Best Criminal Justice Schools in Nevada (2027)

The 120-credit Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice covers the nature and causes of crime and delinquency, the origins and meaning of law and social control, and how cases move through the criminal justice system, with classes on the prison system, the courts, the police, the juvenile justice system and the law, plus special topics such as terrorism, white-collar crime, jury decision making and victims of crime. Majors take at least 42 upper-division credits, including 27 in upper-division criminal justice courses, and learn to carry out a research project from beginning to end. UNLV's catalog says the program is available fully online, fully in person or blended; students who choose the fully online option commit to completing the entire degree online.

Students begin as pre-criminal justice majors and move into the major after completing at least 30 college credits with a 2.0 GPA, including ENG 101, CRJ 104 and CRJ 270. The department publishes a suggested four-year plan, and declared majors or minors with junior or senior standing, a GPA of at least 2.75 and CRJ 104, 270 and 301 completed can earn up to six internship credits with agencies such as the Nevada Department of Corrections and the Nevada Division of Probation and Parole. UNLV says the degree is designed to broadly educate students and to prepare them for criminal justice settings or graduate education.

The 120-credit degree focuses on the legal, ethical, administrative, theoretical and behavioral aspects of the justice system, with core courses in Introduction to Administration of Justice, Introduction to Corrections, Police in America, Criminal Law and Procedure, Introduction to the Courts and American Legal System and Research Methods in Criminal Justice, plus electives in areas such as juvenile justice, corrections, forensic science, crime prevention and policy development. A Law and Justice specialization concentrates on law and justice theory and policy, with practical courses in legal research and writing and coursework in other disciplines such as philosophy. Through Nevada Online, every course is delivered in Canvas for asynchronous access.

Admission follows the university's general undergraduate policies, and freshman applicants need a 3.0 weighted GPA in academic core courses; the online program names working professionals and students transferring from community colleges among those it especially suits. Internships let students apply classroom knowledge and network with working professionals in criminal justice and related fields, and undergraduates can apply in the spring of their third year to an accelerated B.A./M.A. option that completes both criminal justice degrees in five years.

The Criminal Justice B.A. totals 120 credits, 42 of them in the major: required courses in Introduction to Administration of Justice, Social Justice, Criminal Law & Procedures, Criminology, Research Methods in Criminal Justice, Quantitative Applications in Criminal Justice and Comparative Criminal Justice Systems, then either the Seminar in Criminal Justice or an Internship in Criminal Justice, and 18 credits of electives such as Police in America, Immigration and Justice, Vice, Drugs, and the Law, Victimology, and Gender and Crime. The program page lists the format as in person, while the catalog also sets out an online pathway in which students take either Research Methods or Quantitative Applications and choose seven electives. Nevada State also offers the Law Enforcement B.P.A., a 120-credit public administration degree for current and future law enforcement managers with 39 major credits in courses such as Law Enforcement Management, Executive Leadership, Public Financial Administration and Public Personnel Administration; its page says most required major courses are offered online.

Both degrees start through Nevada State's freshman admission, which requires graduation from an accredited or approved high school with an unweighted GPA of at least 2.5, and the catalog's recommended schedules complete each major in four years. At least 30 upper-division credits must be completed at Nevada State. The criminal justice program supports several internships and gives a foundation for students who want to go on to a graduate program in the discipline, while the B.P.A. is aimed at students who want administration positions in law enforcement-related agencies or to rise through the ranks of an existing law enforcement career.

The 60-unit Criminal Justice, AA requires Introduction to Administration of Justice, Introduction to Corrections, Police in America: An Introduction, Criminal Law and Procedure, Introduction to the Courts and American Legal System and a statistics course (Practical Statistics or Introduction to Statistics), alongside general education and 10-18 units of transferable electives; recommended electives include Legal Careers and Law Schools, Legal Research and Methods, Legal Writing, and Law and Justice. The 60-unit Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice, AAS requires Fundamentals of Speech Communications, Introduction to Administration of Justice, Introduction to Corrections, Introduction to Criminal Investigation, Police in America: An Introduction, Criminal Law and Procedure, and Introduction to Criminology or Law and Justice, then 15 elective units chosen from a list that includes POST training credits and any CRJ course. TMCC's program finder lists both degrees at 4 to 5 semesters.

Degree-seeking admission at TMCC requires being a high school graduate or holding the equivalent, or being a qualified international student. The AA lets transfer students complete their university-required lower-division courses, and TMCC strongly encourages advising so courses line up with the UNR-TMCC transfer agreement; the catalog notes that UNR's BA requires four semesters of college foreign language. The AAS is a practitioner-oriented and possibly terminal degree that is not intended for university transfer, though the catalog says it can lead to the Bachelor of Applied Science in Emergency Management.

The degree covers the American criminal justice system, meaning law enforcement, courts and corrections, along with the basics of criminal law, criminology and juvenile justice. Students who do not request credit for a P.O.S.T. certificate complete Intro to Admin of Justice, Intro to Corrections, Intro Criminal Investigation, Intro Physical Evidence and Intro to Criminology plus any four additional CRJ courses and three program electives, alongside general education courses such as English composition and mathematics, and GBC requires a minimum of 60 credits for an associate degree. Great Basin College, based in Elko, Nevada, lists the degree among its fully online associate degrees, and a 15-credit Emergency Telecommunications Dispatcher online skill certificate stacks directly into it.

Graduates of accredited high schools, recipients of a high school equivalency (GED), applicants 18 or older and transfer students in good standing may be admitted to GBC, though admission to the college does not mean unrestricted entry to every course or program. Students who request credit for a valid P.O.S.T. certificate follow a separate pathway that requires CRJ 120, 211, 215 and 270, two more CRJ courses and three program electives; after a successful petition for non-traditional credit and the completion of 12 semester credits at GBC, they are awarded CRJ 104, 106, 164, 230 and 265.

The AA gives a broad overview of the criminal justice system and of criminal law and procedure, law enforcement ethics and criminology, with Introduction to Administration of Justice as its core course and major electives such as Introduction to Corrections, Survey of Criminal Law, Introduction to Criminal Investigation, Police in America, Criminal Evidence and Introduction to Criminology. The AAS core covers Introduction to Administration of Justice, Introduction to Ethics in Criminal Justice, Community Relations, Survey of Criminal Law, Criminal Evidence, Introduction to Criminology and a Second Year Capstone in Criminal Justice, plus 17 credits of CRJ electives. CSN lists both among the degrees with a pathway to completion online, though some online course sections may require on-campus proctored exams; the Law Enforcement Training Academy AAS adds academy courses such as Firearms I, Defensive Tactics, Principles of Police Patrol Techniques and Nevada Criminal Law.

CSN is an open-access institution that welcomes adult learners to apply and enroll. The AA is intended for transfer to NSU and UNLV, while the AAS prepares students for entry-level criminal justice work and is not intended for transfer to UNLV, UNR or NSU. CSN says the Law Enforcement Training Academy AAS prepares students for a career as a peace officer with Nevada law enforcement agencies, as prescribed by the Nevada Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission; applicants must pass a written examination, oral interview, physical agility test and physical, psychological and polygraph examinations and hold a Nevada concealed weapon permit and driver's license, and the catalog lists the degree as not eligible for financial aid.