Criminal Justice Degree Programs in Alaska

Updated September 17, 2026

Alaska has five colleges and universities offering criminal justice programs, from certificates through a master’s degree at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers in the state earned a median $99,130 as of May 2025 BLS OEWS data, well above the $76,210 national figure for the same job, and Alaska recorded the highest violent crime rate of any state in 2024.

If you’re considering a career in Alaska’s justice system, you’re stepping into a state with more reported crime per capita than anywhere else in the country and only five schools training people to work in it. Here’s what an Alaska criminal justice program actually covers, where you can get one, and what the job pays once you’re certified or hired.

Alaska’s Crime Numbers, and What They Don’t Tell You

State Agency: Alaska Department of Law (Division of Criminal Justice)

The Alaska Department of Law’s Division of Criminal Justice oversees prosecution and victim services across a state larger than Texas, California, and Montana combined. Alaska recorded the highest violent crime rate of any state in 2024, at 724 offenses per 100,000 residents, according to FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data compiled by USAFacts. Aggravated assault made up roughly 71% of those violent crimes that year.

The rate doesn’t translate directly into more hiring. Alaska’s own criminal justice employment projections through 2034 are flat or declining across most roles covered in this guide, so read the crime numbers as context for the job, not as a jobs forecast.

What Will You Study in an Alaska Criminal Justice Program?

Common subjects across Alaska’s criminal justice programs may include coursework in these areas, though exact requirements vary by school and program:

Criminology and victimology: how and why crime happens, and what it does to the people it happens to.
Policing and corrections: the day-to-day operations of the agencies you’d actually work for.
Criminal law: the statutes and procedures that determine whether a case holds up.
Criminal justice ethics: the professional standards that keep officers, prosecutors, and corrections staff accountable to the public they serve.

Featured Programs:

Where Can You Study Criminal Justice in Alaska?

Five institutions in Alaska offer a program in the criminal-justice family at some credential level, per U.S. Department of Education data, and none of them are distance-only. That’s a small list by national standards, which means most students choose between the University of Alaska system and one of two private options.

Institution	City	Control	Degree Levels Offered
Charter College	Anchorage	Private, for-profit	Certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s (Criminal Justice, Legal Support Services)
Ilisagvik College	Barrow	Public	Certificate, Associate (Fire Protection)
University of Alaska Anchorage	Anchorage	Public	Certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s, Graduate Certificate (Criminal Justice, Fire Protection, Legal Support Services)
University of Alaska Fairbanks	Fairbanks	Public	Certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s (Criminal Justice, Fire Protection, Homeland Security, Legal Support Services)
University of Alaska Southeast	Juneau	Public	Certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s (Criminal Justice)

In this data set, University of Alaska Fairbanks is the school most associated with graduate-level criminal justice study in Alaska, the only one carrying a master’s credential in the CJ family. Confirm current enrollment, format, and admission requirements directly with any school before you apply, since program offerings can change between data updates.

School and program data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, institution file May 2025 and field-of-study file April 2025. Data accessed September 2026.

If you are concerned about paying for school, take a look at our page on criminal justice scholarships.

What Do Criminal Justice Careers Pay in Alaska?

Alaska pays more for criminal justice work than most of the country, and the gap holds up across nearly every role in the field. As of the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data, Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers in Alaska earned a median of $99,130 a year, compared with $76,210 nationally in that same May 2025 release. Corrections, detective work, and paralegal roles all show the same pattern, using the same May 2025 OEWS data for both the Alaska and national figures.

Occupation	Alaska Median Wage	National Median Wage	2024–34 Alaska Job Growth
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	$99,130	$76,210	-0.4%
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$71,360	$58,940	-0.6%
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$114,940	$93,790	-1.7%
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$137,320	$106,040	0%
Paralegals and Legal Assistants	$68,700	$62,890	-5.3%
Security Guards	$47,480	$38,020	+3.6%

Growth is flat or slightly negative for most of these roles over the 2024–34 period, per ProjectionsCentral. Security guard positions are the exception, projected to grow 3.6% over the same period.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) salary figures for Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, Correctional Officers and Jailers, Detectives and Criminal Investigators, First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, and Security Guards. Long-term (2024-34) job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, ProjectionsCentral. Figures reflect state-level data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many schools offer criminal justice programs in Alaska?

Five institutions in Alaska offer a program in the criminal-justice family at some credential level, per U.S. Department of Education data: Charter College, Ilisagvik College, and the University of Alaska’s Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Southeast campuses. University of Alaska Fairbanks is the only one offering a master’s degree.

What does it take to become a certified police officer in Alaska?

Most Alaska agencies don’t require a college degree to get hired, but every officer has to meet statewide standards set by the Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC), the body that certifies police, corrections, and probation and parole officers statewide. APSC’s minimum standards include a high school diploma or GED, plus age, character, medical, psychological, and criminal-history requirements; individual agencies can add requirements of their own. New hires complete APSC-approved basic police training; the Alaska Law Enforcement Training Academy in Sitka is one route, and they must be certified within 13 months of hire. A degree may be useful for advancement or for positions with additional education requirements, depending on the agency.

What does a criminal justice degree in Alaska prepare you for?

Beyond policing, a criminal justice degree in Alaska opens doors to corrections, court and legal support work, victim advocacy, and investigative roles. Coursework in criminology, policing and corrections, criminal law, and ethics gives you a foundation for any of these paths.

How much do criminal justice jobs pay in Alaska?

Pay varies widely by role. As of May 2025 BLS OEWS data, security guards in Alaska earned a median $47,480, while detectives and criminal investigators earned $114,940. Every occupation in this guide pays above the national median for the same job in that same release.

Is Alaska a high-crime state?

Yes. Alaska recorded the highest violent crime rate of any state in 2024, per FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data, at 724 offenses per 100,000 residents. That doesn’t automatically mean more job openings, though: Alaska’s own employment projections show most criminal justice roles holding flat or shrinking through 2034. Check current FBI data for the latest figures, since rankings shift year to year.

Key Takeaways

Five schools, one big gap – Alaska’s five in-state criminal justice programs, from Charter College to the University of Alaska system, cover certificates through University of Alaska Fairbanks’s master’s degree.
Pay runs above the national median – Every occupation in this guide, from security guards to detectives, earns more in Alaska than the U.S. median for the same job, per the same May 2025 OEWS release.
APSC certifies you, not a diploma – Alaska hiring runs on Alaska Police Standards Council standards, not a degree requirement. A degree may help with advancement or agency-specific incentives, depending on the department.
High crime doesn’t mean more jobs – Alaska led the nation in violent crime rate in 2024, but its own 2024-34 projections show most criminal justice roles flat or declining, security guards being the exception.

Worried about paying for the degree? The scholarships guide lists awards built for criminal justice majors, with eligibility, amounts, and deadlines.

Read: Scholarships for Criminal Justice Majors and Grad Students