Criminology Careers and Degrees: Become a Criminologist

Criminologists normally have careers in research and teaching. The field of criminology contributes to the study of the following societal problems:

• drug addiction
• juvenile justice and delinquency
• policing, police administration and policy
• corrections, correctional administration and policy
• models of criminal behavior
• theoretical criminology
• criminal ethnography
• victimology
• radical criminology

Criminology also studies the psychological, sociological, biological factors related to crime, law enforcement and criminology. Some criminology careers see criminologists taking on community initiatives, evaluation of crime and policy projects with federal, state and local criminal justice agencies.

Criminology careers are varied, but criminologists may work in universities teaching criminology, legal studies, law and sociology while conducting their own research. Federal and state justice agencies employ criminologists as research officers and policy advisers. Others are in private practice providing consulting services for such issues as law reform, juvenile justice, crime statistics and adult corrections.

To begin a criminology career, you'll need to complete a 2-year master's degree program in criminology. Most criminologists who work in universities have a PhD. Criminology programs generally cover crime and deviant behavior, sociology, psychology, design and systems analysis, and apply these fields to crime prevention and criminal justice.

Criminologists teaching at universities earned the following average salaries, according to a 2008-09 survey by the American Association of University Professors.

• $79,439 average for all full-time faculty
• $108,749 for professors
• $76,147 for associate professors
• $63,827 for assistant professors
• $45,977 for instructors
• $52,436 for lecturers

In 2008–09, full-time faculty salaries averaged $92,257 in private independent universities and $77,009 in public colleges.

To learn more about careers in criminology, read out interview with a criminologist or our comparison between criminalistics and criminology.

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