Best Criminal Justice Schools in Iowa (2027)

The B.A. is a College of Liberal Arts and Sciences major, and the college requires at least 120 credits for its majors; the catalog's example plan totals 120 to 122 credits. The major's program of study includes Introduction to the U.S. Criminal Justice System, Youth and Crime, Criminology, Deviant and Criminal Behavior and the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Internship, and students select further courses from lists that include White-Collar Crime, Criminal Offenders, Gender and Crime, American Judicial Process, Police and Society, Punishment, Corrections, and Society, Capital Punishment, and Contemporary Issues in Policing.

The catalog gives an example four-year plan, and the department's Criminal Justice League learning community is open to all first-year criminal justice majors. Students must keep a GPA of 2.0 or higher in their core courses. Iowa State also offers an 18-credit criminal justice minor.

The major joins criminal justice, the study of law enforcement, courts, corrections and the juvenile justice system, with criminology, the study of criminal behavior and patterns of crime and victimization. Required courses include Criminal Justice System, Criminology, Research Methods and a statistics course, plus a professional development elective such as Field Placement I, followed by criminology, criminal justice and interdisciplinary electives; the catalog also lists a Law Enforcement emphasis. The degree requires at least 120 total hours, and the on-campus version is taught in person with some online course options.

The online B.A. is a degree completion program, delivered entirely online with asynchronous coursework, that admits students with an Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree or at least 24 completed undergraduate credits and a 2.0 GPA. The online Bachelor of Applied Science in Criminal Justice is designed for students with an Associate of Applied Science degree, accepts up to 65 transfer credits, and requires 120 credits with at least 60 earned at UNI.

The traditional major requires 42 to 43 credits, including Introduction to Criminal Justice, Corrections and Penology, Criminological Theory, Juvenile Justice and Gangs, Criminal Law and Procedures, Police and Society, and Forensic Science and Crime Scene Investigation, along with an internship and a Criminal Justice Capstone. Grand View lists the format as full time or part time, in person or online, and says both the traditional major and the 2+2 program are available entirely online. Internships are with criminal justice agencies in Des Moines, Iowa and the surrounding area.

Incoming freshmen and transfer students without a criminal justice associate degree follow the traditional program. Transfer students with an Associate of Arts, Associate of Applied Science or Associate of Science in Criminal Justice follow the 2+2 program, which requires 24 to 25 credits plus the associate degree, and Grand View says students with an A.A. or A.A.S. from an Iowa community college are automatically admitted at junior status. The university also offers an 18-credit criminal justice minor.

The degree requires 120 credits, made up of general education, specialization and elective credits plus a capstone. The catalog's major requirements include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminological Theory, Criminal Justice Ethics, Diversity & Criminal Justice System, statistics and research methods courses, Policing, Juvenile Justice, Criminal Law and the U.S. Constitution, and American Corrections, with electives such as Police, Problems, and Practices and Criminal Evidence & Investigation. The program page lists a capstone project requirement and a practicum or field service as an elective, and classes meet on campus.

Admission requires graduation from an accredited high school or a GED, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, and an official high school transcript. St. Ambrose accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward the degree, and the faculty includes instructors who worked in law enforcement, corrections and the courts before teaching.

The online B.S. requires 120 credit hours: 30 hours of required criminal justice courses, among them Introduction to Criminal Justice, Theory and Practice of Law Enforcement, Theory and Practice of Corrections, Judicial Process, Criminology, Victimology, Criminal Law, and Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, plus 30 hours of professional electives and an optional concentration in Cybersecurity, Forensic Mental Health, Forensic Psychology, Homeland Security or Public Relations. The on-campus B.S. has its own 60 to 61 credit major built around law enforcement, courts and corrections, including a Senior Seminar and a Criminal Justice Internship option, and every major course must be passed with a C- or higher. Waldorf also offers, online only, a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration that adds business and management courses, and Bachelor of Applied Science degrees in Criminal Justice and Criminal Justice Administration.

Waldorf's online undergraduate admission asks applicants entering directly from high school, or transferring fewer than 12 post-secondary credits, for a high school transcript with a GPA of at least 2.0. The B.A.S. programs are designed for working professionals with significant work experience, and Waldorf says that experience may convert into college credit. Waldorf estimates 4 years of full-time study for the B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration, and online students receive textbooks at no cost through the Waldorf Book Grant.

The Associate of Arts totals 66 credits and is listed at the Sioux City, Iowa location and online. Students study the causes of crime and how the criminal justice system responds to it, with a focus on the nature of the system and the connection between law and social justice.

The college says the program prepares students for beginning professional work in criminal justice and allied professions, and describes a criminal justice degree as a foundation for later bachelor's, master's and doctoral study in social science, social work, counseling and law. The program is listed as transferable, and the college also lists a cooperative criminal justice and addictions counseling path with Briar Cliff.

The Police Science AAS Degree is a 61-credit, two-year program whose daytime face-to-face classes start each fall. Students move from Introduction to Criminal Justice, Police Operations and Traffic Law through Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice Ethics, Juvenile Justice, Criminal Law and Procedure, Criminal Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation and Criminology to a final semester of Basic Firearms, Advanced Firearms, Defensive Tactics, Crisis Intervention, Report Writing and Testifying, Tactical Police Operations and an internship of 128 hours of supervised volunteer work with a law enforcement agency. The Criminal Justice Transfer Major is a 60-credit Associate of Arts (AA) degree within Hawkeye's Liberal Arts transfer plan that pairs Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology and Juvenile Delinquency with general education and elective courses. Its classes meet daytime face-to-face, online or hybrid, and the college says the AA can be earned fully online, in daytime classes or through a mix of day, evening and online classes, with starts in fall, spring or summer.

Hawkeye requires a high school diploma or equivalent to enroll in a program, and every student must show college readiness through a high school GPA, GED/HiSET scores, ACCUPLACER or COMPASS scores, or ACT or SAT scores. A felony conviction bars a student from the Police Science firearms and practicum courses, which prevents completing that degree, and the college notes that criminal justice jobs require background checks, polygraphs, credit checks and psychological evaluations. The Police Science program qualifies for the Future Ready Iowa Last-Dollar Scholarship, and Hawkeye says it transfers to the University of Northern Iowa's Criminal Justice (BAS) program and the University of Iowa's Bachelor of Applied Studies (BAS) program.

Both degrees take 64 credits and a 2.0 grade point average. Required courses for both include Intro to Criminal Justice, Ethics in CJ and Criminology; the AAS's required courses include Survey of CJ Agencies, Criminal & Constitutional Law and CJ Communication Strategies, and the AA's include Juvenile Delinquency. DMACC lists the AAS in Ankeny, Iowa and online, and the AA in Ankeny, Iowa, Carroll, Iowa and online. Students can complete a crime scene investigation, emergency management or homeland security certificate at the same time as either degree, and DMACC says the certificate courses count in the AAS's Option 3 category or the AA's Electives category.

Entry requires an application for admission, the assessment requirement and any required orientation sessions, and students may start in the fall, spring or summer. The AAS is designed for students who want to work in criminal justice after DMACC. DMACC warns that students with a criminal history may complete the program but may not be eligible for the internship the AAS requires.