Prepare for a career in Criminal Justice
The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at Indiana University Northwest provides preparation for students interested primarily in a career in criminal justice. The program includes four main areas: general education, public affairs and policy, criminal justice, and general electives.
Students can be awarded up to 12 credit hours for attending the police academy.
What can I do with a Criminal Justice degree?
A criminal justice degree can aid in numerous careers such as law enforcement officer, institutional corrections, probation/parole officer, youth counselor, ATF agent, asset protection specialist, and juvenile detention services, to name a few.
With a criminal justice degree, you can help keep your community safe with a career in law enforcement, courts, or corrections.
Probation Officer
Supervises, investigates, and recommends sentences for criminal offenses.
Median salary*
- Indiana - $51,400
- United States - $59,860
*Salary data from O*NET OnLine
ATF Agent
Highly trained special agents who investigate violations of federal laws and regulations.
Median salary*
- Base salary - $37,512-61,443
- Additional locality and availability pay
*Salary data from atf.gov
Police and Sheriff Officer
Responds to emergencies and patrol their communities for signs of criminal activity.
Median salary*
- Indiana - $62,200
- United States - $65,790
*Salary data from O*NET OnLine
Learn more about the Criminal Justice major
Description of the video:
We like to have a focus on the community,and what we can do to help the area
around us in the region in general. So
students that are oriented toward
volunteering, oriented towards service,
oriented toward being in the public
sphere, would really benefit from any of
the courses that we offer here.
I did my three year service at a battered women's
shelter. Really opened my eyes up to, you
know, why I want to do what I do, what
kind of people I want to help, and really
kind of just got me even more motivated
than I already am.
We are a wide-ranging department. We offer a lot of
opportunity to study things that relate
to criminal justice, but they give
students an opportunity to go very
divergent career paths depending on what
they learn.
My degree in criminal justice,
I use it on a daily basis. I work as a
probation officer at Lake County, and
eventually I would hope to get in a federal
office.
What you will be learning
With a Criminal Justice degree, you will be able to:
- Recognize and explain major parts of the U.S. criminal justice system
- Evaluate the effectiveness of criminal justice policy and programs
- Summarize, use, and conduct criminal justice research
