Criminal Justice Schools in Arkansas

Updated October 14, 2026

Arkansas has 36 in-state schools offering CJ-family programs, from certificates through a criminal justice PhD, plus one distance-only option. Little Rock has reported a police-officer shortage. As of May 2025 BLS data, patrol officers earn a median $47,670 here, with the job projected to grow 7.6% by 2034, faster than corrections, which is shrinking.

State Agency: Arkansas Crime Information Center (criminal history and justice information systems) · Officer Certification: Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training (CLEST)

You’re weighing whether to study criminal justice in a state with real hiring activity behind it. Little Rock has reported officer shortages in recent years, and the department continues to post openings. In Arkansas, officer hiring requirements are set by each individual agency, but certification itself runs through CLEST’s statewide standards, so a department can set its own bar on top of (never below) what CLEST requires. Thirty-six Arkansas schools offer CJ-family programs, covering credential levels from certificate through doctoral study, with one more available through a distance-only program.

Choosing a Criminal Justice Degree in Arkansas

Most students start at the associate or bachelor’s level. An associate degree may meet or exceed the minimum educational requirement for some entry-level positions, depending on the employer. This varies by agency, so check a specific department’s posting rather than assuming. A bachelor’s degree can strengthen an application for probation, parole, or investigative work, and some state and federal positions list a bachelor’s as a preference or requirement, but each agency and role sets its own qualifications separately from any coursework you complete.

Featured Programs:

What You’ll Study

Course titles vary by school, but here are examples drawn from selected Arkansas criminal justice programs:

Criminal Justice History in the U.S.
Criminal Law: An Introduction
The Criminal Justice System in America
The Judiciary in the American Legal System
Introduction to Criminal Justice Ethics
Research and Writing for Legal Purposes
Conducting Criminal Justice Research
The History of Race Relations

Field Work Comes Before You Graduate

Field-placement timing and format vary by school. Many Arkansas programs build in some form of practicum, internship, or field placement with agencies, courts, or corrections facilities before graduation, so check a specific program’s requirements and timeline. This is where you find out if the job matches what you imagined.

Where to Study: Arkansas Schools with Criminal Justice Programs

As of September 2026, per U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data, 36 in-state Arkansas institutions offer a CJ-family program, covering criminal justice, homeland security, legal support, or a related field, at credential levels from certificate through doctoral study. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock houses Arkansas’s only Criminal Justice PhD program, confirmed directly on the school’s own site. One more program, through University of Arkansas Grantham, is distance-only: it’s chartered in Arkansas but delivered entirely online, so it’s counted separately from the 36 in-state schools below and marked accordingly in the table, which lists all 37.

School	City	Credential Levels Offered
Arkansas Baptist College	Little Rock	Bachelor’s
Arkansas Northeastern College	Blytheville	Certificate, Associate’s
Arkansas State University	Jonesboro	Certificate, Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Grad Certificate
Arkansas State University Three Rivers	Malvern	Certificate, Associate’s
Arkansas State University-Beebe	Beebe	Certificate, Associate’s
Arkansas State University-Mountain Home	Mountain Home	Certificate, Associate’s
Arkansas State University-Newport	Newport	Certificate, Associate’s
Arkansas Tech University	Russellville	Certificate, Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Black River Technical College	Pocahontas	Certificate, Associate’s
Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas	De Queen	Certificate, Associate’s
East Arkansas Community College	Forrest City	Certificate, Associate’s
Harding University	Searcy	Bachelor’s
Henderson State University	Arkadelphia	Certificate, Bachelor’s
National Park College	Hot Springs	Certificate, Associate’s [+Paralegal]
North Arkansas College	Harrison	Associate’s
NorthWest Arkansas Community College	Bentonville	Certificate, Associate’s [+Paralegal]
Ozarka College	Melbourne	Certificate, Associate’s
Philander Smith University	Little Rock	Bachelor’s
Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas	Helena	Certificate, Associate’s
Shorter College	North Little Rock	Associate’s
South Arkansas College	El Dorado	Certificate, Associate’s
Southeast Arkansas College	Pine Bluff	Certificate, Associate’s [+Paralegal]
Southern Arkansas University Main Campus	Magnolia	Certificate, Bachelor’s
Southern Arkansas University Tech	Camden	Certificate, Associate’s
Strayer University-Arkansas	Little Rock	Associate’s, Bachelor’s
University of Arkansas	Fayetteville	Bachelor’s
University of Arkansas Community College-Batesville	Batesville	Certificate, Associate’s
University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton	Morrilton	Certificate, Associate’s
University of Arkansas Grantham	Little Rock	Associate’s, Bachelor’s [Distance-only]
University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana	Hope	Certificate, Associate’s
University of Arkansas at Little Rock	Little Rock	Certificate, Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate
University of Arkansas at Monticello	Monticello	Certificate, Associate’s, Bachelor’s
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff	Pine Bluff	Certificate, Associate’s, Bachelor’s
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith	Fort Smith	Certificate, Associate’s, Bachelor’s [+Paralegal]
University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College	North Little Rock	Paralegal only: Certificate, Associate’s
University of Central Arkansas	Conway	Certificate, Associate’s
Williams Baptist University	Walnut Ridge	Bachelor’s

[+Paralegal] marks schools that also offer a separate Legal Support Services/paralegal program. [Distance-only] marks the one program registered in Arkansas but delivered entirely online with no in-state campus. It’s counted separately from the 36 in-state schools above. This list reflects each school’s official location and program filings per U.S. Department of Education data, not marketing reach, so a national online school that targets Arkansas residents but isn’t chartered here won’t appear. Program offerings can change after this data was collected, so confirm current enrollment, delivery format, and admission requirements directly with any school you’re considering.

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.

What Arkansas Criminal Justice Careers Pay

As of May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) data, here’s what five common Arkansas criminal justice roles pay at the state level, and where the job count is headed by 2034, per ProjectionsCentral:

Occupation	Arkansas Median Annual Wage	Projected Growth (2024–2034)
Detective	$54,500	+5.0%
Probation Officer	$51,180	+1.6%
Police Officer	$47,670	+7.6%
Paralegal	$47,420	+2.6%
Correctional Officer	$40,330	-5.3%

Detective carries the highest median wage on this list, but it also has the smallest number of projected annual openings among these five: 40 a year statewide, per ProjectionsCentral, against 480 for patrol officers. These annual-openings figures reflect projected turnover (retirements, transfers, and departures), not just newly created roles, so they’re a measure of workforce size and churn, not necessarily how competitive the hiring process is. Among the five occupations shown here, correctional officer is the only one projected to shrink (-5.3% by 2034), while patrol officer is projected to grow the fastest (+7.6%).

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists, Correctional Officers and Jailers, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, and Detectives and Criminal Investigators. Long-term (2024-34) job growth and annual-openings 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.

The Job Market: Arkansas Law Enforcement Hiring

The Little Rock Police Department starts recruits at a base salary and raises it on a schedule tied to years of service. North Little Rock and Fayetteville also post law enforcement openings regularly. Outside law enforcement, private security and investigations firms hire from the same labor pool, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission employs Wildlife Officers, who handle a different kind of fieldwork: enforcing wildlife, boating, and hunting regulations statewide. Like municipal police officers, Wildlife Officers must be certified through CLEST, generally within a set period after hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many schools in Arkansas offer criminal justice programs?

36 in-state schools offer a CJ-family program (criminal justice, homeland security, legal support, or a related field) at some credential level, per federal education data, plus one more through a distance-only program. Credential levels span certificate through doctoral study, but not every school offers every level.

Do I need a bachelor’s degree to become a police officer in Arkansas?

Not necessarily, and it depends on the agency. Arkansas officer certification runs through the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training (CLEST), which sets statewide minimum training standards, but individual departments set their own hiring requirements, including education, on top of that floor. Many Arkansas agencies hire candidates with a high school diploma and route them through CLEST-approved training, while others set a higher bar. A bachelor’s degree may help with hiring, compensation, or advancement at some agencies, and some federal roles have their own education requirements, so check the specific agency you’re targeting.

Which of these criminal justice careers pays the most in Arkansas?

Detective, at a median $54,500 as of May 2025 BLS data. It also has the fewest projected annual openings among these five occupations (40 per year, per ProjectionsCentral), which reflects the occupation’s smaller overall workforce rather than necessarily how hard the job is to get.

Is the corrections job market shrinking in Arkansas?

Yes. Per ProjectionsCentral’s 2024–34 projections, Arkansas projects a 5.3% decline in correctional officer positions, the only one of these five occupations moving in that direction.

Key Takeaways

36 in-state schools collectively cover credential levels from certificate through doctoral study, plus one more through a distance-only program
Patrol officer is projected to grow fastest among these five occupations (+7.6% by 2034, per ProjectionsCentral), while correctional officer is the outlier, projected to shrink 5.3%
Detective carries the highest median wage ($54,500) but the fewest projected annual openings among these five: 40 a year statewide, versus 480 for patrol
A bachelor’s isn’t a universal requirement for entry-level Arkansas law enforcement. Education, testing, and background requirements are agency-specific on top of CLEST’s statewide certification standards, and a degree may help with hiring, pay, or advancement at some agencies
Little Rock has reported officer shortages in recent years, and nearby departments post openings regularly

If cost is what’s holding you back, the scholarships resource page lists awards built for criminal justice students, with eligibility and deadlines. Read that before you rule out the four-year track.

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