Best Criminal Justice Schools in Maine (2027)

The campus Criminal Justice, BA covers law enforcement, corrections, criminology, juvenile justice and victim advocacy through coursework, experiential learning and internships, with service learning required in several courses and an internship with a criminal justice agency open to seniors. Students can earn three elective credits for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy preservice course and may pursue full academy training in their senior year for up to 12 credits. The YourPace B.A. requires 120 credit hours: 40 in general education, 45 in the criminal justice core, 6 in criminal justice electives and 29 in general electives, and it includes supervised field experience in a criminal justice or social service agency. YourPace also offers the major as a Bachelor of Liberal Studies of 120 credit hours and as a Bachelor of Applied Science.

YourPace is open to students who are at least 20 years old when they apply. Applicants should have the equivalent of a high school diploma and some prior college credit or work experience, with a minimum 1.75 GPA and no application fee, and UMPI uses past college credit, prior learning and work experience to build each student's degree plan. The Bachelor of Applied Science version is designed for students who bring prior technical or applied credits. For the campus program, UMPI asks first-time students for an official high school transcript, and the department advises high school students preparing for the major to build a strong grounding in English because the coursework is very writing-intensive, and it describes the Associate of Arts as in many ways the first half of the B.A.

UMFK's criminal justice page, which covers the associate, bachelor's and minors together, lists program requirements including Criminology, Introduction to Criminal Law, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Firearms, Introduction to Defensive Tactics, Wilderness First Aid, Police Procedures, Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Principles of Investigations, Forensics of Death Investigation, Constitutional Law, Interviewing Concepts in Modern Policing, Terrorism, Introduction to Forensic Science, Sex Crimes: Patterns and Behaviors, Criminal Profiling and Case Preparation & Resolution, with a Criminal Justice Internship or Criminal Justice Capstone, plus Fitness, Sport, and Health and psychology courses including Substance Misuse Counseling, Crisis Identification & Intervention and Abnormal Psychology. UMFK says much of what students learn is put to the test in real-world learning environments, and its Forensic Science Minor, for students who take at least three forensic science courses, adds mock trial prep, interviews and crime scene investigations.

First-year candidates must graduate from an approved secondary school with at least a 2.0 GPA or pass the GED or HiSET exam. UMFK aims the bachelor's degree at public safety work such as police officer, state trooper, sheriff's deputy, game warden, customs and border protection and corrections, and its Associate of Arts in Criminal Justice, offered online or on campus, can serve as a gateway to the bachelor's degree.

A Husson criminal justice major completes professional and general education courses, with professional courses in investigations, evidence, policing procedures, criminal law and modern correctional practices, and its stated outcomes cover theories of criminal behavior, the law, law enforcement, corrections, the court system, critical thinking, and research methodology and statistics. Students visit courts, correctional facilities, law enforcement agencies and private security installations, and internships in law enforcement agencies, offices and businesses are encouraged. The catalog says students can attend the Maine Criminal Justice Academy's Pre-Service Training Program or Basic Corrections Program for six college credits each, and in their last year may choose the academy's Basic Law Enforcement Training Program for fifteen college credits.

Husson admits first-year applicants on the strength of their secondary school curriculum, grade-point average, class rank and counselor recommendations, and welcomes transfer students, who must complete at least 30 credit hours at Husson with at least 15 credits in Husson criminal justice courses. Students can also choose a five-year dual B.S. Criminal Justice/B.S. Psychology, a dual bachelor's and master's option completed in 5 years, or a Certificate - Criminal Justice meant for students who may not want a law enforcement career.

The Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies can be taken with no concentration or with a Criminal Justice or Legal Studies/Pre-Law concentration, and its learning outcomes cover the roles of the legal, judicial, corrections and law enforcement professions, the elements of state and federal crimes, due process limits on criminal law and police procedure, and comparison with international justice systems, assessed in part through a Senior Capstone portfolio. The program offers the majority of its courses online, with some live and video conference classes in Augusta, Maine, Bangor, Maine and at UMA Centers and sites, and UMA lists the degree among its online baccalaureate programs.

Applicants who have not completed 60 college credit hours submit a high school transcript or GED/HiSET test scores. The program gives academic credit for selected military and police training, accepts CLEP and Dantes exam results, and lets students with course-related work experience challenge those courses by exam or portfolio. Graduates of Eastern Maine Community College's criminal justice associate degree can transfer under an agreement that leaves 60 UMA credits toward a 121-credit total, and UMA and the University of Maine Law School run an accelerated 3+3 program for students headed to law school.

The BS Criminal Justice totals 121 credit hours, and students who choose a concentration complete the major courses, the General Education Core and the concentration requirements within the same 121 credits. Key courses include Policing in America, The Court System, The Corrections System, Multicultural Issues in Criminal Justice, Criminal Law, Critical Issues in Criminal Justice and Rights and Roles of Citizens, and majors take a minimum of five criminal justice electives. Through an agreement with the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, students can attend the eighteen-week Basic Law Enforcement Course, which begins in early August of the senior year and replaces 15 credits of open electives; students who do not attend take their remaining coursework that fall.

Applicants submit an official high school transcript, or GED scores for non-traditional applicants, and Thomas does not require SAT or ACT scores. The program page lists a 3 year option. Students planning to attend the academy must meet its medical, physical fitness and reading and writing requirements and pass a background investigation.

The Associate in Applied Science in Criminal Justice prepares graduates for entry-level positions in the field or for transfer to a bachelor's program, and its degree plan totals 62-63 credit hours. Students can complete the degree on campus or choose a 100% online option, and the college's Public Service Simulation Center gives criminal justice students a multi-program training facility.

All students taking criminal justice courses undergo a criminal background check, and an applicant is denied acceptance for a conviction or conduct that the Maine Criminal Justice Academy defines as disqualifying. CMCC also offers a Justice Studies associate degree, on campus or 100% online, for students who want to pursue legal careers and jobs on the rehabilitative side of the criminal justice system, and its transfer agreements for Criminal Justice include a Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies at the University of Maine Augusta and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice at Southern New Hampshire University.

The A.A.S. in Criminal Justice totals 62 credits. The catalog's major required courses are Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Criminology, Laws of Arrest, Search, and Seizure, Substantive Criminal Law, Courtroom Preparation & Presentation, Case Preparation and Criminal Investigation, plus criminal justice electives and general education in English composition, literature, a mathematics elective, a lab science, fine arts or humanities and social science. Two Crime Scene Reconstruction courses build on the Criminalistics course, and the Comparative Criminal Justice course features a one-week trip to Ireland during spring break. Separately, an internship is offered to second year students who have maintained a 3.2 GPA. SMCC publishes full-time and part-time completion schedules, including a Four Semester Pathway.

SMCC uses a multiple measures approach to admission, and applicants who are not current high school seniors submit a high school transcript, diploma, HiSET or GED, or homeschool diploma; the catalog recommends high school or post-secondary coursework in algebra. Faculty bring experience in police patrol, investigations, forensics, crime scene reconstruction, corrections and criminal prosecution, and SMCC lists transfer agreements that its graduates have used to continue at schools including Thomas College, the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine.

UMA's Justice Studies program, which also awards a bachelor's degree, offers the majority of its courses online, with some live and video conference classes in Augusta, Maine, Bangor, Maine and at UMA Centers and sites; UMA lists the program online and at those locations and names the Associate of Science in Justice Studies among its online associate programs. The 61-credit Associate of Science in Community Policing is available online and uses existing courses and an interdisciplinary approach, with knowledge in law, substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, hate crimes, community resilience, communication, cultural competency, women and gender studies, American history, computer science and art. Justice Studies certificates, among them Advanced Criminal Justice Management, Community Policing and Corrections, can be earned alongside a degree or on their own.

UMA asks applicants who have not completed 60 credit hours at a regionally accredited institution for a high school transcript or GED/HiSET scores. The program says many Justice Studies students are returning students whose education was interrupted by parenthood, military service or the economy; it gives academic credit for selected military and police training, accepts CLEP and Dantes exam results, and lets students with course-related work experience challenge those courses by exam or portfolio. UMA says the community policing degree teaches future and active law enforcement professionals and citizens how to develop relationships of trust, address social disorder, prevent crime and minimize the fear of it.