Best Online Colleges To Get A Criminology Degree

By earning your criminology degree online at these schools, you'll be well positioned for professional career tracks like juvenile justice, human services, child and family services, parole and probation officers, and security. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that demand for social and community service managers will grow 16% through the end of the decade, and substantial increases in salary are expected as well. Check out the best online schools for criminology below.

#1 Chaminade University of Honolulu

Chaminade University of Honolulu offers an online Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice degree. Students in this program can take courses in Criminal Justice Systems, Foundations in Criminology, Behavioral Sciences Statistics, Seminar in Criminal Justice Agencies, Juvenile Deviancy and Juvenile Justice, and more. Graduates from this program transition into careers as FBI Agents, INS Agents, Secret Service Members, Corrections Officers, and Crime Scene Investigators. In order to graduate, students need to complete 120 credit hours and maintain a 2.0 GPA throughout their academic career.

#2 University of Missouri at Saint Louis

The University of Missouri at Saint Louis currently offers distance learners a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Graduates from this program must complete 121 credit hours and the current rate of tuition is $349.70 per credit for in-state tuition and $930.00 per credit for out-of-state tuition. Courses in this major include Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice, Gender, Crime, and Justice, Violence Against Women, and Race, Crime, and Justice, along with many other interesting courses.

#3 University of North Carolina at Wilmington

The University of North Carolina at Wilmington's Bachelor of Arts in Criminology degree can be taken entirely online by interested distance learners who are accepted into the program. Some electives included in this degree are Collective Violence, Victimology, White Collar Crime, Police in Society, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. Students have three options when choosing their major within the Criminology degree: Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Public Criminology, allowing students to find a concentration that best suits their interests and career path.

#4 Portland State University

Portland State University offers an online Bachelor of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice. This degree can be taken 75% or 100% online and requires that students must complete 68 total credit hours, which usually takes students two years to finish. Courses currently offered in this program include Policing in America, Punishment and Corrections, American Courts, Theories of Crime, and many more. In order to be accepted into the program, students must have 30 semester hours of transferable college work, a GPA of 2.25, and have completed WR 121.

#5 Ball State University

Potential criminal justice majors should consider Ball State University's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology, which can be earned completely online. Courses in this major include Decision Making and Ethics in Criminal Justice, Elementary Macroeconomics, Family Relations, and Introduction to Geographical Information Systems. Graduates from this program have gone on to careers in a number of fields, including probation officers, institutional counselors, correctional officers, and victim or witness advocates, along with a number of other jobs.

#6 The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is currently offering an online Bachelor of Criminal Justice in Criminology and Criminal Justice that might interest many online learners. Students in this program can take courses in Juvenile Delinquency and Justice, Correctional Casework and Counseling, Ethics in Criminal Justice, and Legal Aspects of Evidence. This degree requires that students complete a total of 79 credits; 42 from general course requirements and 10 credits from electives, among other required courses.

#7 University of South Florida - Main Campus

The University of South Florida-Main Campus offers a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology that can be completed entirely online. Some courses in this degree are Patterns of Criminal Behavior, Miscarriages of Justice, Forensic Psychology, and Abnormal Behavior. Currently, tuition rates are set at $211.19 per credit hour for in-state residents and $585.01 per credit hour for out-of-state residents. In order for students to graduate, they must complete 120 credit hours and maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0.

#8 University of Nebraska at Omaha

The University of Nebraska at Omaha offers two degrees in criminology: a Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies - Criminology and Criminal Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice. In order to graduate from these programs, students must complete 120 credit hours. Required courses in the programs include Police and Society, Criminal Court System, Survey of Corrections, and Survey of Criminal Justice, among others. Many graduates go on to work in agencies like the U.S. Secret Service, the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, and the Omaha Police Department.

#9 University of Mount Olive

The University of Mount Olive, located in Mount Olive, NC, offers online learners a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice & Criminology degree. Courses included in this major include Constitutional Law & Criminal Procedure, Juvenile Justice & Delinquency, Law Enforcement, Court Systems and Process, and Punishment & Corrections. To graduate with this degree students must complete 126 total credit hours; 46 from general education credit hours and 41 from general elective credit hours, among other courses.

#10 Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Southern Illinois University-Carbondale’s online Bachelor of Arts in criminology and criminal justice program offers distance learners from around the world the opportunity to earn their degree entirely online. Courses are taught by the same faculty that teach on campus and the asynchronous format allows students to complete coursework at their convenience. The online program, which follows the same curriculum as the on-campus alternative, typically requires students to watch recorded lectures, complete homework and exams, and engage in online discussions. Students can take courses year-round and are able to study on a part-time or full-time basis. SIU offers many resources to distance learners, including access to the library, writing assistance, research help, and career services.