The Best Online Degrees for Law Enforcement

Law enforcement professionals respond to emergencies, investigate crimes, and maintain order to keep communities safe and ensure justice. The law enforcement industry comprises many careers, including police officers, correctional officers, forensic scientists, and school resource officers.

With an online bachelor’s degree in law enforcement, you can pursue careers in the field or advancements within your current role. Explore the best degrees for law enforcement and learn more about their curriculums, benefits, and costs with this in-depth guide.

As you consider the law enforcement careers that pique your interest, remember that some programs align more with specific roles than others. For example, a corrections degree can be a good choice if you’re considering a career as a correctional officer. Similarly, a criminology degree could be more suitable if you’re interested in becoming a crime analyst.

In the sections below, learn more about common majors for current and aspiring law enforcement professionals.

A law enforcement major prepares you to work as a police officer or a public safety officer. Common courses for this major include law enforcement ethics, juvenile justice, criminology, and victimology. You might choose a law enforcement major if you want a more general curriculum as you decide which specific law enforcement path to pursue.

Best Online Bachelor’s in Law Enforcement Programs

A criminal justice major teaches how the court and justice system work and the responsibilities of professionals to bring justice. You’ll typically explore crime scene investigation, criminal forensics, and societal responsibility. Crime prevention specialists and paralegals may choose this major.

Criminology is the study of criminal behavior, including its effects on society and the justice system. Prospective criminal profilers, victim advocates, and criminal intelligence analysts may benefit from this major, which includes courses in deviant behavior, juvenile delinquency, social justice, and sociology.

Often leading to careers as border patrol agents, TSA agents, or information security analysts, a homeland security major teaches preventative and reactive strategies to handle threats like cyberattacks and terrorism. Students typically complete border and transportation security, computer security, and terrorism courses.

A corrections major explores effective corrections strategies for people convicted of crimes, like probation, parole, and rehabilitation. You’ll also learn to connect people with community resources through case management. Correctional officers, probation officers, and substance use counselors may start with corrections degrees.

Prospective crime scene investigators, toxicologists, and evidence technicians may benefit from forensic science degrees, which blend science and criminology. In this major, students can learn the crime scene evaluation and evidence analysis methods that assist criminal investigations. In addition to biology, chemistry, and biochemistry courses, this major might include genetics, toxicology, and forensic anthropology classes.

Emergency management incorporates large-scale preparation, response, and recovery strategies to keep the public safe and healthy. Public health emergency specialists, emergency planning specialists, and emergency dispatchers are a few professionals in this field. An emergency management major covers disaster research methods, surveying, disaster mitigation, and hazard science.

A bachelor’s in law enforcement can prepare you for work with local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI or state highway patrol offices.

You can pursue this degree as part of your training to become a law enforcement officer, but a bachelor’s in law enforcement is more commonly used to enter careers like correctional treatment specialist and emergency management director. This degree can also help you advance your career or boost your salary as a current law enforcement professional.

A law enforcement degree is often conferred as a four-year bachelor of science, requiring 120 credits. Programs may deliver coursework through online, in-person, or hybrid formats. Some schools offer closely related majors, such as police studies, police science, and law enforcement technology.

Many of the best degrees for law enforcement careers are available online. In addition to leading to a potential pay increase or paving the way for high-level careers, an online law enforcement degree can offer the following benefits.

According to 2020 data from the National Center for Education Statistics, an online bachelor’s in law enforcement costs an average of $18,994 per year. In comparison, the average annual cost for all bachelor’s degrees in law enforcement is $24,832, indicating that an online degree might allow you to save on some costs. Other factors may also influence the cost of your degree.

For example, some schools charge additional fees to distance learners to cover the fees associated with distance education, like technology services or digital textbooks. Also, tuition can vary between public and private schools, with public schools often charging lower rates. However, some schools have a separate online tuition rate to increase affordability for students, especially those living out of state.

You may have options to help you afford a degree in law enforcement. For instance, the federal government provides the following types of financial aid to eligible students:

Many schools and private companies also offer scholarships to students. Like grants, scholarships can reduce the amount you owe your school, and you don’t need to repay them.

If you find employment in law enforcement, you may also qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This program may forgive your remaining federal student loan balance if you’re employed by an eligible government or not-for-profit employer and you’ve made at least 120 qualifying monthly payments on your loans.

Police officers typically major in law enforcement or criminal justice. These degrees have some course overlap, such as criminology, punishment in society, corrections, and victimology, helping you understand a police officer’s responsibility to society, justice, and ethical practices.

Though some law enforcement careers don’t require a college degree, like police officers or correctional officers, a 2017 Policing Institute study revealed that about 74% of law enforcement agencies paid bachelor’s-level professionals higher wages than those without degrees. Other careers, like probation officers and forensic scientists, typically require a college degree.

According to a 2017 study by the Policing Institute, most cops have college degrees. The survey’s findings revealed that about 52% of officers held a two-year degree, while more than 30% have completed bachelor’s programs and 5% hold graduate degrees.

Generally, a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement doesn’t have requirements beyond a school’s typical admission materials. Prepare to submit your official high school or college transcripts with your application. Some schools may also require all applicants to write essays and/or submit letters of recommendation.

Yes. Institutional accreditation is crucial for law enforcement degrees, as it indicates that a school meets specific standards for academics and student outcomes. Other schools may only accept transfer credits from accredited colleges, and you may only qualify for federal student aid if you attend an accredited institution.