BS In Criminal Justice Online Degree Program Page
0
Credit Hours
Degree SACSCOC
SACSCOC
Class Type 100% online, 8-week courses
Next Start Date May 13, 2024
Transfer Credits Transfer in up to 75% of the degree total
Accreditation Liberty University is accredited by SACSCOC
Overview
Course Content
Specializations
Common Questions
Military Benefits
Admission Requirements

Take the Next Step in Your Career with a Criminal Justice Degree Online

Are you interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement? Perhaps you’re looking to protect your community as a first-time police officer. Maybe you’ve worked as a law enforcement officer for years – but you’d like to earn a career-enhancing credential and pursue positions of added responsibility. If either of these sounds like you, Liberty’s online criminal justice degree may be exactly what you need.

Liberty University’s Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice can help you gain the skills you need to be successful in the criminal justice system. This degree program offers multiple specializations – allowing you to gain fundamental criminal justice expertise while growing in a specific area that you’re passionate about. Our 100% online criminal justice degree can also help prepare you for future certification and promotion possibilities.

With this program, you can build up your credibility through the development of excellent speaking and writing skills, which are vital in both professional and personal settings. Our online criminal justice degree courses can help equip you with an in-depth understanding of substantive and procedural criminal law, ethics, criminology, and much more.

There has never been a better time to pursue an online criminal justice degree, and with Liberty, it has never been simpler. Don’t put your career on hold any longer – partner with us, gain valuable knowledge, and take your career to new heights. 


Why Choose Liberty’s Online Criminal Justice Degree?

As a pioneer in distance education since 1985, we understand what it takes to design a flexible, affordable online degree program that will challenge you to grow while respecting your personal commitments. Our online criminal justice program is designed to enhance your life – not control it. Our degree in law enforcement is more than a tool that you can use to broaden your career prospects – it is an opportunity for personal enrichment and growth.

Liberty’s bachelor’s in criminal justice degree online can help you gain an understanding of the internal workings of the criminal justice system. Throughout your criminal justice online program, you will study the constitutional, procedural, and structural differences of the federal criminal justice and representative systems.

Many students pursuing our criminal justice degree program are full-time law enforcement officers or other working professionals who need flexible education. Our bachelor’s in criminal justice is offered entirely online with no requirement to come to our campus. This allows you to continue serving your community or business while furthering your education online.

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Benefits
Careers

Highlights of Our Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice Degree

  • We are recognized by multiple institutions for our academic quality, affordability, and accessibility. Our commitment to excellence also helped us rank in the top 10% of Niche.com’s best online schools in America. Earning your online BS in Criminal Justice degree from a nonprofit university with this kind of recognition can help set you apart from others in your field.
  • Tuition for our criminal justice degree online has not increased in 9 years. While many other colleges and online schools for criminal justice have raised tuition, Liberty has been able to keep costs low as a nonprofit university.
  • To continue our mission of providing affordable education, electronic textbooks are provided for all undergraduate courses at no cost to you. As a full-time student, this could save you an estimated $800-2,000 per year on textbooks!

 

Potential Career Options with an Online Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice

Earning a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice degree online from Liberty is an excellent choice for current law enforcement officers, probation officers, or other civil servants. It is also an effective pathway to pursue many roles in criminal justice, including:

  • Administrator
  • Corrections officer
  • Police detective
  • Probation officer

Industry Outlook: There is a constant demand for police services to maintain and improve public safety. Overall, the industry projects a 7% growth in employment opportunities from 2020 to 2030.*

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Police and Detectives (viewed online July 13, 2021). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.

 

 

What Will You Learn in Our Online Bachelors in Criminal Justice?

Liberty University’s online criminal justice bachelor’s degree is designed to teach you about each phase of the criminal justice system from entry to trial. You can learn from professors who have years of experience in the courtroom and corrections field as well as in the classroom. 

Our criminal justice degree classes provide learners with a practical approach to studying criminal justice and include courses with exciting research projects and case studies. Our online criminal justice degree also offers multiple specializations, so you can tailor your degree to fit your career objectives.

Your criminal justice online classes can help give you background knowledge of the various parts of the criminal justice system, including juvenile justice, judicial process, criminology, and criminal investigations. Imagine a rewarding career as a juvenile probation officer, detective, or state trooper. The bachelor’s in criminal justice online offers many of the classes needed to apply your knowledge in these professions.

What professional skills can you gain from a BS in Criminal Justice?

Aside from receiving specialized training for roles in criminal justice organizations, you can gain many marketable professional skills, including:

  • Criminal justice systems procedures
  • Crisis response strategies
  • Management and leadership techniques
  • Policy analysis
  • Procedural recordkeeping for legal procedures
  • Public administration and policy skills

Through our areas of study, you can choose from many specialized courses, including:

Specializations

Liberty University’s BS in Criminal Justice degree online has many specialized areas of study to fit your career needs:

General*

Liberty’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – General track provides you with foundational criminal justice study with the flexibility to customize your degree. The free electives let you mix and match courses to create a personalized degree program that fits your passion. Think of this degree track as a canvas that you are able to paint the way you want to.

Potential Careers 

  • Administrator
  • Corrections officer
  • Local or state police department
  • Private/corporate security officer

View the Degree Completion Plan.
View the Undergraduate Government Course Guides (login required).

*Please note that this is not a specialization. Any reference using the term “General” is the main degree and is only used to differentiate from other specializations.

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Business Administration and Management

Liberty’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Business Administration and Management can help prepare you for an effective career in business and criminal justice. You can gain foundational knowledge and skills related to upholding the law, carrying out administrative duties, and navigating the financial workings of the criminal justice system.

Potential Careers 

  • Appeals specialist
  • Criminal investigator
  • Law enforcement administrator
  • Probation/parole officer

View the Degree Completion Plan.
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Corrections and Human Services

Liberty’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Corrections and Human Services is designed for people who want to pursue career opportunities in the restorative side of the criminal justice process. You can learn about new theories and programs that have been developed to help reform offenders.

Potential Careers

  • Community corrections officer
  • Entry-level program director
  • Nonprofit community corrections counselor
  • Youth service worker/coordinator

View the Degree Completion Plan.
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Crime Scene Investigation

Liberty’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Crime Scene Investigation provides a solid foundation to help equip you for a career in criminal investigation. You can develop a foundational understanding of law enforcement, the internal workings of the criminal justice system, and its response to different types of crime. This degree in forensic science can help provide the specialized study you need for a crime scene investigation career.

Potential Careers

  • Crime scene investigator
  • Crime scene technician
  • Forensic analyst
  • Forensic project coordinator

View the Degree Completion Plan.
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Criminal Psychology

Liberty University’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Criminal Psychology is designed to help you understand the criminal mind. This program will guide you through a study of the thoughts and intentions of criminals or potential criminals. Our criminal psychology program also emphasizes the importance of applying ethics to practices. With foundational knowledge in mental health and criminal behavior, you can also learn how to assess and counsel people within the justice system.

Potential Careers 

  • Caseworker
  • Corrections officer
  • Criminologist
  • Police detective

View the Degree Completion Plan.
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Homeland Security

Liberty University’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Homeland Security provides studies in security, counterterrorism, and intelligence. You can gain an understanding of the internal workings of the criminal justice system to serve efficiently at all levels of government.

Potential Careers

  • Citizenship/immigration services worker
  • Counterterrorism analyst
  • Cybersecurity analyst
  • Transportation security specialist

View the Degree Completion Plan.
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Juvenile Justice

Liberty University’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Juvenile Justice is a youth corrections program. This program is designed to help you understand the criminal justice system and its response to youth in the penal system. You can develop professional skills in correctional procedures as well as study cultural and social diversity. This background can help ensure that you are equipped with the most relevant and comprehensive information needed to impact the lives of today’s youth.

Potential Careers

  • Juvenile parole officer
  • Juvenile probation officer
  • Youth correctional officer
  • Youth services worker/coordinator

View the Degree Completion Plan.
View the Undergraduate Government Course Guides (login required).

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Public Administration

Liberty University’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Public Administration is designed to help strengthen your leadership and public management skills. You can gain foundational knowledge and skills in criminal justice administration related to controversial issues and the general public.

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Strategic Intelligence Studies

Liberty’s 100% online Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Strategic Intelligence Studies can help develop your leadership and management skills with a focus on intelligence and national security. You can gain the foundational skills needed to examine and analyze criminal trends and patterns accurately to counter criminal behavior and terrorism with tactical efforts.

Potential Careers 

  • Intelligence reporter/analyst
  • International intelligence specialist
  • Law enforcement officer
  • Military intelligence specialist

View the Degree Completion Plan.
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Common Questions

Below are some common questions about criminal justice degrees:

What is a criminal justice degree?

What types of criminal justice degrees are there?

What are some available careers for criminal justice majors? What can you do with a bachelor’s in criminal justice degree?

I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice – now what?

Can I earn a criminal justice degree online?

Is a degree in criminal justice worth it? Are criminal justice jobs in demand?

What is the difference between criminal justice and criminology?

Does this online criminal justice degree require any internships or field experience?

Military Benefits

Liberty University is dedicated to providing world-class educational experiences to military students across the globe. Whether you are a current service member, discharged or retired from service, or the spouse of a service member or veteran, we are here to support you every step of the journey. As a thank-you for your dedication and service to our country, Liberty is honored to serve and support you in your pursuit of online education by offering the following benefits:

  • Tuition discounts – $250 per credit hour for undergraduate courses
  • Additional discount for veterans who serve in a civilian capacity as a First Responder (less than $565 per course)
  • 8-week courses, 8 different start dates each year, and no set login times (may exclude certain courses such as practicums, internships, or field experiences)
  • Potential college credit for military training

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Military Friendly School

Additional Benefits for Active Duty Law Enforcement and Other First Responders

Liberty University is committed to providing world-class education and aims to help students achieve their educational goals in whatever way we can. The First Responder Discount helps take some of the financial burden of tuition off of the men and women who work in public service.

As Liberty University’s way of saying ‘Thank You,’ we proudly provide you with the following benefits:

  • A 25% tuition discount
  • Potential college credit for training and life experience
  • Personalized service throughout your educational journey
  • Potential stacking with other tuition benefits (Corporate Advantage Program or Military Benefits)

For more information on eligibility and claiming this discount, please visit the First Responder Discount Page.

 

Admission Requirements for the Online Criminal Justice Degree

Applicants must have a 2.0 or above cumulative GPA for admission in good standing. Please visit our admission requirements page for more detailed admissions-related information.

All applicants must submit the following:

  • Admission application
  • Application fee*
  • Official college transcripts
  • Unofficial college transcripts may be accepted with a completed official transcript request form**
  • Official high school transcripts or official GED test scores are required for an official admissions decision
    • Students may be allowed to enroll in up to 12 credit hours with Liberty with the submission of an unofficial high school transcript and our High School Self-Certification form
  • Proof of English proficiency (for applicants whose native language is other than English)

*There is no upfront application fee; however, a deferred $50 application fee will be assessed during Financial Check-In. This fee is waived for qualifying service members, veterans, and military spouses – documentation verifying military status is required.

**An official transcript is needed within 60 days of acceptance or before non-attendance drops for the first set of matriculated classes, whichever comes first.