Best Criminal Justice Schools in Nebraska (2027)

The degree requires 120 credit hours, including a major of 64 hours. Every major takes Survey of Criminal Justice, Criminal Procedure, Research Methods, Applied Statistics and Data Processing in Public Sector, Writing for Criminal Justice, Criminology and Applied Senior Assessment, plus two of Police and Society, Criminal Court System, Survey of Corrections and Community-Based Corrections. Students also take two of Power, Perception, and Punishment; Women, Crime and Justice; Law and the Black Community; International Criminology and Criminal Justice; and Terrorism, then one of Internship in Criminal Justice, Comparative Criminal Justice Systems: England, and Issues in Crime and Justice, four upper-division CRCJ courses and a minor. Students may add an optional concentration in Policing, Youth Justice, or Victimology and Victim Services. UNO offers the degree in traditional and online formats, all required courses can be taken online, and UNO's online program list names Policing and Victimology and Victim Services as the concentrations available online.

The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice admits first-year students, who submit a high school transcript or GED scores, and transfer students, whose transcripts advisors review for a personalized transfer plan. The online version is designed for working professionals, traditional students and students located around the world. Students can also complete internships with criminal justice agencies, and a 4+1 program lets qualified students earn graduate credit in the final stages of the bachelor's degree that also counts toward the master's degree.

The degree totals 127 credit hours, including a 36-credit criminal justice major in which students learn to evaluate criminal justice systems, analyze crime trends and apply theory to public safety strategies, plus the Kirkpatrick Signature Series that every Bellevue student completes. Students choose between 100% online study and in-person classes on the Bellevue, Nebraska campus, and an accelerated cohort version runs online one course at a time with the same group of peers.

The standard online and campus formats admit students with a high school diploma or equivalency, require no SAT or ACT scores and offer 4 different starting points within the year. The accelerated cohort is for students who already have 60 transfer credits or an associate's degree. Bellevue describes the program as non-licensure, so it is not designed to meet the requirements of a specific professional license.

Both versions of the degree total 120 credit hours and share a core of Introduction to Criminal Justice, Orientation to Criminal Justice, Correctional Services and Systems, The Police Service, Theories of Crime and Criminal Law, Criminal Evidence, Procedure and the Courts, Criminal Justice Research Methods I, and a seminar on professional ethics and career development, plus an internship. The Criminal Justice major adds 9 credit hours of criminal justice electives and requires a minor or second major, while the Comprehensive major adds 21 credit hours of criminal justice electives and 9 credit hours of social science electives and needs no additional minor. UNK says either version can be completed entirely online or traditionally in a physical classroom, and online students receive the same degree as on-campus students.

UNK admits first-time freshmen under minimum admission requirements set by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, and the catalog's sample four-year plan opens with a first-year seminar; at least 15 credit hours of upper-division criminal justice credit must be taken at UNK. Transfer students and working professionals can also use the 2+2 Criminal Justice Pathway, which lets students start at Central Community College and finish the bachelor's degree at UNK, with classes at College Park in Grand Island, Nebraska. UNK says sworn officers may be eligible for a tuition waiver under the Nebraska Law Enforcement Education Act.

Both degrees take 120 credit hours to graduate: a 36-credit criminal justice major, 30 credit hours of General Studies, and room for additional majors or minors. Coursework covers law enforcement and corrections, criminal law and procedures, the role of police in society, juvenile delinquency, prisons, parole and probation, and the causes of crime, and the General Studies foreign language requirement comes with a strong recommendation of Spanish for criminal justice majors. The B.S. is offered on the Wayne, Nebraska campus or fully online.

Admission requires graduation from an accredited high school, and students who already hold an associate degree can transfer it through Wayne State's transfer pathways. The online B.S. charges residents and non-residents the same flat online rate, and campus majors can join the Career Scholars Program, which pairs three years on campus with a senior year spent working in their field.

The Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies is a comprehensive major: every student takes a core of Introduction to Law, Criminology, Senior Seminar and Comparative Criminal Justice, then completes one option, Criminal Justice or Legal Studies, along with the Essential Studies requirements. Chadron State requires 120 hours of credit to graduate, and the department says a Criminal Justice degree satisfies 57 of them. The Criminal Justice option adds Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Law Enforcement, Introduction to Corrections, Race, Crime and Justice, and Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice, then two courses each from the corrections, forensics, juvenile justice, law enforcement and law groups. Because it is a comprehensive major, students do not need a minor, and the department says selected courses are offered online each semester.

The department says students who carry a full load each semester and plan their courses with an advisor can finish in four years, whether they are just beginning college or bringing coursework from another school. Chadron State requires a final high school transcript from all entering freshmen, accepts credit from community colleges and four-year colleges, and treats a two-year Associate of Arts degree as satisfying the Essential Studies requirements. Students are encouraged to take an internship, which earns one to twelve credit hours for work in a supervised setting.

The associate of arts takes 2 years and 61-65 credits, following a suggested pathway that mixes general education with criminal justice courses. Corrections students take courses such as criminal law, sociology of deviant behavior and juvenile justice, while Law Enforcement students take police and society, criminal procedures and forensic crime scene investigation. Corrections courses are offered in person in Norfolk, Nebraska or online; Law Enforcement courses are offered in person in Norfolk, Nebraska and South Sioux City, Nebraska and in hybrid and online formats, and the Law and Public Safety Lab adds a scenario simulator and a mock jail cell.

The program serves students heading straight into work and those planning to transfer to a four-year college after the associate degree. Northeast says it does not charge more for online classes. The college warns that factors such as a criminal record or a history of drug or alcohol abuse usually disqualify candidates from employment in the profession.

MCC's Criminal Justice program awards an Associate of Applied Science in Criminal Justice with a Corrections option or a Law Enforcement option, and a Criminal Justice Transfer degree for students headed to a four-year bachelor's program in criminal justice. MCC's 2024 transfer guide for the transfer degree lists 96-96.5 total quarter hours, with major courses that include Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Corrections, Court & the Judicial Process, Criminal Law, Introduction to Probation and Parole, Mental Health and Criminal Justice, Community-Based Corrections and Research Methods.

The degree is built for students who want to work in law enforcement, courts or corrections, and most of its requirements also transfer to four-year criminal justice programs, including a formal guided pathway with UNO. Students who complete a POST law enforcement academy or the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center may receive up to 22.5 credit hours, though anyone seeking a sworn officer job must still meet the hiring, academy, training and certification requirements of the hiring agency. The program page warns that a felony conviction is the biggest disqualifier for criminal justice work.