Best Criminal Justice Schools in Kentucky (2027)

The B.S. requires a minimum of 121 hours, with a required core of Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Law Enforcement, Introduction to Corrections, Theories of Crime and Behavior, Criminal Procedure, Criminal Justice Research Methods, Quantitative Analysis in Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Criminal Law and Evidence and a Criminal Justice Senior Seminar, plus 24 hours of approved electives at the 300 level or above, at least 15 of them in criminal justice. Students must have a minimum of 50 hours at the 300 level or above. The department offers the degree on campus in Louisville, Kentucky or online, and the catalog says the program can be completed 100% online; online students can begin in the fall, spring or summer term.

The online program asks new students for a high school diploma or GED and a minimum high school GPA of 2.5, and KCTCS students can transfer completed associate degrees in their entirety and begin online upper-level coursework. Online students may earn up to 30 credit hours through Prior Learning Assessment, and Soaring Scholars can take graduate courses as undergraduates that count toward both the bachelor’s and the master’s degree. The 3+3 Track in Law requires 30 credit hours with a 3.5 GPA before acceptance and substitutes the first 30 hours of law school for undergraduate major and elective requirements; to be eligible to apply to the law school, students must complete three full-time academic years of undergraduate coursework, including at least 60 credit hours of in-person instruction at UofL.

Each degree requires a minimum of 120 credits. The B.S. in Criminal Justice core is Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Ethics, Criminological Theory, Research Methods and Criminal Justice Statistics, plus 27 hours of electives with at least one course from each of three areas: corrections, law and juvenile justice, and policing. The Police Studies degree centers on courses such as Police, Order Maintenance and Crime, Ethical Decisions and Police, Crime Analysis and Contemporary Police Strategies, while Corrections and Juvenile Justice Studies covers rehabilitation strategies, community corrections and the juvenile justice system. Criminal justice and police studies are offered on campus in Richmond, Kentucky and online; police studies is also offered at regional campuses in Corbin, Kentucky and Manchester, Kentucky, and corrections and juvenile justice studies is an online program. Online students take accelerated 7-week terms with courses beginning 6 times per year and no campus visits required.

EKU grants standard admission to students with an unweighted high school GPA of 2.5 or higher, and the program pages have separate enrollment counselors for first-time freshmen and for adult and transfer students. Students may transfer up to 90 hours of credit, but at least 30 credit hours in the degree must be completed at EKU. Law enforcement officers who have completed Kentucky’s DOCJT training can receive 9 hours of college credit, and a 3+2 option lets criminal justice majors finish the B.S. and the M.S. in criminology and criminal justice in as few as five years.

The B.A. requires 120 credit hours: 24 core credit hours, 24 major elective credit hours, 37 general education credit hours, 12 credit hours from a declared minor and 23 credit hours of free electives. Core courses are Introduction to Criminal Justice, Police in America, Corrections in America, The Criminal Court System, Juvenile Justice, Ethics in Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice Research Methods and Perspectives on Crime. NKU lists delivery as on campus and online; the online version runs in 7-week courses that start six times a year.

NKU admits freshman applicants with at least a 2.0 unweighted high school GPA as well as transfer students, and the online program accepts up to 90 transfer credits. Those who have graduated from Federal Bureau of Prisons training or a police academy receive credit for completion, and NKU charges online students the same rate whether they live in Kentucky or out of state. On campus, students often join Mock Trial, the Alpha Phi Sigma honor society or the Lambda Alpha Epsilon professional organization.

The criminal justice bachelor’s program gives a broad-based overview of the justice system and its components, with elective courses that let students focus on an area of interest; course topics include law enforcement and criminal investigations, juvenile delinquency, organized crime, terrorism, ethics, fish and game law, crime and mental health and constitutional law. Students can intern with state, local and federal police departments, courthouses, law offices, corrections agencies and advocacy groups, and the department partners with the Kentucky Court Designated Worker Program for experience with juvenile diversion. Students preparing for police or corrections physical abilities tests can train through a partnership with the university’s Exercise Science program.

Murray State admits first-time freshmen with an unweighted high school GPA of 2.75 or higher. Most students finish in the traditional four-year span, though the department publishes a sample plan for earning the degree in 3 years with extra work during the school year and some summer and winter-term courses. Students considering graduate school can explore the research track, and the department also offers a Crime Victim Advocate Certificate, a criminal justice minor and a juvenile justice minor.

The Bachelor of Science requires 120 credit hours in total, including 27 hours of required courses (Introduction to Criminal Justice, Corrections, Policing, Deviance and Society, Society and Criminal Law, Homeland Security, Criminology, Ethics in Criminal Justice and Introduction to Sociology), 9 hours of criminal justice electives and an 18-hour emphasis area in Law Enforcement Management, Criminal Profiling, Forensics or Chaplain/Prison Ministries. The Bachelor of Arts requires the same courses plus four classes (12 hours) of a foreign language. Cumberlands offers the criminal justice degree both on campus in Williamsburg, Kentucky and online, and says the bachelor’s usually takes about four years.

Admission follows the university’s standard requirements: an official high school transcript or GED scores, with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 for students with 0-11 hours of college credit. The program welcomes students entering the field directly or building on an associate degree, and transfer and prior learning credits can count toward the total. Officers who completed Kentucky’s DOCJT basic training or similar programs in other states, are employed by a law enforcement agency and are in good standing can receive up to 15 credit hours as transfer credit.

In the KCTCS catalog the Criminal Justice AAS runs 61 to 64 credits, and Somerset's own semester plans total 61 for each track it offers: Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, Corrections, and Security and Loss Prevention. All tracks share a technical core of Introduction to Criminal Justice, Issues and Ethics in Criminal Justice, Criminal Investigations, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedures and a Criminal Justice Capstone, with general education in writing, public speaking or interpersonal communication, government, psychology and sociology. Somerset's plans also include Courtroom Procedures, and the tracks add courses such as Introduction to Law Enforcement, Intro to Corrections, Principles of Asset Protection and Physical Security Technology & Systems.

KCTCS colleges admit high school graduates, holders of a high school equivalency diploma, students eligible to pursue a GED and dual-enrolled high school students. Staying in the program takes a C or better in each CRJ course and a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. The catalog says criminal background checks are not currently required for the AAS, but warns that disqualifiers such as criminal convictions, substance abuse, offensive social media activity, excessive traffic offenses and visible tattoos or body piercings may hinder employment in the field. Somerset says a full-time student can earn the degree in two years, and it also offers certificates, among them Criminal Justice Core, Corrections, Law Enforcement and an Advanced Law Enforcement certificate designed for students who have completed additional professional hours at a law enforcement academy.

The degree pairs general education with a technical core that includes Introduction to Criminal Justice, Issues and Ethics in Criminal Justice, Criminal Investigations, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedures and a Criminal Justice Capstone, and the KCTCS catalog puts general education and the technical core together at 52 credits. Each student then completes a track: Corrections, which requires Introduction to Corrections; Law Enforcement, which requires Introduction to Law Enforcement; Security and Loss Prevention, which requires Principles of Asset Protection; or the Criminal Justice track, which is made up of track electives. Each track totals 61 to 64 credits. BCTC's list of online programs includes the AAS in each of these tracks, and the college says students can complete an entire degree without ever coming to campus.

Beginning freshmen apply with an official high school transcript or GED test scores, and transfer students send official transcripts of their earlier college work. To stay in the program a student must earn a C or better in each CRJ course and keep a 2.0 cumulative grade point average, and BCTC says the Criminal Justice KCTCS Curriculum Committee approves graduation through a post-exit exam. The college says the program prepares students for entry-level work in law enforcement, corrections, court systems, and loss safety and prevention, that a full-time student can earn the degree in two years, and it also lists Corrections, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement certificates.

The Criminal Justice AAS totals 61-64 credits. Every student takes a technical core of Introduction to Criminal Justice, Issues and Ethics in Criminal Justice, Criminal Investigations, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedures and a Criminal Justice Capstone alongside general education, then completes one track: Corrections, Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, or Security and Loss Prevention. ECTC lists Criminal Justice among the online credentials students can earn from the college without ever coming to campus, and the program page says a full-time student can earn the degree in two years.

ECTC treats an applicant with no previous college coursework as a freshman and asks for a final high school or GED transcript. Progression in the program requires a C or better in each CRJ course and a 2.0 cumulative GPA. The college notes that students on the law enforcement track will have to attend an academy to become certified, though no additional certification is needed to graduate, and it also offers certificates in areas such as corrections, law enforcement and criminal behavior.