Find Criminal Justice Programs in the Nashville Area
Want to become part of one of the most trusted fields in Nashville? By becoming a cop, correctional officer, or pursuing another criminal justice career, you can learn the skills you need to serve your community and keep it safe.
Nashville is home to many state agencies and organizations that keep America safe, one of which is the Nashville Police Department. They serve Nashville in seven different precincts by employing some of the best and brightest graduates.
Looking at all of the career options in the criminal justice field, it’s clear that Nashville holds criminal justice graduates in high regard. As a result, there are many programs in Nashville and the surrounding areas. Look at our list of featured Nashville schools below. You can request information from as many schools as you want. Each school can send you an informational packet with everything you need to know about their programs.
The Nashville Metropolitan Transit Authority gives you an affordable way to get to and from school. If you have an internship in school, you may find this option even more convenient. You can buy daily passes, weekly passes, or monthly passes, depending on what your needs are for school and work.
Criminal Justice Schools in Other Major Tennessee Cities
Criminal Justice Education in Nashville
Pursuing a criminal justice degree in Nashville gives you the opportunity to study at one of the many great schools in the area. Whether you want to get an Associate’s degree or Bachelor’s degree, you may be able to find a program that meets your needs.
Unlike some majors, which require you to spend most of your time in a traditional classroom setting, criminal justice requires you to learn in many different ways and settings. You may spend some of your time in a traditional lecture hall, learning from the expertise of your instructors as well as textbooks.
However, you may also spend a considerable amount of time in a technology lab, learning about the newest criminal justice technologies and how to use them. You may also spend time in a forensics lab, learning how to process and interpret different types of evidence.
As you gain these invaluable skills, you may be expected to put them to use in your criminal justice courses. You take courses in several different sub-fields of criminal justice, including ethics, law, criminology, and policing procedures. In a Bachelor’s-level program, you may be able to specialize in one field and take more courses in that field.
In an area with multiple schools, it’s clear that tuition rates are going to vary between schools. However, tuition tends to be lower at community and technical colleges than at four-year institutions. The tuition rate at Nashville State Community College is $1,668 for residents and $6,888 for non-residents.
Joining Nashville-based organizations can put you in contact with possible internship sites, employers, and other important people in the criminal justice community. Consider joining associations like the Tennessee Association of Licensed Professional Investigators, the Tennessee Paralegal Association, and the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police.
Job Outlook for Criminal Justice Graduates in Nashville
As you prepare to begin your criminal justice career in Nashville, there are several different fields you can enter. This is because of the variety of skills you gain in a criminal justice program. Consider the following career options as you begin your search.
With an associate degree, you may be able to apply for a variety of job openings in some exciting criminal justice environments. Consider these careers, listed with their median salaries from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for 2022: or CareerInfo.net:
- Security guard: $33,160 per year
- Correctional officer: $40,110 per year
- Animal Control Worker: $38,720 per year
With a bachelor’s degree, you can apply for more jobs in the criminal justice field. These are some of the most popular jobs in the field, listed with their average salaries:
- Supervisor of security workers: $49,210 per year
- Detective: $80,800 per year
You may be interested in joining the Nashville Police Department as a police officer. When you start as a trainee, you start with an annual salary of $54,900.89. After you move past the training stage, your salary can increase to $64,131.14 with a bachelor’s degree. After becoming a police officer, you may want to join the Nashville Fraternal Order of Police, a local organization that supports police officers.
2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary and employment figures for Nashville, Davidson, Murphreesboro, and Franklin, TN positions contained here reflect national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2023.
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