Best Criminal Justice Schools in Pennsylvania (2027)

The B.S. requires 120 credits. Core courses are Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology, Corrections, Policing in America, Criminal Law, Elements of Criminal Justice Research, Criminal Procedure and Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice, followed by 30 semester hours of major electives and the CRJ 490 Practicum as the capstone. A minimum grade of C is required in all criminal justice courses.

Transfer students should note that Criminal Law, the research course, Criminal Procedure and the practicum must be taken at West Chester University and are not typically transferable. Students in the accelerated B.S. to M.S. program can fill up to 12 of their 30 student elective credits with graduate-level coursework, the catalog gives both a 4-Year Plan and a 3.5-Year Plan, and after completing CRJ 490 a student may take a second 6-credit practicum as free elective credits.

Prescribed courses include Criminology, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Policing in America, Courts and the Prosecution Process, Corrections in America, Research Methods in Criminal Justice, Senior Seminar and Ethics in Criminal Justice, and students then select 12 credits of additional courses from groups that include Public and Private Policing, Diversity in Criminal Justice, and Special Populations and the Law; World Campus says elective courses let students focus on homeland security, child welfare, security management and other topics. The degree is offered 100% online, and its online courses typically follow a 12- to 15-week semester cycle, with spring, summer and fall semesters.

Admission requires a high school diploma or a GED, and the Penn State bulletin says incoming first-year students who meet the program admission requirements are admitted directly into the major. Students with Act 120, Pennsylvania State Police or municipal police training transcripts may receive up to 16.5 credits for listed courses; World Campus says many students take one or two courses per semester, and that students who take 6 courses each semester can finish in two to three years.

Both degrees require a minimum of 121 credits and share prescribed courses in Criminology, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology Theory and Evidence, Research Methods in Criminology and Elementary Statistics, with a grade of C or better required in every course in the major. The B.S. adds an option in Business/Public Administration, Computing and Statistics, Legal Studies or Social Science Research, and the B.A. carries Bachelor of Arts requirements that include proficiency in a world language in addition to English.

The bulletin points students who want strong quantitative skills to the B.S. To enter the major, a student needs at least a C (2.00) cumulative grade-point average for courses taken at the university and at least third-semester classification. B.A. students can also look at integrated programs that pair the degree with an M.P.S. in Criminal Justice Policy and Administration, whose graduate degree is offered through World Campus, or an M.I.A. in International Affairs.

Temple's Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice, offered by the Department of Criminal Justice in the College of Liberal Arts, is a 123-credit degree made up of College of Liberal Arts requirements, the major and general electives. The 36-credit major requires Introduction to Criminal Justice, Nature of Crime, Introduction to Criminal Law, Criminal Justice Research Methods, Criminal Justice Statistics and the CJ Capstone Seminar, plus three criminal justice electives numbered 2000-4999 and three numbered 3000-4999. Students are encouraged to join the department's internship program, which runs in the fall and spring, and its Criminal Justice Internship Seminar can count toward the major's electives. The bulletin lists the program at Temple's Main Campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Temple's admissions page for the major covers first-year, transfer and international applicants, who apply through the Common Application, and the bulletin includes a suggested plan for new students starting in the 2026-2027 academic year. The program page says the degree prepares students for advanced education in fields such as law, public health, social work, public policy and sociology, and for careers in criminal justice fields including government and law enforcement agencies, public defense, and victim and criminal advocacy organizations. Faculty invite high-achieving undergraduates to apply for the +1 BA/MA accelerated program, in which admitted students begin graduate courses in their last three undergraduate semesters and complete a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice in the fifth year.

The Bachelor of Science requires 120 credits, including 24 credits of core criminal justice courses (Intro to Criminal Justice, Intro to Policing, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Criminology, Management of Offenders, Research Methods and Senior Seminar), 18 credits of criminal justice electives, 18 credits of other required courses (six courses chosen after consulting a major advisor) and 18 credits of university electives. The program page lists the format as in-person. The department suggests elective tracks (General, Policing, Corrections and Rehabilitation, and Private Security and Investigation), though completing a track is not required, and a grade of C or higher is required in all required courses.

An internship for course credit is available but not required; the department's Criminal Justice Police Academy Internship asks for a cumulative GPA of 3.0, 105 completed credit hours, the CRJ 10 and CRJ 101 courses, a physical readiness test, approval from a program coordinator and acceptance into an eligible police academy. Students headed for law school or paralegal work are pointed to the pre-law courses and the Lehigh Carbon Community College certificate, and a forensic studies minor can be added.

The Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in Criminal Justice requires a minimum of 60 prescribed credit hours and a minimum grade point average of 2.0, and the college lists it as a 2 year program. The course sequence includes Survey of Criminal Justice, Technology in Criminal Justice, Race and Justice, Juvenile Justice, Criminal Law, Victimology and Trauma, Contemporary Issues in Justice and Criminology, alongside First Year Experience, English Composition I, The Research Paper and Introduction to Sociology, with criminal justice electives that can include the Criminal Justice Internship or Introduction to Digital Forensics. By choosing specific classes, students can also earn a proficiency certificate in digital investigation that covers recovering digital evidence in a legally defensible manner.

All students interested in the criminal justice field may enroll in the program, and those identified as needing developmental coursework complete the appropriate English and mathematics courses as part of their degree; the college admits high school graduates and General Equivalency or Commonwealth diploma recipients, among others. Graduates of the Philadelphia Police Academy may receive 15 credits toward the degree and graduates of Philadelphia Prison Training 6 credits, and the program says students will be prepared to transfer to a four-year institution or to enter a justice setting at an entry level.

The Associate in Arts totals 62 credits: general education, required criminal justice courses in Introduction to Criminal Justice, Criminology, Juvenile Justice and Criminal Law and Procedure, and 24 credits in one of two concentrations. The Law Enforcement concentration is made up of Police Operations, Criminal Investigation, Criminal Evidence, Criminalistics, Intermediate Criminalistics, CJ Organization & Administration, International & Domestic Terrorism and a transfer elective, while General Transfer pairs Police Operations, Introduction to Corrections and Community Re-entry with a program elective (any CJ course) and transfer electives. HACC says the program may be completed entirely through distance education, or at the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Lancaster, Pennsylvania campuses through a mix of in-person, hybrid, flex, remote and distance formats.

HACC describes the degree as a transfer program and says students whose intended transfer school is in the Pennsylvania statewide system (PASSHE) can begin there at the junior level; its list of transfer options runs from Pennsylvania schools such as Penn State Harrisburg to West Virginia University. HACC says the program may require Act 33 child abuse and Act 34 Pennsylvania State Police criminal background checks, and applications for spring, summer and fall classes use program code 6050.

The degree covers the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems, with courses in criminology, abnormal psychology, American constitutional law and criminal justice ethics, and classroom learning is paired with internships, volunteer service learning, job shadowing and department and agency tours. The catalog puts the total at 64-66 credits depending on the courses completed, and a full-time student taking 15-18 credits per semester can finish in four semesters. On campus, courses are offered mainly in the daytime with some evening sections, and all courses are offered online every spring, summer and fall semester.

NCC says the program is built for high school graduates pursuing law enforcement careers, military veterans and people changing careers, and that it serves students seeking entry-level jobs, those already working in the system who want to advance, and those planning a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, criminology or related fields. Its articulation partners include East Stroudsburg University, Keystone College, Penn State-Lehigh Valley and the University of Pittsburgh, and students with prior discipline-related learning or training may be granted course equivalent credits through NCC's life-experience portfolio assessment.