Criminal Justice Schools in Indiana: Degrees, Careers, and Pay

Updated September 17, 2026

Indiana’s statewide training rules don’t require a college degree for most police jobs, but individual agencies set their own hiring standards. Indiana State Police requires college credit, military service, or law-enforcement experience. Indiana has 34 schools offering criminal justice programs, from certificates through a Ph.D. As of May 2025 BLS data, Indiana patrol officers earn a median $73,370 a year.

John Dillinger spent the early 1930s treating the Midwest like his own bank, robbing his way across state lines until a coordinated, multi-agency manhunt caught up with him outside a Chicago theater. Indiana’s law enforcement agencies have gotten a lot more sophisticated since then, but the job hasn’t gotten any less dangerous. If you’re weighing a career in Indiana criminal justice, here’s what the degree paths, the hiring standards and the paychecks actually look like.

State agency: Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. ICJI handles broader criminal justice functions across the state. Police training and certification standards specifically fall under the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board and the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), not ICJI.

Criminal Justice Education in Indiana

A criminal justice degree in Indiana can open doors to roles like police officer, parole officer, bailiff, FBI agent and correctional supervisor. Indiana’s statewide training requirements don’t impose a bachelor’s-degree requirement, but individual agencies set their own education and hiring standards — some accept a diploma and a clean record, others ask for college credit or prior experience. A degree may help satisfy a particular employer’s promotion requirements or preferences, but those policies vary by agency, so check your target department’s own standards rather than assuming a universal rule. CriminalJusticePrograms.com covers the curriculum, the schools and the career paths so you can make that call with real information, and you can also explore criminal justice scholarship opportunities.

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How Hiring and Training Work in Indiana

Indiana doesn’t run one statewide hiring standard. Individual departments set their own education and background requirements. Indiana State Police, for example, requires applicants to meet at least one of several additional qualifications: 60 college credits, qualifying military service, or qualifying law-enforcement experience. Other departments may ask for less.

What is standardized statewide is training, not hiring. You have to be hired by a department first. The department then sends you to complete training through the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Board. Depending on the position, that means Tier I, Tier II or Tier III training. Newly appointed officers generally have up to one year to complete the required basic training, and can perform law-enforcement duties in the meantime under prebasic training. For Tier I and Tier II classes beginning on or after August 1, 2026, candidates also have to pass ILEA’s new statewide Physical Agility Test, so fitness testing is no longer just up to the individual department.

What You’ll Actually Study

A bachelor’s in criminal justice runs four years and mixes standard general-education requirements with courses built for the field, including:

History of the Criminal Justice System
The Court Process
Professional Ethics in Criminal Justice
Criminal Law
Legal Research and Legal Writing
Evidence Collection

Some programs include or require an internship, often placed with a local criminal justice agency for a semester in the third or fourth year. A master’s degree typically takes about two years. Program focus and career applications vary by school, and some graduates move into management, teaching or consulting roles.

Paying for the Degree

Indiana residents who belong to the Indiana Sheriffs Association, or who are dependents of a member, can apply for the Indiana Sheriffs Association Scholarship. The American Criminal Justice Association also awards scholarships annually to criminal justice students nationwide.

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Indiana

Per U.S. Department of Education data, 34 institutions in Indiana offer a program somewhere in the criminal justice family, spanning certificate through doctoral level. Thirty-three are based in Indiana; one, College of Court Reporting Inc, is a distance-only program registered in the state rather than a physical campus you’d attend. Confirm current enrollment, format and admission requirements directly with any school before applying.

Institution	City	Control	Credential Levels Offered
Anderson University	Anderson, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
Ball State University	Muncie, IN	Public	Associate, Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate
Bethel University	Mishawaka, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
Calumet College of Saint Joseph	Whiting, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s
College of Court Reporting Inc (Distance-only)	Valparaiso, IN	Private for-profit	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Grace College and Theological Seminary	Winona Lake, IN	Private nonprofit	Bachelor’s
Indiana Institute of Technology	Fort Wayne, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
Indiana Institute of Technology-College of Professional Studies	Fort Wayne, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
Indiana State University	Terre Haute, IN	Public	Bachelor’s
Indiana University-Bloomington	Bloomington, IN	Public	Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate, Master’s, Doctoral
Indiana University-East	Richmond, IN	Public	Bachelor’s
Indiana University-Indianapolis	Indianapolis, IN	Public	Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate, Master’s
Indiana University-Kokomo	Kokomo, IN	Public	Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Indiana University-Northwest	Gary, IN	Public	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Indiana University-South Bend	South Bend, IN	Public	Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s
Indiana University-Southeast	New Albany, IN	Public	Bachelor’s
Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion	Marion, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s, Post-baccalaureate certificate, Master’s
Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global	Marion, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s
International Business College-Indianapolis	Indianapolis, IN	Private for-profit	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Ivy Tech Community College	Indianapolis, IN	Public	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Manchester University	North Manchester, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
Marian University	Indianapolis, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate
Martin University	Indianapolis, IN	Private nonprofit	Bachelor’s, Post-baccalaureate certificate
Oakland City University	Oakland City, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
Purdue University Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, IN	Public	Bachelor’s
Purdue University Global	West Lafayette, IN	Public	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s, Post-baccalaureate certificate, Graduate certificate, Master’s
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College	Saint Mary of the Woods, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s, Post-baccalaureate certificate, Graduate certificate
Trine University	Angola, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s
Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses	Angola, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s
University of Evansville	Evansville, IN	Private nonprofit	Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s
University of Indianapolis	Indianapolis, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne	Fort Wayne, IN	Private nonprofit	Associate, Bachelor’s
University of Southern Indiana	Evansville, IN	Public	Bachelor’s
Vincennes University	Vincennes, IN	Public	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s

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.

Careers and Salary Outlook for Criminal Justice in Indiana

Pay and demand both depend heavily on which badge you’re after. As of May 2025 BLS wage data, here’s how three core Indiana criminal justice careers stack up, alongside where the job count is headed through 2034:

Career	Indiana Median Annual Wage	Indiana Job Growth (2024-34)
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$48,340	-8.9%
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	$73,370	+3%
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$70,340	+0.9%

Corrections is the one line here projected to shrink in Indiana, per ProjectionsCentral’s 2024-34 state data. Patrol work is growing modestly and has the highest median of the three. Detective work is roughly flat. Across all Indiana protective service occupations combined, the broader median is $48,960 a year — patrol and detective work both sit above that broader median, while corrections sits below it.

Federal roles run on a separate pay track from BLS state data, and the requirements aren’t uniform across agencies. The FBI Special Agent pathway, for instance, generally calls for a bachelor’s degree plus qualifying work experience, though candidates with certain advanced degrees can meet the standard differently. Check the current FBI posting for the full eligibility rules rather than treating this as a rule for “federal agencies” broadly. The FBI’s own career site lists a pay range of $81,000 to $129,000 for Special Agents. That figure is posted by the agency directly, not BLS wage data, and GS pay tables update annually, so confirm it’s still current before relying on it. For the full hiring process, see our guide on how to become an FBI agent.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Correctional Officers and Jailers and Police and Detectives. 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 Indiana?

Not under Indiana’s statewide training rules, but hiring standards vary by agency. Indiana State Police, for instance, requires 60 college credits, qualifying military service, or qualifying law-enforcement experience in place of a degree. Once hired, every officer completes Indiana’s Law Enforcement Training Board requirements regardless of the hiring agency’s own standards.

How many schools in Indiana offer a criminal justice degree?

34 institutions in Indiana offer a program somewhere in the criminal justice family, per U.S. Department of Education data, ranging from certificates through a doctorate. That count spans public universities, private nonprofits, and a couple of for-profit and distance-only programs.

What’s the best-paying criminal justice career in Indiana?

Among the roles with state-level BLS data, Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers lead at a median $73,370 a year, ahead of Detectives and Criminal Investigators at $70,340. Federal roles like FBI Special Agent can pay more, but they run on a separate GS pay scale rather than these BLS figures.

Is corrections a growing field in Indiana?

Not currently. Indiana’s Correctional Officers and Jailers occupation is projected to shrink about 8.9% between 2024 and 2034, per state ProjectionsCentral data, even though the job itself isn’t going away anytime soon.

Key Takeaways

No universal degree requirement – Indiana’s statewide training rules don’t require a college degree for most police jobs, but individual agencies set their own hiring standards, so check your target department directly.
34 schools, every credential level – Indiana’s criminal justice programs run from certificates to a Ph.D. at Indiana University-Bloomington.
Patrol has the highest median pay of the three core paths – $73,370 as of May 2025, ahead of detective and corrections work.
Corrections is projected to shrink, patrol and detective work aren’t – Worth weighing if long-term job stability matters to you.

Not sure how you’ll pay for it? Compare the featured programs above, or look at the scholarships built specifically for criminal justice majors before you take out a loan.