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Criminal Justice

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

On-Campus & Online

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Earn Your Criminal Justice Degree at UW

What if you could choose a major that would help you contribute to a more equitable criminal justice system? Or think about social services in different ways? What if you could help prevent crime on the streets? Distinguish yourself in the military? Attend law school or graduate school? Maybe spur some of the societal breakthroughs the world needs more of?

Criminal justice is that kind of degree program—one that allows you to forge your own trail to a variety of careers that include law, policing, corrections, Homeland Security, military service, probation and parole, court administration or social work.

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Program Details

Tuition and Fees

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Program Requirements

Curriculum & Courses

Department

Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology

What is Criminal Justice?

Criminal justice is an interdisciplinary degree program that will expose you diverse scholarship from fields such as criminology, political science, sociology, psychology and anthropology. It is also an experiential program that provides opportunities to earn credit hours toward your degree by participating internships, giving you the opportunity to experience different career paths and develop skills that will prepare  you for the job market. UW offers the criminal justice bachelor’s degree program both on campus and through online learning.

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Students in law class

Looking to go to law school in the future? Our pre-law concentration and pre-law minor are designed to prepare students for success in law school and beyond. Students will take classes from diverse disciplines such as Political Science, Anthropology, Sociology, International Studies and Philosophy.

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UW Ranked 19th Best School for a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice

The criminal justice program at UW was recently ranked #19 for the "Best Bachelor of Criminal Justice Degrees." Out of the list of 50 schools, we also had the lowest tuition cost and highest acceptance rate.

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What Can You Do With a Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree?

A criminal justice degree is your entry into the type of career that can create heroic narratives around individual and societal change.  Your UW criminal justice program offers you access to diverse careers in law enforcement, the legal field, corrections and nonprofit sectors. It also prepares you to pursue graduate studies in law, social work, criminology, public administration and other fields.

Criminal Justice Careers

  • Police officers
  • Detectives
  • Corrections officers
  • Paralegals
  • College professors
  • Probation officers
  • Nonprofit administrators
  • Lawyers
  • Victim services

 

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Here are some of the places where University of Wyoming criminal justice alumni are making a difference:

 

  • Laramie County Government
  • State of Colorado
  • Albany County Sheriff’s Department
  • Laramie Police Department
  • UW Police Department
  • Wyoming Highway Patrol
  • Federal Probation
  •  Wyoming Department of Corrections
  • U.S. Marshall’s Office
  • FBI
  • U.S. District Courts
  • U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
  • Homeland Security
  • Denver Police Department
  • Douglas County Sheriff’s Department
  • Larimer County Community Corrections
  • Wyoming State Crime Lab

 

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Criminal Justice Bachelor’s Degree Program Highlights

As a University of Wyoming criminal justice major, you will take a wide variety of classes across multiple disciplines that will give you insights into the nature of crime in America while also exposing you to the wide variety of careers available to you in the broad field of criminal justice.

You will also get the chance to have personal interactions with UW’s talented faculty and get hands-on, résumé-building experience. You can earn this degree on campus or as a completion degree through UW’s distance program. Here are some reasons to choose UW’s criminal justice program:

Internships

Take advantage of internships available to you in your junior and senior years. UW criminal justice students have interned at regional police departments, sheriffs’ offices, state senators’ offices along with:

U.S. Marshal’s Office
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)
International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
Marine Corps Officer Program
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
Wyoming Governor’s Office
United States Probation District of Wyoming
Drug Enforcement Administration
Wyoming Department of Family Services

Travel Study

Put UW’s Urban Justice class on your schedule. The class travels to Chicago, Ill., where you’ll have the chance to visit a state penitentiary, see the results of urban revitalization and enjoy the Windy City. 

Ready to study abroad? Consider criminal justice's study abroad to Scotland Course. This short-term study abroad course explores crime and space throughout Scotland. Students will visit historic castles and prisons, while experiencing local culture, history and food. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn abroad while earning college credit!

Faculty

Learn from professors who have both academic and professional criminal justice experience. Because of UW’s small class sizes, you will have the chance to get to know faculty who are studying ways to prevent gang violence, how juries make decisions, the criminal justice system and mental health, prisoner reentry and other compelling topics.

Criminal Justice Club

Join the Criminal Justice Club, which offers field trips to places such as the UW College of Law, the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy, crime labs, FBI headquarters and other sites. You will also have the chance to attend guest lectures with professionals in the field and take part in an annual job fair.

In less than six months after graduation, I was hired as a probation/parole agent for the Wyoming Department of Corrections. I absolutely love my job and am grateful for my education from the CJ Department at UW.

- Kristen Young, B.A. ’15

Related Programs

If you’re thinking about a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, you might also be interested in learning more about these programs at UW:

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Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology

Department 3197 | A&S 208

1000 E. University Avenue

Laramie, WY 82071

Phone: (307)-766-2988

Email: crmj@uwyo.edu