Criminal Justice Schools in Idaho: Degrees, Careers & Pay

Updated September 17, 2026

Idaho has nine colleges and universities offering criminal justice, legal support, or homeland security programs, from one-year certificates at community colleges to a master’s at Boise State. Police officers, correctional officers, and security guards make up more than half of the state’s 16,420 protective service workers (BLS, May 2025), though each has its own separate hiring path.

Whether you’re aiming for a patrol car, a detective’s badge, or a corrections uniform, here’s what Idaho’s schools, salaries, and hiring requirements actually look like—starting with the part most guides get wrong: who certifies you, and when.

Featured Programs:

The State of Criminal Justice Work in Idaho

The Idaho Department of Correction runs the state’s prisons and community supervision system, and most corrections hiring in the state runs through it. Security guards, police officers, and correctional officers together make up 8,930 of Idaho’s 16,420 protective service workers, or just over half the field (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). Beyond patrol and corrections, the field also includes detectives, criminal investigators, and first-line supervisors, roles that typically come after time on shift, not on day one.

How You Get Certified: Police, Corrections, and Security Aren’t the Same Path

These three jobs get lumped together in a lot of career guides. They shouldn’t be. Each has its own hiring and certification process in Idaho.

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers are certified through Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), under the POST Council. The basic path: an Idaho law enforcement agency hires you first, then sponsors you through a POST basic academy (or a POST-approved college law enforcement program that satisfies the academy requirement), followed by at least 40 hours of field training and a six-month probationary period. Your agency submits the certification paperwork on your behalf. You don’t apply to POST directly before you’re hired.

Correctional officers with the Idaho Department of Correction go through a different process entirely: background investigation, an interview, a Physical Readiness Test, and a conditional job offer, followed by roughly 11 weeks of paid academy training and required POST certification after you’re hired. Minimum qualifications include being 18 or older, U.S. citizenship, a high school diploma or GED, and passing IDOC’s criminal-history standards.

Security guards are a separate occupation from POST-certified peace officers and generally don’t go through POST training or certification at all. Requirements vary by employer and by whether the role is armed or unarmed.

Choosing a Criminal Justice Degree in Idaho

An associate degree can provide preparation for entry-level criminal justice coursework and a foundation you can transfer into a bachelor’s later. It doesn’t by itself qualify you for a specific job, since agency and certification requirements control hiring. A bachelor’s goes deeper into the same core subjects and can matter for certain federal roles: FBI Special Agent, for example, requires a bachelor’s or advanced degree plus specified experience. Requirements for detective, supervisor, and other federal positions vary by agency, so check the specific job posting rather than assuming a degree is mandatory. Expect coursework in:

Criminal Justice Ethics
Criminology
Victimology
Internet Crime
Criminal Psychology

Most programs also let you pick a concentration, whether that’s corrections, law enforcement, or forensics. An internship with a local police department or the state corrections system gives you a foot in the door before you graduate, and financial aid built specifically for criminal justice majors is worth checking before you take out loans.

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Idaho

Nine Idaho institutions offer a criminal-justice-family program at some credential level, per U.S. Department of Education data. That includes everything from one-year certificates to Boise State’s graduate offerings.

Institution	City	Control	Programs Offered
Boise State University	Boise	Public	Criminal Justice (Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, Graduate Certificate)
Idaho State University	Pocatello	Public	Criminal Justice (Associate, Bachelor’s, Certificate), Legal Support Services (Associate, Bachelor’s), Fire Protection (Associate, Bachelor’s), Homeland Security (Associate, Certificate)
Lewis-Clark State College	Lewiston	Public	Criminal Justice (Bachelor’s), Legal Support Services (Associate, Bachelor’s, Certificate), Fire Protection (Associate, Bachelor’s)
University of Idaho	Moscow	Public	Criminal Justice (Bachelor’s), Fire Protection (Bachelor’s, Certificate), Homeland Security (Graduate Certificate)
College of Southern Idaho	Twin Falls	Public	Criminal Justice (Associate, Certificate), Fire Protection (Associate)
College of Western Idaho	Nampa	Public	Criminal Justice (Associate, Certificate), Fire Protection (Associate)
North Idaho College	Coeur d’Alene	Public	Criminal Justice (Associate, Certificate), Legal Support Services (Associate), Fire Protection (Associate)
College of Eastern Idaho	Idaho Falls	Public	Legal Support Services (Associate, Certificate), Fire Protection (Associate)
Northwest Nazarene University	Nampa	Private nonprofit	Criminal Justice (Bachelor’s)

None of these institutions are distance-only per the Scorecard data; all nine have a physical Idaho campus, though several also offer online formats. Confirm current enrollment, course format, and admission requirements directly with any school before applying, since federal data reflects what a school reported to the Department of Education, not necessarily what’s actively enrolling students today.

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 Idaho Criminal Justice Jobs Pay

Occupation	Idaho Median Annual Wage	Idaho Job Growth (2024–34)
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	$66,990	+2.7%
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$72,520	+2.7%
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$94,920	+2.8%
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$53,580	−6.9%
Security Guards	$38,300	+6.6%

First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives have a median wage about $27,930 higher than Patrol Officers in Idaho. That is the largest gap on this table. Correctional Officers and Jailers is the only occupation here projected to decline through 2034; the other four are projected to grow, security guards fastest at 6.6%.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS state wage data for Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers, Detectives and Criminal Investigators, and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives, Correctional Officers and Jailers, and Security Guards (hyperlinked above to their respective Occupational Outlook Handbook pages). 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

Do I need a college degree to become a police officer in Idaho?

No. Idaho POST doesn’t require a degree for basic peace officer certification. Most agencies hire candidates first, based on a background check and other requirements, then sponsor them through a POST basic academy or an approved college law enforcement program. A degree can matter later for promotion or certain specialized roles, but it’s not the entry requirement.

What’s the hiring process like for police versus corrections in Idaho?

They’re different. Police officers are hired by an agency first, then sponsored through POST academy training, field training, and a six-month probation before certification. Correctional officers with IDOC go through a background investigation, interview, and Physical Readiness Test, then a conditional offer followed by about 11 weeks of paid academy training and required POST certification after hire.

Is a criminal justice degree worth it in Idaho?

Neither police nor corrections work in Idaho requires a degree to start, but a bachelor’s can matter for specific federal roles like FBI Special Agent, and it broadens your options if you’re aiming for a role with education requirements set by a particular agency.

Which Idaho schools offer criminal justice degrees?

Nine Idaho institutions offer criminal-justice-family programs per federal education data, including Boise State University, Idaho State University, the University of Idaho, and several community colleges. See the school table above for what each one offers.

Key Takeaways

Nine Idaho schools offer CJ programs – from one-year certificates at community colleges to Boise State’s master’s degree, per federal education data
Police, corrections, and security have three separate hiring paths – POST academy sponsorship for police, IDOC’s own hiring and academy process for corrections, and employer-set requirements for security guards
Police supervisors have a higher occupational median – $94,920 versus $66,990 for patrol officers in Idaho (BLS, May 2025)
Correctional officer employment is the one role projected to decline through 2034 among the five occupations tracked here

Worried about paying for the degree? Our scholarships page lists awards built specifically for criminal justice students, with eligibility and deadlines.

Read: Scholarships for Criminal Justice Majors and Grad Students