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You are here: Home / Criminal / What’s The Cost Of A Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Or Associate’s Degree?

What’s The Cost Of A Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Or Associate’s Degree?

By Paul Mannet

Click To List Of Criminal Justice Degree Schools

Criminal justice BA or AS

An associates or bachelor’s degree in criminal justice is a useful tool whether you’re looking to get into police work, some other branch of federal or state law enforcement, or even if your goal is to eventually go to law school and become an attorney.

For most law enforcement positions, the associate of either science or arts in criminal justice has become a bit more important lately, at least at the more local level. That’s because the states, counties and towns who hire officers, troopers and sheriffs are in a budget pinch this year because of the bad economy. They’re making at least a few less hires than they did in previous years, and they’re viewing every position as a criminal justice degree job. Candidates who have no degrees are finding it tougher to get hired.

How Much Does An Associate’s Degree Criminal Justice Cost?

The cost of an associate degree in law enforcement can vary widely, depending on whether you choose to study online or in a traditional school, and whether you go for a private or public college. If your budget is tight, it’s good to take a look at community colleges in your area. Many of them offer law enforcement programs at a very reasonable cost, particularly to local students.

At Colorado Northwest Community College, for example, the 64-credit associate in criminal justice degree will cost a total of about $5,200. if you are in in-state student and $11,000. you’re out-of state (neither cost here includes room and board). The Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland’s tuition structure shows just how much going local can save you. It has a 61-credit associate of applied science in criminal justice program that’s $5,490. for in-county students, $10,614. for out-of-county and almost $16,000. for out-of-state residents (all are 2009 fees for tuition only). The John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a well-known name in the New York area. It’s $170. per tuition hour fee seems high, but it helps in-state residents by topping out their fees at a maximum of $2,000. per term. Living at any school obviously boosts your cost. The associates in CJ at small, private Southern Vermont College is a total of about $26,000. if you pay for tuition plus on-campus living.

What Are The Best Online Criminal Justice Programs?

Online study isn’t necessarily cheaper, but it may allow you to step up to a better known school. Indiana Wesleyan University, on old institution that’s certainly a familiar name in the Midwest, has a 100% online associate degree in criminal justice that takes 62 credits and costs a total of just under $17,000. Liberty University, a Christian school in Virginia, is a bit less – about $15,000. total for the AA Criminal Justice. Keep in mind that at some of these schools, fees per course are higher if you do not take all your courses at that particular school.

Cost Of A Bachelor’s In Criminal Justice

Portland State University on the west coast offers big savings thru its online bachelor in criminal justice program. The 92-credit program is just over $23,000 total. Kaplan University, which has been ranked #1 in several studies of online programs, offers a distance learning bachelor of science degree in criminal justice with specialties including corrections, homeland security, forensic psychology and law enforcement. The total cost of the program is currently $63,500. As with the associates degree, if you’re willing to trade the prestige of a nationally known school for a community college, you can save. Florida Gulf Coast University offers a Bachelor of Science degree in criminal justice that is under $16,000. total if you are a Florida resident.

How Long Does It Take To Get A Criminal Justice Degree Online?

Criminal justice is a popular specialty and more and more colleges are offering degrees focused on it. You can often customize your degree to “wrap around” your work schedule or family responsibilities. Taking fewer credits than normal in a semester will make it take a bit longer to complete your degree, but it can be the best option if you simply cannot drop all your obligations to study full time.
Most bachelor’s degrees take four years if you have not taken any college courses previously. They require completion of 120 – 125 credits. The typical associates in criminal justice takes about two years of full time study, and requires approximately 60 credits completed.

What’s The Best Degree For Law Enforcement?

Police departments around the country almost all ask job recruits to have some type of degree or certification today. But there are alot of different degrees that can lead into a law enforcement career.

Social Science Degrees

Psychology and sociology can be helpful for careers where police or corrections personnel need help dealing with the psychology of individuals. Social workers are often employed to work on rehabilitative services for incarcerated persons or on helping the families of offenders. Psychiatrists are often used to help deal with mental health issues in criminals, and sometimes with mental stress problems in the police themselves.

Criminology

Criminology is also a social science degree, but its more squarely focused on law enforcement. It can be an interesting specialty if you want to work in acapacity where you need to understand and be able to explain why and how criminals behave the way they do. A master’s in criminology is often seen as a good springboard to more senior management positions in police departments or other law enforcement agencies.

Criminal Justice

This is the most widely popuilar degree for those who want an learn how to work in positions on or close to the front lines of law enforcement. The degree, which may be called “policing” or “investigating,” is appropriate if you are interested in moving into a leadership position. Sometimes, it can be valuable in a legal career.

Becuase law enforcement is so complex today, it requires people with a wider variety of knowlewdge than ever before. Beyond the degrees above, it’s possible to get into law enforcement with a computer science degree, financial or accounting expertise or skill in foreign languages.

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Filed Under: Criminal

Schools With Online Criminal Justice Degrees

Sponsored Schools

>> Search All Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degrees <<

>> Search All Criminal Justice Associate’s Degrees <<

Purdue University Global
Purdue is a large, private school. It’s a big player in online education, and offer many criminal justice degrees online at the Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s levels, including:
– AAS in Criminal Justice & Criminology
– BS Criminal Justice
– BS in Juvenile Justice
– BS Homeland Security
– BS Crime Scene Investigation
– BS Forensic Psychology
Get Information on Purdue University Global Programs

Campbellsville University
A private university of about 11,000 students in Kentucky, Campbellsville was established in 1906. The school offers online associates and bachelor degree programs including:
– AS Criminal Justice Administration
– BS Criminal Justice Administration

Colorado Technical University
CTU is a large institution based on Colorado Springs with over 25,000 students. It has solid regional accreditation (the best kind) and has been ranked #1 Best for Vets in the category for online and non-traditional universities by Military Times Magazine. The school’s per credit hour cost is at the affordable end of the spectrum for online schools.
Offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees online in
– Criminal Justice
– Homeland Security
– Cybercrime
– Computer Systems Security
– Emergency Management
Learn more about Colorado Tech’s degree programs

Rasmussen College
Large online school where criminal justice degree programs focus on building your critical-thinking and decision-making skills to make life-or-death decisions in very high pressured situations.
– Criminal Justice Leadership & Management – Bachelor Degree Completion Program
Get Information on Rasmussen

About Paul Mannet

Paul Mannet has worked for over 15 years in digital media as a publisher, business analyst and project director. His experience in higher education includes student recruitment work with The Chronicle of Higher Education, Blackboard, eLearners and with several leading online schools. He has also helped entrepreneurs gain funding from investors, and organized large business and tech teams to execute major website launches.
Contact me by email
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Good, Low-Cost Criminal Justice Degree Programs

Criminal Justice Careers, With Job Duties And Salaries

Colleges & Universities Offering An Associates Degree In Criminal Justice Online

Online Homeland Security Degrees

Schools With Online Criminal Justice Degrees

Sponsored Schools

Purdue University Global
Purdue is a large, private school. It's a big player in online education, and offer many criminal justice degrees online at the Associate, Bachelor's and Master's levels, including:
- AAS in Criminal Justice
- BS Criminal Justice
- BSCJ in Juvenile Justice
- BSCJ Homeland Security
- BSCJ Crime Scene Investigation
- BSCJ Forensic Psychology
- Masters Degree online in Corrections
- MSCJ in Leadership & Executive Management in Criminal Justice
- Post-Baccalauriate Certificate in Paralegal
Get Information on Purdue's Programs

Grantham University Founded in 1951 to help World War II veterans get a new start in life, Grantham is one of the earliest online-only colleges in the U.S. It's accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC), and has one of the most affordable tuition rates our research has been able to turn up. Grantham offers two Criminal Justice Degrees online:
- Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice
- Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice
Get free info on Grantham University

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