Nevada Criminal Justice Degree Programs

Overview

Home to Las Vegas, Nevada hosts swarms of tourists every year. While this has significantly increased the amount of money that Nevada brings in from tourism, it has also created a huge amount of crime throughout the state. In fact, Nevada is the third most dangerous state in the United States according to a recent report by 24/7 Wall Street.

Nevada ranks consistently high in terms of violent crime; according to 24/7 Wall Street, murder, rape, and aggravated assault cases are prevalent in the state. While much of Nevada’s crime is centered in Reno and Las Vegas, its populace also plays a role. Nevada has some of the lowest high school graduation rates and college graduation rates in the country, and a poverty rate of 13.8% in 2016.

Criminal Justice Education in Nevada

When you use CriminalJusticePrograms.com, you can search for criminal justice degrees in your area. Find out what it is like to earn a criminal justice degree and use our quick search form to find schools that can help you reach your goals.

There are several levels of criminal justice degrees, each of which can help you achieve different career goals in the industry. An Associate’s degree can usually be completed in two years, and it can prepare you for entry-level work in several different criminal justice fields. Many criminal justice education students aspire to hold a Bachelor’s degree, which allows you to explore more criminal justice careers.

A criminal justice curriculum is designed to educate you on every step of the criminal justice, from learning about crimes and identifying suspects to what happens in the courtroom. As a result, you generally have to take a wide variety of classes. Classes required in almost every criminal justice education include:

• Criminology
• Corrections and Policing
• Criminal Law and Procedure
• Court Procedure

Once you get to higher-level courses, you may be able to take classes that give you a deeper understanding of one of the above-listed courses.

Since criminal justice programs cover so many topics, some schools allow you to choose a specialty. Common specialty areas include Law Enforcement, Corrections, Internet Crime, and Forensic Science.

The Governor Guinn Millennium Scholarship program is one financial aid option for Nevada students; however, your best bet for funding is to look to the Nevada state post-secondary schools.

Outlook for Criminal Justice in Nevada

The career options that are open to you depend on what kind of degree you have and what experience you have in the field. Overall, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there are about 41,840 people working in criminal justice fields in Nevada. The most prevalent jobs in this field are for security guards and police or patrol officers.

If you have an Associate’s degree, you can select from job titles like bailiff, security guard, and correctional officer. These jobs allow you to work in a variety of different environments. While bailiffs usually work in courtrooms and correctional officers work in prisons, security guards can be hired at a wide range of companies. After earning a Bachelor’s degree, you may be qualified for a much wider selection of careers. Some career titles that require Bachelor’s degrees include detectives/criminal investigators, private detectives, fire inspectors, and supervisors.

We’ve put together the salary for some top criminal justice career paths below, from data found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2022.

Are you ready to start your journey to a criminal justice career? Contact our featured schools in your area to learn more about your degree choices. Once you’ve contacted schools that interest you, click here to learn about available scholarships in criminal justice.