The Advantages of a Corrections Education
While many jobs in corrections do not require an undergraduate degree, a growing number of positions list a bachelor’s in corrections or criminal justice as the minimum educational credential for applicants. A bachelor’s provides a competitive advantage to anyone seeking employment as a correctional officer, probation specialist, or security manager. A bachelor’s degree can also lead to administrative positions in institutional corrections facilities.
Supervisory positions such as a prison wardens, federal agents, or security managers, while usually filled by bachelor’s degree holders, increasingly require graduate–level training. Although relatively few graduate programs focus specifically on corrections, several institutions offer master’s and doctoral degrees in criminal justice with correctional concentrations.
Both undergraduate and graduate programs offer concentrations in expanding subfields such as juvenile corrections, community corrections and rehabilitation, and corrections administration. Graduates of these programs possess specialized skills that broaden their marketability and increase salary prospects. Corrections officers, FBI agents, and other law enforcement personnel who have earned graduate–level degrees usually receive higher salaries, accelerated promotion in rank, and more rapid career advancement into administrative roles.
Choosing an Online Corrections Degree Program
Choosing the right online corrections degree requires some preliminary research. Before applying to a school, you should compare tuition rates, course delivery formats, and graduation requirements. If you plan to continue working or must manage family or other commitments, you should select a program that offers flexible scheduling or part–time enrollment options.
Fully online degrees often feature asynchronous formats, allowing you to progress at your own pace and access class materials at your convenience. Other programs rely on a fixed synchronous schedule or use a hybrid format that combines online and campus–based classes. Make sure you investigate all program costs and whether the program requires any on–campus residencies. Additionally, most schools offer more affordable tuition rates to in–state students.
Accreditation for Online Corrections Degrees
As you explore online corrections degrees, it’s important to consider accredited schools. Accreditation determines your ability to transfer credits and receive federal financial aid, and it may influence how graduate schools or prospective employers evaluate your degree.
Most degree–granting institutions seek either national or regional accreditation from independent accrediting agencies. For example, the Higher Learning Commission is a regional accrediting body that reviews a school’s academic standards. Many four–year institutions hold regional accreditation, the more prestigious and popular designation. Technical, vocational, and for–profit schools usually receive national accreditation.
Some schools also obtain specialized programmatic accreditation for fields of study in addition to regional or national accreditation. For instance, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences awards programmatic accreditation to a small group of high–quality master’s programs in criminal justice, but no programmatic accreditation currently exists for undergraduate corrections or criminal justice programs. While specialized accreditation may indicate program quality, students should focus on the overall institutional accreditation of the schools offering correctional programs and give priority to regionally accredited colleges and universities.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) each play a different role in overseeing accreditation of colleges and universities. The ED formulates national educational policy and administers federal financial aid programs, while CHEA coordinates postsecondary accreditation for its 3,000 member institutions and promotes standards of academic quality. Both regional and national accreditation associations — and some programmatic accreditors — receive approval from the ED or the CHEA to conduct institutional program reviews.
The accreditation process considers several variables, including curriculum quality, faculty reputation, student services, and financial integrity. Students can find current directories of all accredited schools through the ED database and theCHEA website.
Corrections Concentrations
Some online corrections programs offer learners the opportunity to explore a focused area of study within the major. Students may choose a concentration of related courses that align with their personal interests and career goals. Concentrations can equip learners with specialized skills and knowledge that may provide advantages in the job market or for graduate school admissions.
This concentration examines the policies and procedures for the administration of correction and detention facilities in federal, state, local, and private settings. Students explore issues related to managing offender populations, organizational leadership theory and applications, corrections operations, and staff roles and supervision. Coursework includes managing special populations, community corrections, risk assessment, and contemporary challenges.
- Careers This Concentration Prepares For: Prison warden; manager of correctional facility
In the contemporary corrections environment, special groups of prisoners require specific scrutiny because of distinctive needs and susceptibility to ill treatment. This concentration explores the policies and best practices for special prison populations including the elderly, females, juveniles, racial minorities, prisoners held in isolation, sexual offenders, prisoners vulnerable to sexual assault, inmates with mental or physical challenges, and those with serious medical conditions.
- Careers This Concentration Prepares For: Corrections officer; prison warden; manager of correctional facilities; corrections officer supervisor; correctional counselor; correctional social worker
Coursework introduces students to the characteristics of juvenile offender populations and the structure and operations of youth correctional facilities, including juvenile detention facilities, juvenile halls, and community-based and residential treatment facilities. Students explore the roles of juvenile corrections officers, probation officers, and juvenile correctional counselors. The courses include alternative treatment options for juveniles and best practices for rehabilitation.
- Careers This Concentration Prepares For: Juvenile correctional officer; juvenile correctional counselor; juvenile probation officer
Designed for students interested in working in community corrections, this concentration explores the policies and practices of probation and parole. Topics include the theory and practice of community corrections, policy and procedure for the supervision of criminal offenders, and offender rehabilitation and treatment options. Coursework also explores challenges of working with special populations, such as youths, sex offenders, and substance abusers.
- Careers This Concentration Prepares For: Probation officer; parole officer; correctional treatment specialist
The field of correctional assessment requires an understanding of counseling theories and methodology as they apply to community or institutional corrections, as well as the skills and best practices for supervision of special populations. This concentration introduces students to the history, development, and future of the Correctional Assessment and Intervention System and the Juvenile Assessment and Intervention System.
- Careers This Concentration Prepares For: Correctional officer; correctional counselor; correctional case manager
How Long Does It Take to Get a Degree in Corrections?
Not all undergraduate programs in corrections take the typical four–year time frame to complete. Several factors affect the length of time needed to complete a degree. Online programs, in particular, provide students with a great deal of flexibility. Asynchronous delivery formats allow students to move through coursework at their own pace, completing degree requirements in as few as two years full time or in five or more years part time.
Distance learners who opt for part–time studies because of work or family commitments — or those who must drop out for a term or two — take more time to finish their degree. For students who can handle the fast pace, accelerated online programs that deliver courses in five– or eight–week terms shorten the amount of time needed to complete all requirements. Additionally, some schools award credit for life or work experience, which can reduce the time needed to graduate and the total required number of credits, as well as decrease the overall cost of the degree.
Courses in an Online Bachelor’s in Corrections Program
While all online bachelor’s in corrections programs prepare students for careers in the field, the curriculum differs from school to school. Some programs involve a comprehensive exploration of the entire criminal justice system, while others emphasize corrections–specific coursework. Some programs focus on an even narrower area of the field, such as juvenile justice. Only, a handful of corrections programs require an internship; most emphasize knowledge of concepts and theory over hands–on experience.
Topics common to most corrections programs include incarceration, criminal and corrections law, and probation. Both comprehensive and focused corrections programs require coursework in disciplines with real–world applications, including individual and social psychology, sociology, mathematics, and writing.
- Foundations of Corrections
: This introductory course presents students with an overview of the U.S. correctional system and its relationship to the court and criminal justice system. The course connects the major theoretical approaches addressing retribution, deterrence, and rehabilitation to current practices and applications in corrections. Learners in this course explore policy models and best practices for correctional professionals.
- Community Corrections
: This course examines the various aspects of community–based corrections: probation, parole, halfway houses, boot camps, and other intermediate sanctions. Students analyze assessment and supervision models, alternative approaches to traditional incarceration, and the debate of treatment versus punishment. The course introduces students to current controversies, including the use of paraprofessionals, case management overload, and privatization.
- Offender Rehabilitation
: This course provides in–depth analysis and critique of evidence–based offender treatment programs. Topics include rehabilitation program models, risk assessment, treatment methodology, treatment options, and evaluation of outcomes. Students evaluate the various models used by correctional professionals in family intervention, counseling, self–help programs, community service, probation, and other practices.
- Special Populations in Corrections
: The management of special offender populations (e.g., racial minorities, females, the elderly, sexual offenders, and inmates with mental or physical challenges) has emerged as a major challenge facing correctional professionals. This course explores appropriate models of punishment and treatment for these groups through the lens of cultural competency, diversity policies, and the law. Using case studies, students address why these groups should be monitored, how they are vulnerable, and how they are underserved.
- Management of Correctional Facilities
: This course introduces students to organizational leadership theory, policies, and practices for the operation of correctional facilities. Designed especially for students interested in administrative positions, the course covers management models for staffing, security, safety, and treatment. The course places special emphasis on the challenges of managing special offender populations.
Corrections Degree Salary & Information
While many corrections positions require only a high school diploma or associate degree, candidates with a specialized bachelor’s degree have more career options and job opportunities.
Bailiffs maintain order in a courtroom, escorting witnesses, defendants, and jury to assigned areas. They call court to order, guard sequestered juries, and maintain order during trials. Police officers often serve as bailiffs, and bachelor's degree holders receive higher pay and perform expanded duties.
Median Salary:
$24,265
Correctional case managers facilitate the rehabilitation of inmates and probationers. They connect clients with social services, halfway houses, drug treatment facilities, and job training programs. Most positions require a bachelor's degree, and many case managers have earned a master's in social work or a related degree.
Median Salary:
$35,715
Corrections officers supervise offenders in incarceration facilities, ensure adherence to the rules and regulations, maintain order, and guard inmates as directed by court sentences or criminal law procedures. Most corrections officers hold specialized certification and/or bachelor's-level training.
Median Salary:
$38,000
Corrections Membership Associations
The only professional association representing probation and parole personnel working with adult and juvenile offenders, APPA seeks to reduce recidivism by strengthening the community corrections industry. The membership includes educators, public policy advocates, activists, and private citizens interested in criminal and juvenile justice.
ACTP enhances public safety and advocates for the humane treatment of offenders by promoting excellence in the training of corrections professionals, trainers, training administrators, and educators. Members receive discounted registration for the Annual National Training and Performance Conference, a subscription to the association's quarterly journal, and access to training webinars.
The only national association that focuses exclusively on issues related to the operations of local correctional facilities, AJA provides certifications for jail managers, jail officers, and correctional trainers in addition to training seminars and its annual conference and jail expo.
A leading organization in criminal justice and corrections, ACJS advances research and policy analysis in the field by sharing data, best practices, and training opportunities. The Academy reserves a special membership category for corrections professionals encouraging research and theory development relating to community and institutional corrections.
