Criminology and Justice Studies Degree Careers

What can you do with a College Degree in Criminology and Justice Studies?

The degree prepares students to pursue careers in criminal justice and social service agencies, as well as graduate studies in such fields as criminology, criminal justice, and justice studies.  Students with a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and Justice Studies can pursue a wide variety of jobs.  These job opportunities might include government as well as community service agencies geared towards delinquent youth and families, law enforcement and correctional agencies and non-profit organizations that examine social and legal justice practices both at home and abroad.  Students interested in these careers should consult with advisors in appropriate areas as they plan their studies.

Degree Requirements

Here are some careers that a Criminology and Justice Studies major may enter:

Interested in justice, law, and social change? The focus of the Criminology & Justice Studies Program is not one of criminal justice concerns, but rather, one concerned with creating a more just society. Students learn to critically assess the obstacles and opportunities central to the pursuit of justice. A major in Criminology & Justice Studies at CSUSM provides academic training for those interested in the following careers:

• Social Advocacy: Social advocacy in economic, legal, political, and cultural realms that include inequality in law and law enforcement, civil and human rights, and victim advocacy.
• Public Policy: Majors have options in career fields that conduct research, advocate, evaluate, and set public policy agendas.
• Law: Majors may consider going on to public interest-oriented law degrees or graduate degrees that focus on justice concerns in society.
• Research: Local governments hire Criminology and Justice Studies majors to understand the impact of tougher laws on neighborhoods as well as to help corrections officials determine the effects of new programs and regulations on the prison population.
• Investigations: Criminology and Justice Studies majors may help law enforcement officials anticipate crime by identifying obscure patterns.
• Corrections: Criminology and Justice Studies majors may work as a police or probation officers with offenders in the community or in an institutional setting.
• Social Services: Majors provide services to victims of crime by helping prepare them for court or by providing other supports to them in the community; they may support inmates upon their release from prison; and they may become involved in community-based alternatives to the criminal justice system.