Criminal Profiler Programs in Georgia
There are two main elements in all criminal justice careers. The first is technology. Criminal justice technology has definitely seen major changes in the last decade, completely reshaping what professionals are able to do with trace amounts of evidence. The second element is human reasoning and deduction. This cannot be replaced by any type of technology.
Criminal profiler programs in Georgia aim to refine your understanding of human behavior and thought through evidence-based Georgia criminal profiling courses.
Ready to explore careers and criminal justice with a bachelor degree or PhD?
Georgia Criminal Justice Careers in Criminal Psychology
Contact schools that offer Georgia criminal profiler degrees to start comparing your options today.
The field of criminal profiling is extremely complex, providing many ways for you to build your knowledge and practical skills throughout your education. Although it often deals with violent or fatal crime, it may also involve analyzing crimes that do not lead to injury or death. In Georgia, the recent case of a racial hate crime that targeted a child’s birthday party made waves across the nation (TIME, 2017).
Criminal profilers don’t just look at the individual factors that lead someone to commit crime. They also look at the influences of group activity, mob mentality, and the sense of invincibility that comes with inclusion in a group.
Georgia Criminal Justice Schools for Criminal Profiling
Whether you want to earn an undergraduate or graduate degree, you have to succeed in a variety of criminal profiling courses to develop your knowledge of criminology and psychology.
If you have never earned an undergraduate degree or you have a Bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field, you may choose to earn a Bachelor’s degree at criminal justice programs in Georgia. These Georgia criminal profiler degrees include between 120 and 130 credits, providing exposure to criminology, criminal psychology, crime statistics, and criminal justice systems.
Bachelor’s-Level Courses for a Minor in Criminology
- Criminology: The study of criminology moves beyond punishment and looks at why crime actually occurs. Upon completing this course, you may be able to differentiate between different types of motivation and understand what the most common driving forces are behind each type of crime.
- Profile of the Serial Offender: Serial offenders are among the most dangerous in society, since they often show little remorse for their crimes and continue reoffending until caught. This course looks specifically at the psychology of serial offenders to help you look for common traits and more quickly identify crime streaks in your career.
- Victimology: In addition to understanding criminals, you must understand victims to get a well-rounded picture of crime in Georgia. Victimology looks at the common traits shared by most victims, what may predispose someone to being targeted by criminals, and what the long-term effects of victimization are.
- Criminal Law: This course covers criminal law at a state and federal level, showing you how your work is used in legal settings throughout Georgia.
- Deviance and Social Control: Deviation from social norms is often a significant predictor for criminal activity. Learn about the role of social control in crime and the traits of those who are unaffected by societal pressure.
Some students choose to follow up their Bachelor’s degree with a Master’s of forensic psychology. However, if you want to move beyond careers in criminal justice with a Bachelor degree and go into administration or research, you may be looking at earning a PhD.
Quite a few PhD programs in Georgia have online criminal justice courses for students who currently work in the criminal justice industry. Doctoral forensic science programs in Georgia include up to 100 credits. To graduate with a doctoral degree, you must write and defend a dissertation. All in all, a PhD typically involves at least five years of full-time study.
Georgia Criminal Profiling Courses for a Doctorate in Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Contemporary Criminological Theory: Criminology changes on a near-constant basis as new research becomes available. Learn about the latest research in criminology and the long-term research goals of this field in this course.
- Contemporary Criminal Justice Policy: This class combines your understanding of criminal psychology with a bird’s-eye view of state and federal criminal justice policy.
- Research Methods: Most Georgia criminal justice schools require one or more courses on research techniques. This is particularly true at the doctoral level, but students earning a Master’s of forensic psychology may also have mandatory research courses.
- Statistics in Criminal Justice: To truly understand research and apply it to the creation of policies and laws, you must understand criminal justice statistics. Criminal profiler programs in Georgia may look at statewide statistics and nationwide statistics.
You could start the journey to the criminal profiling career now.
Use our list of criminal justice programs in Georgia to contact schools that fit your needs.
Criminal Profiler Jobs in Georgia
After studying criminal psychology and earning a graduate degree or Bachelor of Science in criminal justice, it is time to start exploring the criminal profiling careers that may be available to you.
Compared to many other states, Georgia has fairly high crime rates, making this a great place to start looking into job openings. Practical experience can give you an advantage over other applicants. If you choose to take online criminal justice courses, find out if you can complete an internship at a local criminal justice agency. This may make a significant difference when you start applying for jobs.
If you want to use your criminal profiling experience in law enforcement, consider attending the local police academy and becoming a patrol officer. From there, you may move up the ranks to work in investigation or profiling. In Georgia, patrol officers bring in an average of $49,520 per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022). Job openings for patrol officers are expected to swell 10% through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022).
Criminal investigation is another popular path to explore. Criminal investigators are often required to have a strong knowledge of criminal profiling, since quickly locating and apprehending a suspect is key to solving crimes before they go cold. You may see a 7% boost in job openings for criminal investigators through 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022). On average, Georgia criminal investigators earn $72,000 per year (BLS, 2022).
The skills you develop as a criminal profiler are the same skills required in private investigation careers. This career may take you away from violent crime and require you to work more closely with fraud and infidelity cases. You may be employed by private clients or insurance firms. The average annual salary for a Georgia private investigator is $55,380 (BLS, 2022). Job openings for private investigators are expected to increase 18% by 2030 (CareerOneStop, 2022).
2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Georgia contained here reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2023.
This is your chance to learn more about Georgia criminal profiler degrees and which program aligns with your career goals.