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Learn about Criminal Justice Programs in Detroit

Detroit’s criminal justice path runs through three local schools, Wayne State University, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne County Community College District, and a Detroit Police Department organized into 12 precincts. Sworn officers statewide are licensed through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), separate from any degree. As of May 2025 BLS data, Detroit-area detectives earn a median $95,820 a year, while security guards earn a median $37,050.

When something goes wrong in Detroit, from a break-in on the east side to a fraud case downtown, the people who respond come up through a specific pipeline: a state licensing process, then an agency’s own hiring standards on top of it. Detroit gives you more starting points than a lot of cities its size: a major municipal department, a federal presence, and three schools that actually teach the coursework.

The Detroit Police Department is organized into 12 precincts across the city, so where you’re assigned matters as much as what rank you hold. DPD is your employer, but Michigan’s statewide licensing body is separate: the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES) sets the baseline every sworn officer in the state has to meet, including a Pre-Enrollment Reading and Writing Test and a Pre-Enrollment Physical Fitness Test scored by age and gender, before you can enroll in an MCOLES-approved academy. Individual agencies, including DPD, can require more than MCOLES’ statewide minimum, so read DPD’s own posting rather than assuming one state standard covers everything.

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Where to Study Criminal Justice in Detroit

Three institutions based in Detroit offer a criminal-justice-family program, per U.S. Department of Education data: Wayne State University, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne County Community College District.

School	Credential Levels Offered	Type
University of Detroit Mercy	Bachelor’s, Master’s (Criminal Justice), plus Legal Support Services credentials	Private nonprofit, 4-year
Wayne State University	Bachelor’s, Master’s (Criminal Justice)	Public, 4-year
Wayne County Community College District	Associate, undergraduate certificate in Criminal Justice, plus separate Homeland Security and Fire Protection certificates	Public, 2-year

Tuition varies sharply between these three. At University of Detroit Mercy, 2026-27 undergraduate tuition runs $17,138 per term for 12 to 18 credit hours, or $34,276 across a full fall/winter year, which is worth weighing against Wayne State’s public in-state rate or a two-year start at Wayne County Community College District before transferring.

This isn’t the only way in. You don’t have to limit your search to schools inside city limits. The Detroit Department of Transportation runs bus service across the metro area, with student fares roughly 50% below standard rates, so a campus in a neighboring suburb is still reachable without a car.

Confirm current enrollment, program format, and admission requirements directly with any school before you apply. Federal education data reports what a school told the Department of Education as of last year, not necessarily what’s enrolling students today.

Course subjects for a criminal justice program typically include law enforcement, criminology, police procedures, and internet crime, though the exact lineup and any concentration options vary by school and catalog year. Confirm current course offerings directly with whichever program you’re considering.

If you want field experience before you graduate, ask your program directly about internship or practicum options, since availability and structure differ from school to school. Detroit also has established criminal justice organizations worth knowing regardless of where you study: the Detroit Police Officers Association and the Michigan Council of Professional Investigators are both active in the local field.

What Detroit Criminal Justice Careers Pay (May 2025 BLS Data)

Occupation	Detroit-Metro Median Annual Wage
Security Guards	$37,050
Bailiffs	$55,750
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$67,920
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	$78,450
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$95,820
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$98,140

As of May 2025 BLS data for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area, these six occupations span a wide pay range: security guards have the lowest median at $37,050, and first-line supervisors of police and detectives have the highest at $98,140. Each is tracked as its own separate BLS occupational category, not a step on a single ladder, so use this table to compare roles rather than to plan a promotion path.

Federal work runs on a different pay scale entirely. The FBI posts its own special agent pay information rather than reporting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since FBI agents aren’t broken out as a distinct BLS occupation. If you’re weighing the FBI’s Detroit presence, get current figures directly from the FBI’s own hiring pages rather than this table, since federal pay scales run on their own schedule.

Job growth in Michigan is not uniform, and it doesn’t do the field any favors to say otherwise. Michigan’s 2024-34 ProjectionsCentral figures show Correctional Officers and Jailers declining 9.2%, Bailiffs down 3.7%, and Detectives and Criminal Investigators down 1.8%, while Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives are each projected to grow 1.2%. These projections also track average annual openings for each role, meaning any position that comes open for any reason, not just newly created ones: Michigan projects a range from 70 openings a year for bailiffs up to more than 3,000 a year for security guards.

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

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a degree to work in criminal justice in Detroit?

Not for the badge itself. Sworn officers in Michigan are licensed through the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards (MCOLES), which requires a reading and writing test, a physical fitness test, and a completed academy, not a college degree. Individual agencies, including the Detroit Police Department, can add their own hiring requirements on top of that baseline.

What schools in Detroit offer criminal justice degrees?

Three schools based in the city do, per federal education data: Wayne State University and University of Detroit Mercy both offer bachelor’s and master’s programs, and Wayne County Community College District offers an associate degree and certificate route.

How much do criminal justice jobs in Detroit pay?

It depends heavily on the role. As of May 2025 BLS data for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area, security guards earn a median $37,050, while detectives earn a median $95,820.

Is the job market growing for criminal justice careers in Michigan?

Not evenly. Michigan’s 2024-34 projections show declines for correctional officers, bailiffs, and detectives, while patrol officers and police supervisors are each projected to grow about 1.2%. Openings still occur across all of these roles every year, from dozens for bailiffs to thousands for security guards.

Key Takeaways

Three real school options exist in Detroit proper – Wayne State University, University of Detroit Mercy, and Wayne County Community College District, spanning associate through master’s credentials.
Michigan licensing runs through MCOLES, not just the badge – every sworn officer statewide passes a MCOLES reading/writing test, physical fitness test, and academy before agencies like DPD add their own hiring standards.
Pay depends heavily on role – the gap between a security guard’s median ($37,050) and a police/detective supervisor’s ($98,140) reflects six distinct BLS occupations, not one career ladder.
Growth is uneven, not universally strong – several roles are projected to shrink in Michigan through 2034, while patrol officers and supervisors are projected to grow modestly.

Whichever direction you’re weighing, confirm the numbers before you commit. Tuition changes every academic year, MCOLES requirements get updated on their own schedule, and a program’s current catalog is the only reliable answer for what a specific school actually offers this term.