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Criminal Justice Schools in Philadelphia

Philadelphia runs one of the country’s largest police departments, with career paths in patrol, corrections, court reporting, and private security. Eleven area schools offer a criminal justice program at some level, per federal education data, from a Community College of Philadelphia certificate to a Temple University doctorate. Pay and hiring rules vary by role and agency, so confirm both directly.

The Philadelphia Police Department is the biggest criminal justice employer in the city, and one of the biggest in the country. It runs 21 districts with more than 6,300 sworn officers and 800 civilian staff. If you’ve thought about wearing the badge, working corrections, or handling the legal side of the system, Philadelphia gives you more entry points into the field than most cities this size.

Not every one of those paths runs through a degree program first. Security, corrections, and some legal-support roles hire through their own process, not a classroom. For the paths that do involve a degree or certificate, Philadelphia and its suburbs run from community colleges to research universities, and none of them require you to live within walking distance. SEPTA covers the city and connects into the surrounding counties, with discounted student passes, so a school across town or in a suburb is still a realistic commute.

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Getting Your Degree in Philadelphia

Associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees, and certificates are all available locally, and which one makes sense depends on the specific role you’re after. Security, policing, corrections, legal support, and court careers don’t share one education path. An associate program typically runs four full-time semesters split between general education and core coursework. Some programs build in an internship, but check the specific school’s curriculum rather than assuming it’s standard.

A bachelor’s goes further into coursework like cybercrime, identity theft, and criminal investigation. Program structure, including whether a specialty track exists and what it qualifies you for, varies by school and by employer. Check both a program’s own curriculum and a target agency’s hiring criteria before assuming one leads to the other.

Cost depends heavily on public versus private. Temple University’s 2026–27 base full-time tuition is $10,188 a semester ($20,376 a year) for Pennsylvania residents and $18,300 a semester ($36,600 a year) for non-residents, plus $549 a term in mandatory fees. Actual cost varies by school or college within Temple. Filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) every year is the standard first move for figuring out what federal aid you qualify for before you commit to either number.

Local professional groups are worth joining once you’re in a program: the Pennsylvania Prison Society, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5, and the Philadelphia Association of Paralegals all give students a way into the local network before graduation.

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Philadelphia

Eleven Philadelphia institutions offer a criminal-justice-family program at some credential level, per federal education data. Confirm current enrollment, format, and admission requirements directly with any school before applying.

Institution	Control	Credential Levels Offered
Temple University	Public	Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate, Master’s, Doctoral
Community College of Philadelphia	Public	Undergraduate certificate, Associate
Drexel University	Private nonprofit	Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate, Master’s
La Salle University	Private nonprofit	Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate, Master’s
Thomas Jefferson University	Private nonprofit	Bachelor’s, Graduate certificate, Master’s
Holy Family University	Private nonprofit	Bachelor’s, Master’s
Chestnut Hill College	Private nonprofit	Undergraduate certificate, Bachelor’s
Peirce College	Private nonprofit	Undergraduate certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s, Post-baccalaureate certificate
Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine	Private nonprofit	Master’s
Saint Joseph’s University	Private nonprofit	Master’s
Orleans Technical College	Private nonprofit	Associate

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.

Pay and Job Outlook for Philadelphia Criminal Justice Careers

The Philadelphia Police Department sets its own pay scale separately from BLS occupational data, and departments update these figures on their own schedule — check the department’s salary and benefits page directly for current starting and top-step pay rather than relying on a number here.

Outside patrol, pay varies a lot by role. As of May 2025, BLS wage data for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area, Correctional Officers and Jailers earn a median $67,200 a year, while Pennsylvania’s long-term employment projection for the role is a 7.6% decline through 2034, per ProjectionsCentral. Detectives and Criminal Investigators sit at the other end, with a median $97,580 and a 0.7% statewide growth projection over the same period.

Occupation	Philadelphia Metro Median Annual Wage
Security Guards	$42,180
Bailiffs	$47,600
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$67,200
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$97,580
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers	$98,300

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Security Guards, Bailiffs and Correctional Officers, and Detectives and Criminal Investigators. Long-term (2024-34) job growth projections from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, ProjectionsCentral. Figures reflect city and state 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 Philadelphia police officer?

No, and Pennsylvania’s requirements for municipal police run through a specific state process, not a degree. The Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) sets the certification path: complete an MPOETC-approved Act 120 basic training course, currently 919 hours, then pass the state certification examination, a 200-question test requiring a score of at least 70%. Completing training and passing the exam doesn’t make you certified on its own — you also have to be hired by a municipal department, meet MPOETC’s certification qualifications (which include having no disqualifying criminal conviction of a misdemeanor of the second degree or higher), and have that department submit your certification application. This is Pennsylvania’s process specifically. Other states run their own certification systems.

How much do criminal justice jobs pay in the Philadelphia area?

It depends heavily on the role. As of May 2025 BLS data for the Philadelphia metro area, Security Guards median $42,180 a year, Correctional Officers and Jailers median $67,200, and Detectives and Criminal Investigators median $97,580. These are occupational medians, not a reflection of what a particular degree or promotion adds. A patrol officer’s pay is set by that agency’s own scale rather than the BLS categories above.

Which Philadelphia schools offer criminal justice degrees?

Eleven institutions in the city offer a program in the criminal-justice family at some level, per federal education data, from Community College of Philadelphia’s associate and certificate tracks up through Temple University’s doctorate. The table above breaks down credential levels by school.

Is corrections a stable career choice in the Philadelphia area right now?

Pennsylvania correctional-officer employment is projected to decline 7.6% through 2034, per ProjectionsCentral. That’s an employment projection, not a measure of job security or turnover at a specific agency, so it’s worth weighing rather than treating as a verdict. Detective and criminal investigator roles are projected closer to flat over the same period, for comparison.

Key Takeaways

Philadelphia PD is a major employer – 21 districts, more than 6,300 sworn officers, and 800 civilian staff, with its own hiring and pay page separate from BLS occupational data.
Pennsylvania municipal police certification runs through MPOETC – Act 120 training (919 hours), a 200-question state exam (70% to pass), and agency hiring and certification submission, not a diploma-and-academy shortcut, and is specific to Pennsylvania.
Pay splits sharply by role – from a $42,180 median for security guards to $98,300 for correctional supervisors, per May 2025 BLS data for the Philadelphia metro area.
Corrections employment is projected to shrink – Pennsylvania’s correctional officer outlook is a 7.6% decline through 2034, while detective and investigator roles are projected closer to flat.
Eleven local schools offer a path in – from a certificate at Community College of Philadelphia to a doctorate at Temple University.

Before you commit to a program, it’s worth pricing out public versus private tuition and filing a FAFSA to see what aid you actually qualify for, since the gap between a school like Temple and a private university can run into the tens of thousands over a degree.