Criminology vs. Criminal Justice: Differences, Jobs and Pay

Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group

Last updated October 14, 2026

In the criminology vs criminal justice choice, criminology is the social science of crime and the behavior of criminals, and criminal justice is the study of the justice system’s organizations, laws and policies, with programs that train people for the work. The federal government gives them separate program codes, and 1,667 schools conferring criminal justice awards in 2023-24 compare with 229 conferring criminology awards.

Criminal justice schools, bachelor’s IPEDS

859

conferring degrees in 2023-24

Criminology schools, bachelor’s IPEDS

202

conferring degrees in 2023-24

Criminal justice earnings Scorecard

$37,713

bachelor’s, one year out, 617 schools

Criminology earnings Scorecard

$37,476

bachelor’s, one year out, 110 schools

Criminology vs. Criminal Justice: What the Federal Definitions Say

The U.S. Department of Education classifies every degree program by a CIP code, and it keeps the two fields apart. Criminology has one code, 45.0401. Criminal justice is eight codes, and each definition below is NCES’s own wording.

Criminology

“A program that focuses on the systematic study of crime as a sociopathological phenomenon, the behavior of criminals, and the social institutions evolved to respond to crime.”
NCES, CIP 45.0401, Criminology

Criminal Justice and Safety Studies

“A program that focuses on the criminal justice system, its organizational components and processes, and its legal and public policy contexts.”
NCES, CIP 43.0104, Criminal Justice/Safety Studies

Criminal justice also covers programs that train people for the work. Police science is one that “prepares individuals to perform the duties of police and public security officers.” Law enforcement administration is one that “prepares individuals to apply theories and practices of organization management and criminal justice to the administration of public law enforcement agencies and operations.” Corrections prepares people “to function as professional corrections officers and other workers in public and/or private incarceration facilities.” Criminology’s definition centers on study, not on a job.

How Many Schools Confer a Criminology or a Criminal Justice Degree?

Criminal justice is the larger field at every level. 1,667 schools conferring criminal justice awards reported them to IPEDS for July 2023 to June 2024, against 229 schools conferring criminology awards. At the bachelor’s level, 859 schools conferred a bachelor’s criminal justice degree and 202 a criminology one, and 26 conferred both.

Schools and graduates in criminal justice and criminology, by degree level, 2023-24
Degree level	Criminal justice schools	Criminal justice graduates	Criminology schools	Criminology graduates
Associate degree	938	22,609	10	241
Bachelor’s degree	859	44,302	202	8,315
Master’s degree	288	6,303	58	792
Doctorate	30	267	14	43

Graduates are first-major awards. The counts describe the code each school reported for a program, not what its courses teach, so a degree titled “criminology and criminal justice” appears under whichever code its school chose. The B.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Tampa holds ACJS Program Endorsement and is reported to the federal government as criminology. ACJS, the field’s professional association, treats the two together. It says there is “currently no accreditation available for academic criminal justice and criminology programs.”

Criminology vs. Criminal Justice Coursework: How It Differs

The definitions list what each program includes, and the difference is in the verbs. Criminology studies crime and the people who commit it. Criminal justice studies the organizations and laws that respond to it, and its police science, law enforcement administration and corrections programs prepare people to do that work.

Criminology vs criminal justice: what the federal definitions say each includes
Topic	Criminology	Criminal justice and safety studies
Focus	The systematic study of crime as a sociopathological phenomenon, the behavior of criminals, and the social institutions evolved to respond to crime.	The criminal justice system, its organizational components and processes, and its legal and public policy contexts.
Instruction includes	The theory of crime, psychological and social bases of criminal behavior, the theory of punishment, penology, rehabilitation and recidivism, and studies of specific types of crime.	Criminal law and policy, police and correctional systems organization, the administration of justice and the judiciary, and public attitudes regarding criminal justice issues.
Applied side	Applications to specific issues in law enforcement administration and policy.	Other criminal justice codes: police science, law enforcement administration and corrections prepare people for the duties of those jobs.

Each definition lists the other field as a related program, so NCES treats them as neighbors. Beyond the definitions, a school writes its own course list, and two programs with the same title can differ.

Criminology vs. Criminal Justice: Careers and Pay

The jobs overlap more than the names suggest. Where BLS names degree fields for the jobs this site covers, it names broad groups, not majors: security and protective service and social science for police applicants, and criminal justice by name only for probation officers. For police officers and correctional officers the typical entry education is a high school diploma, so neither major is required.

Typical entry education and the degree fields BLS names for four criminal justice jobs
Job	Typical entry education	Degree fields BLS names
Police officer	High school diploma, no related work experience	Security and protective service and social science
Probation officer	Bachelor’s degree	Criminal justice or a related security and protective service field, social science, or psychology
Correctional officer	High school diploma	Security and protective service or a related field, such as social science
Crime scene investigator	Bachelor’s degree	Physical science, biology, or forensic science

Deputy U.S. Marshals show the same overlap from the employer’s side: for the higher entry grade the agency asks for a degree in a field related to law enforcement and lists criminal justice and criminology side by side. The careers section covers each job’s path and pay.

What Graduates of Each Field Earn One Year Out

College Scorecard reports a median for each school’s graduates in criminal justice and corrections (federal field 43.01) and, separately, in criminology (45.04): graduates who received federal student aid and were working one year after finishing. The figures below are the median of the schools’ own medians.

Median first-year earnings of graduates in criminal justice and criminology, by degree level
Degree level	Criminal justice, median	Schools reporting criminal justice	Criminology, median	Schools reporting criminology
Bachelor’s degree	$37,713	617	$37,476	110
Master’s degree	$51,313	126	$48,720	18

Earnings follow where graduates work as much as what they studied, and neither figure says what a degree adds to any one person’s pay.

Which to Choose: Criminology or Criminal Justice?

Choose criminal justice if you want to work inside the system. Its police science, law enforcement administration and corrections programs are defined by the work they prepare you for, and BLS names criminal justice as a common degree field for probation officers, who typically need a bachelor’s degree.
Choose criminology if you want to study why crime happens. Its definition centers on the theory of crime and the psychological and social bases of criminal behavior. 14 schools conferred a doctorate in criminology in 2023-24, and the PhD guide compares the criminal justice doctorates.
The line between them is thinner in practice than on paper. 26 schools confer both at the bachelor’s level, and the U.S. Marshals list criminal justice and criminology side by side as related fields.

The criminal justice programs are ranked at three levels, each on its own, and the doctorates are compared.

Questions About Criminology and Criminal Justice

What’s Better, Criminology or Criminal Justice?

Neither field is ranked above the other by any source this site uses. They train for different things: NCES defines criminology as a program that “focuses on the systematic study of crime,” and criminal justice as one that “focuses on the criminal justice system, its organizational components and processes, and its legal and public policy contexts.” Scorecard’s median first-year earnings for bachelor’s graduates are $37,713 in criminal justice and $37,476 in criminology. Pick the one whose coursework matches the work you want.

What Major Is Closest to Criminology?

In the federal classification, the closest is criminal justice and safety studies: the definition of each program lists the other as a related program. BLS also names psychology and social science among the common degree fields for probation officers, a job where it names criminal justice too. The coursework comparison sets the two definitions side by side.

Can You Become a Police Officer With a Criminology Degree?

Yes. BLS names social science and security and protective service as the common fields of degree for police applicants, and the typical entry-level education for the job is a high school diploma or equivalent. A state sets the minimum, so the police degree guide gives each state’s rule. A degree is not a peace officer license in either field.

Is a BA or BS Better for Criminology?

No source this site uses ranks one above the other for criminology. The federal data counts a bachelor’s degree in criminology the same way whichever letters a school gives it, and 202 schools conferred one in 2023-24. What differs is the coursework each school requires, which the school sets in its own catalog.

Sources for the Criminology and Criminal Justice Figures

Awards, charges, completion and online enrollment: the Department of Education's IPEDS data: IPEDS completions and distance education, 2023-24; IPEDS tuition and fees and per-credit charges, 2023-24; IPEDS graduation rates; and IPEDS Outcome Measures and fall 2024 enrollment, from the 2024 provisional release. Programs are counted under the criminal justice codes in the federal CIP 43.01 series.
Graduate earnings: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data for Criminal Justice and Corrections (CIP 43.01).
Program definitions: NCES, Classification of Instructional Programs, 2020, read on October 7, 2026.
Degree fields and entry education: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Police and Detectives, Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists, Correctional Officers and Bailiffs and Forensic Science Technicians.