North Dakota Criminal Justice Degree Programs

Overview

The recent boom of oil fields in North Dakota has led to a huge increase in violent crime, according to the New York Times. North Dakota, once a fairly quiet and safe state, has seen a 32% increase in crime since 2005. In response, police departments are trying to hire more police officers to handle the increase in arrests and violent assault cases.

The increasing population of drifters that come to North Dakota looking for work has been pinpointed as the reason behind increased crime rates. The growing population has attracted drug cartels and heroin traffickers to North Dakota. With no end in sight to this crime wave, North Dakota police departments continue the struggle to keep up with reported crimes.

Criminal Justice Education in North Dakota

By using CriminalJusticePrograms.com, you can find programs and schools near you that can help you start a criminal justice career. After learning about this degree and how it can help you, find out which colleges and universities are near you!

Attending a criminal justice program can prepare you for a wide variety of careers, since people with a strong knowledge of the law are needed in many different fields. Desired program outcomes in most schools include identifying problems in the criminal justice system, understanding and putting criminal justice policies into place, and understanding the underlying causes of crime.

The classes you take while pursuing your criminal justice education depend on which degree you choose—an Associate’s, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree. Some programs include courses in specialty areas of criminal justice. These specialties can prepare you to work with specific populations or in a certain area of criminal justice. For instance, you may specialize in cybercrime, corrections and case management, or computer forensics.

Regardless of which degree you pursue, there are core courses that will likely be part of your curriculum. You can expect to take courses in these fields:

• Victimology
• Community Supervision
• Criminology
• Law Enforcement

In addition to traditional lecture courses, you may have the opportunity to complete an internship during your criminal justice education. An internship can help you figure out which criminal justice field you want to work in, in addition to giving you hands-on experience.

If you’re in need of financial aid, the North Dakota Scholarship Program, the North Dakota State Student Incentive Grants are worth looking into. There are many other federally-funded financial aid programs and school-specific scholarship programs which you can also apply to.

You can also find criminal justice scholarship opportunities by clicking here.

Outlook for Criminal Justice in North Dakota

One of the benefits of earning a criminal justice degree is the variety of careers you can pursue. Your degree and how much experience you have may determine which careers you can pursue. Security guards and correctional officers are the two most common criminal justice careers in North Dakota, but there are also a number of bailiffs, patrol officers, supervisors, and protective service workers in the state.

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

If you want to play an integral role in your community’s criminal justice system, request information from the featured schools below and learn how they can help you reach your career goals!