents attend class­es at the Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands study­ing for degrees offered by the university’s four colleges/schools.

What We Like: Sev­er­al for­mer gov­er­nors from the State of Ken­tucky are Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands alumni.

Degree: Bach­e­lor’s in Crim­i­nal Justice

Uni­ver­si­ty Of The Cum­ber­lands Crim­i­nal Justice

23. University of New Haven

The Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven’s Lee Col­lege of Crim­i­nal Jus­tice and Foren­sic Sci­ences offers a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence (BS) degree pro­gram in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that offers stu­dents a choice of aca­d­e­m­ic tracks in crime analy­sis, cor­rec­tions, crime vic­tim ser­vices, inves­ti­ga­tions, juve­nile jus­tice or police sci­ence. This degree in cor­rec­tions from the Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven also sup­ports stu­dents with a career devel­op­ment cen­ter that has been rec­og­nized nationally.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven was estab­lished as the New Haven YMCA Junior Col­lege in 1920. The Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven’s sub­ur­ban cam­pus­es in West Haven and Orange, CT, cov­ers more than 100 acres and serves more than 6,800 students.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven’s marine biol­o­gy pro­grams, crim­i­nal jus­tice, and engi­neer­ing pro­grams have received nation­al recognition.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BS

Uni­ver­si­ty of New Haven Crim­i­nal Jus­tice BS

24. New England College

New Eng­land Col­lege offers a BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is avail­able on-cam­pus in Hen­niker, NH. Stu­dents enrolled in New Eng­land College’s degree in cor­rec­tions pro­gram com­plete intern­ships in a state prison, law office, vic­tim assis­tance agency, police depart­ments, and local pros­e­cu­tor’s offices. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents attend­ing New Eng­land Col­lege’s cor­rec­tions degrees will also com­plete a senior sem­i­nar cap­stone course in crim­i­nal jus­tice to grad­u­ate. Grad­u­ates pur­sue careers as a parole office, law enforce­ment offi­cer, cor­rec­tions offi­cer, or deten­tion offi­cer, to name a few.

New Eng­land Col­lege was found­ed in 1946. The college’s rur­al cam­pus in Hen­niker is locat­ed about 1.5 hours from down­town Boston and home to more than 2,500 stu­dents. The school oper­ates nine colleges/schools which offer about 40 degree pro­grams as asso­ciates, bach­e­lor’s, mas­ters, and doc­tor­al levels.

What We Like: New Eng­land Col­lege has been rec­og­nized for its bachelor’s degree pro­grams offered online.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice BA

New Eng­land Col­lege BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

25. Keiser University — Clearwater

Keis­er Uni­ver­si­ty – Clear­wa­ter offers a BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice (BACJ) that requires enrolled stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. This degree in cor­rec­tions offered by Keis­er Uni­ver­si­ty’s Clear­wa­ter cam­pus includes course­work in crim­i­nal jus­tice ethics, ter­ror­ism, the supreme court, human exploita­tion, pri­vate secu­ri­ty, con­sti­tu­tion­al crim­i­nal pro­ce­dures, plus an inte­grat­ed cap­stone project in a crim­i­nal jus­tice-relat­ed field. Stu­dents enter­ing Keis­er Uni­ver­si­ty’s cor­rec­tions degrees pro­grams are not required to com­plete any pre-req­ui­site courses.

Keis­er Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1977 by Dr. A and Mrs. E Keis­er as a school to serve the adult pop­u­la­tion in Flori­da. Keis­er oper­ates sev­er­al cam­pus­es in Clear­wa­ter, West Palm Beach and Fort Laud­erdale, and inter­na­tion­al­ly. More than 19,200 stu­dents attend Keis­er Uni­ver­si­ty across its campuses.

What We Like: Kaiser Uni­ver­si­ty’s sis­ter school is Ever­glades Uni­ver­si­ty. Ever­glades Col­lege, Inc runs both schools.

Degree: Crim­i­nal Jus­tice, BA

Keis­er Uni­ver­si­ty – Clear­wa­ter BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

What Can I Do with a Degree in Corrections?

Cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer jobs are just the tip of the ice­berg when it comes to the types of jobs you can get with a cor­rec­tions degree. Career oppor­tu­ni­ties are found in the pri­vate and pub­lic sec­tor that don’t involve work­ing in cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ties, but still offer the oppor­tu­ni­ty to work in the field of law enforce­ment. Of course, cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer jobs are always an option and you can always find jobs in the depart­ment of cor­rec­tions as you begin your career. Depart­ment of cor­rec­tions jobs are found in the fed­er­al sec­tor and at the state lev­el. Cor­rec­tions degree jobs are also found in pri­vate­ly run pris­ons. Cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ties are part of the fab­ric of the Amer­i­can jus­tice sys­tem which means that you’ll nev­er have to go far or ask the ques­tion of “are there cor­rec­tions jobs near me?”

If you find that you want to do more than con­sid­er depart­ment of cor­rec­tions jobs, there are plen­ty of cor­rec­tions degree jobs that have you work­ing in a law enforce­ment role, but not in cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ties. You can find cor­rec­tion major jobs in the fol­low­ing areas:

  • Police depart­ment
  • Fish and game warden
  • Bor­der patrol agent
  • Fraud inves­ti­ga­tor
  • Pri­vate detective
  • Pro­ba­tion officer

You might find that look­ing at jobs in the depart­ment of cor­rec­tions is the best place for you to start your career and gain expe­ri­ence, then look into oth­er career fields. Pri­vate secu­ri­ty agen­cies put a val­ue on hir­ing peo­ple who have had cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer expe­ri­ence because they under­stand how to sub­due a sus­pect while tak­ing care to respect their rights and fol­low the law. Hav­ing depart­ment of cor­rec­tions jobs on your resume can help you find jobs that want the expe­ri­ence you can bring to a role that involves secu­ri­ty, but not nec­es­sar­i­ly requires you to have hands-on con­tact with sus­pects. Some secu­ri­ty roles need your exper­tise to make plans of action and enforce them in order to keep a prop­er­ty safe from encroach­ment while oth­ers need real-world secu­ri­ty expe­ri­ence to pre­vent hack­ers from attack­ing net­works. The expe­ri­ence you bring to a non-cor­rec­tion­al secu­ri­ty role can open up job oppor­tu­ni­ties you might not have had otherwise.

What is a Correctional Officer?

Just what are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers? Are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers law enforce­ment or are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers cops? And are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers con­sid­ered law enforce­ment? The fact is, cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers are an inter­nal secu­ri­ty force for a cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ty such as a jail or prison. When tak­ing a look at just what are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers, you’ll find that they are a type of law enforce­ment that main­tains order in a cor­rec­tion­al facil­i­ty set­ting. So, are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers law enforcement?

Not exact­ly. While some­one with a cor­rec­tions degree is able to become a police offi­cer, they are not specif­i­cal­ly a sworn offi­cer of a munic­i­pal­i­ty. Inside a facil­i­ty, are cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers con­sid­ered law enforce­ment? Strict­ly speak­ing, no, cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers are not cops. How­ev­er, cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers do uphold the law and they do uphold the codes of con­duct that inmates are expect­ed to fol­low. In this sense, cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers are an offi­cial secu­ri­ty force that are sworn to per­form their duties to the let­ter of the law and mete out pun­ish­ment when pris­on­ers break the rules or the law.

Cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers have lim­i­ta­tions the same as any law enforce­ment body. When tak­ing a look at what lim­i­ta­tions are placed on cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers, it’s quick­ly appar­ent that the cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer has to fol­low the laws of the gov­ern­ing body for that facil­i­ty. The laws may be local, coun­ty, state, or fed­er­al and some­times laws over­lap due to juris­dic­tion­al issues. After ask­ing “what lim­i­ta­tions are placed on cor­rec­tion­al offi­cers”, you might won­der what are the ben­e­fits of being a cor­rec­tion­al officer.

The ben­e­fits of being a cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer are many and include tak­ing pride in admin­is­ter­ing jus­tice, help­ing inmates bet­ter them­selves, learn­ing about the dif­fer­ent back­grounds inmates come from, under­stand­ing how inmates oper­ate in an insti­tu­tion­al sit­u­a­tion, and deep­er insight into the work­ings of the human mind. It’s a career path that can bring sat­is­fac­tion to some­one who’s look­ing for a career field that’s always deliv­er­ing a chal­lenge and is nev­er the same no mat­ter what day it is.

Relat­ed Rankings: 

15 Best Online Bach­e­lor’s in Corrections

10 Fastest Online Bach­e­lor’s in Corrections

10 Most Afford­able Bach­e­lor’s in Corrections