Best Criminal Justice Schools in Maryland (2027)

The 120-credit degree combines 38 credits of general education with 42 credits of criminal justice requirements, including a 15-credit core of Criminal Justice Ethics, The Contemporary Criminal Justice System, Criminal Justice Research Methods, Criminological Perspectives and a Criminal Justice Capstone; 9 credits of area courses with one choice each in law enforcement, courts and law, and corrections; and 12 credits of major electives. Students who have not worked in the field and have not taken a criminal justice internship must complete the Criminal Justice Internship as an elective, and students can add interdisciplinary coursework from fields such as psychology, government and information technology. Courses are offered on campus and online, and the online completer option, designed for students who lead busy lives or live or work far from the Baltimore, Maryland campus, covers the upper-level major requirements.

The requirements include a First Year Seminar for freshmen that transfer students replace with another elective, so the degree can be started straight from high school, while UBalt's list of online programs names the B.S. in Criminal Justice for its upper-level major requirements only. Qualified students can take up to 9 graduate credits that apply to both the bachelor's and the master's degree in criminal justice, and the program page points current and future police officers to the Maryland Police Officer Scholarship, whose recipients must pledge to work as police officers in the state.

The program covers the workings of the United States criminal justice system, including its agencies, personnel and diverse responsibilities. Students study the social causes and consequences of criminal behavior and learn about criminal law, the police, courts and correctional institutions, and they can complete an internship with the district attorney's office, the courts or a law office if they wish.

The major is not offered as a minor, and Frostburg State says it is often taken as a double major combined with political science, sociology or another compatible area of study. First-year applicants submit an official high school transcript; applicants who earned a GED send their score report and the official transcript for the last year they completed in school.

The criminal justice major pairs core coursework in criminological theory, applied criminological analysis and research methods with 21 semester hours in a required concentration: community-based corrections, forensic science or social justice. The core includes American Judicial System, American Corrections, Introduction to Law Enforcement, Theories, Advanced Criminal Procedure and Evidence, Race, Class and Gender and Criminal Justice, Criminalistics I, statistics and research methods courses, a practicum and Seminar in Criminal Justice, and the degree totals 120 hours. Students take the major through the traditional program or the Criminal Justice Online program, Bowie State lists the Criminal Justice Major among its online degree programs, and students in the traditional program must take the senior seminar in person.

The BS requires no foreign language classes, and FRSE 101 Freshman Seminar is waived for transfer students entering with 12 or more semester hours. Beginning in fall 2026, Bowie State is not admitting new students to the BA in Criminal Justice and points applicants to the BS.

Coppin State's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice requires 120 credit hours across general education, a 21-credit core and at least 18 credits of criminal justice electives. The core covers Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminological Thought, Criminal Justice and the Constitution, Delinquency Prevention/Control, a field service internship, Advanced Legal and Technical Writing and Fundamentals of Criminal Justice Research. Electives range from Police Organization and Management, Penology and Criminal Investigation to forensic courses such as Analysis of Fingerprints, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis and Forensic Photography.

Every major and prerequisite course needs a grade of C or better, and students can choose to major or minor in criminal justice. Coppin says its location in the Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan area gives students access to field training, internships and cooperative education.

PGCC offers a Criminal Justice, A.A.S. and a Criminal Justice, A.A., each a 60-credit program that is also available completely online. The A.A.S. is a career program; its program requirements include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Police Operations, Community Policing, Criminal Law, Criminal Investigation, Criminal Evidence and Procedure, Juvenile Delinquency, Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice, a Capstone Seminar in Criminal Justice and a criminal justice internship.

PGCC says the A.A.S. prepares students to enter the workforce directly and also satisfies most of the requirements for transfer to four-year institutions, across law enforcement, investigations, court and administrative services, corrections, private security and juvenile justice. The A.A. is a transfer program that moves into bachelor's degrees in criminal justice at four-year colleges and universities, and it adds Criminology to its required courses.

Both degrees total 60 credit hours, with 24 credits of general education that include American Government and a wellness course in first aid or emergency medical care. The Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice A.A.S. requires Introduction to Criminal Justice, Police Operations, Penology, Police Administration, Investigation and Criminalistics, Criminal Justice Ethics, Terrorism/Counterterrorism or Introduction to Homeland Security, and Criminal Law, plus 12 credits of suggested electives, among them Multicultural Law Enforcement and courses grouped by interest in general law enforcement, social justice or juvenile justice. The Police Academy A.A.S. pairs Introduction to Criminal Justice, Penology, Criminal Justice Ethics, Criminal Law and Introduction to Sociology with Police Discipline and Organization, Police Operations, Criminal Justice Communications, Investigation and Criminalistics, Criminal Evidence and Procedure and Traffic and Public Safety.

AACC admits applicants who will benefit from postsecondary education, and degree-seeking high school and GED graduates submit a high school transcript or GED results. Police Academy students must meet the program coordinator for advisement and eligibility approval, be 21 by May 31, pass a criminal background check and obtain medical waivers; the academy segment begins each summer and ends May 31 of the following year, follows a full-time schedule, requires scores of 75 percent or better on academy exams and an overall academy GPA of 2.0, and includes off-campus Emergency Vehicle Operations training in Sykesville, Maryland. AACC says students who complete the academy segment receive a Maryland Police Training Commission certificate documenting the mandated entry-level police curriculum in all areas except firearms training, and its 2026-2027 catalog lists the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice A.A.S. as pending MHEC approval.

The 60-credit Associate of Applied Science follows a set course sequence that mixes general education with Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminal Investigation, Criminal Law, Criminology, Social Justice and the Criminal Justice System, Criminal Justice and the Constitution, Juvenile Justice, Criminalistics and its lab, Criminal Justice Procedure and Evidence, and Ethics in Criminal Justice, plus program electives that students choose with faculty by area of interest. CCBC lists the degree in person at its campuses in Catonsville, Maryland, Dundalk, Maryland and Essex, Maryland, and the department says the degree is available fully online; the map notes that the online sections of the required criminal justice courses after the introductory course run in the fall only or the spring only.

The course sequence is written for a student with no transfer credits, and students who are new to college also take a one-credit Academic Development course in their first semester; completing 30 credits a year finishes the degree within two years. Depending on their background, new students may need to submit a high school transcript, GED scores or college transcripts. Through its Finish Line Program, CCBC helps students who completed a CCBC-partnered academy, an MCPTC police or corrections entry-level training program, or an out-of-state police entry-level program turn the college credits that training earned into this degree. CCBC says the program prepares students to serve in law enforcement, homeland security, juvenile services, private security, parole and probation, corrections and law; it also offers a 27-credit Criminal Justice Studies Certificate that students can earn along the way, and it is authorized to offer online classes to out-of-state students in NC-SARA states.