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.
Explore the University of Wyoming's online schooling options and if it's the right fit for you!
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.
Add One of These to Your CJ Degree!
Criminal Justice Minor
Does criminal justice sound interesting to you, but you don't want to make it your primary degree? Consider tacking on an undergraduate criminal justice minor!
Learn MoreWhat 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.
- Police officers
- Detectives
- Corrections officers
- Paralegals
- College professors
- Probation officers
- Nonprofit administrators
- Lawyers
- Victim services
- 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
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
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 online program.
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.
“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
