Criminal Justice Schools in Austin: Programs, Pay, and Hiring

Updated September 24, 2026

Austin has four Austin-area institutions identified in the federal dataset for criminal justice study: Austin Community College, Huston-Tillotson, Saint Edward’s, and UT Austin. Austin Police Department cadets start at $67,000 during the roughly eight-month academy, moving to $78,627 at graduation. Entry-level protective service jobs elsewhere run high-$30,000s to $50,000s, per May 2025 BLS data.

The Austin Police Department runs more than two dozen specialized divisions (Austin Police Department), each with its own hiring needs and training requirements. Whether you’re eyeing patrol, corrections, or a courtroom job, the first decision is how much school you want under your belt before you apply. Here’s what that decision looks like in Austin, school by school and dollar by dollar.

Featured Programs:

Where Else Can You Study Criminal Justice in Texas?

What Will You Study for a Criminal Justice Degree in Austin?

ACC’s associate degree in Criminal Justice covers criminal justice policy, law, and the court system, plus hands-on firearms, tactics, and emergency-response training at the college’s Public Safety Training Center. It’s built as a two-year foundation, whether you go straight into the field afterward or transfer into a bachelor’s program. Credits may transfer toward a four-year criminal justice degree, but transfer agreements vary by receiving institution, so confirm applicability with the school before you enroll.

Cost varies a lot by school. Saint Edward’s University lists $25,749 per term for full-time undergraduate tuition (Fall 2026/Spring 2027), plus a $450 comprehensive fee each semester. Confirm current tuition with each school’s financial aid office directly; it changes every catalog year.

Austin also has a working professional network you can plug into as a student:

Where Can You Study Criminal Justice in Austin?

Four schools in Austin run a criminal-justice-related program, confirmed directly against each school’s current site as of September 2026:

Institution	Control	Confirmed Program(s)	Credential Level
Austin Community College District	Public	Criminal Justice, Paralegal (Legal Support Services), and Fire Protection Technology	Associate’s and certificates (varies by program)
Huston-Tillotson University	Private nonprofit	Criminal Justice	Bachelor’s
Saint Edward’s University	Private nonprofit	Criminal Justice and Forensic Science	Bachelor’s
The University of Texas at Austin	Public	Criminal Law, Justice & Inequality (Bridging Disciplines Program)	Undergraduate certificate

ACC, Huston-Tillotson, Saint Edward’s, and UT Austin all confirm these programs on their own sites, so this table doesn’t just repeat the federal CIP classification, which groups related fields like fire protection, legal studies, and security science under broader categories that don’t always match a school’s actual program name. Program details, admission requirements, and current tuition can still change between catalog years; confirm directly with the school before applying.

School and program data cross-referenced against the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, institution file May 2025 and field-of-study file April 2025, and each institution’s own program pages. Data accessed September 2026.

What Does a Criminal Justice Career Pay in Austin?

Occupation	Median Annual Wage	Coverage Area
Security Guards	$37,920	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro
Correctional Officers and Jailers	$59,470	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro
Bailiffs	$60,300	Texas (no Austin-metro figure published)
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	$78,970	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives	$129,690	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metro

Applying directly to the Austin Police Department is another path, at any degree level. Starting pay is $67,000 during the roughly eight-month academy, per APD’s own recruiting figures, stepping up to $78,627 at graduation and $92,647 at your one-year anniversary of graduation.

Federal work runs on its own separate pay scale. FBI Special Agents enter at the GL-10 federal law enforcement grade, base $59,999 under OPM’s 2026 pay schedule, before locality pay and the 25% law enforcement availability differential every special agent receives. A bachelor’s degree is mandatory, but it’s not enough on its own: the GL-10 track also requires two years of full-time professional work experience, or one year with an advanced degree. A separate GL-9 track exists for candidates with a bachelor’s plus one year of sworn law enforcement experience, or an advanced degree alone, per current FBI Special Agent eligibility requirements.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Security Guards, Correctional Officers and Jailers, Bailiffs, Detectives and Criminal Investigators, and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives. Figures reflect city and state data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed September 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a college degree to become a police officer in Austin?

Not for the Austin Police Department’s own hiring process. APD’s minimum qualifications and multi-step selection don’t require a degree, though your background, testing scores, and interview performance all factor into whether you get an offer. Once selected, cadets complete APD’s own Regular Academy, roughly 32 weeks and 1,280 hours, followed by field training. Texas peace-officer licensing itself runs through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), a separate state licensing body from APD’s own hiring process. Federal agencies are different: the FBI requires a bachelor’s degree plus qualifying work experience for every Special Agent.

What’s a common path into criminal justice work in Austin?

Many people start with an associate degree, like ACC’s Criminal Justice program, which covers the court system, law, and hands-on tactical training. The degree alone doesn’t guarantee a job, though. Each agency sets its own hiring, licensing, and background requirements, so check your target employer’s specific qualifications before you enroll.

How much do entry-level criminal justice jobs pay in Austin?

Security guard and correctional officer roles in the Austin metro run $37,920 to $59,470 a year, per May 2025 BLS data. Detective and supervisory roles pay considerably more, though the jump between them depends on the agency’s own promotion and experience requirements, not the degree by itself.

Which Austin school should I choose for a criminal justice degree?

It depends on the credential you want. ACC covers associate degrees and certificates in Criminal Justice, Paralegal Studies, and Fire Protection Technology; Huston-Tillotson, Saint Edward’s, and UT Austin serve the bachelor’s and certificate tier. Confirm current program details with each school directly before applying.

Key Takeaways

Four confirmed programs, four schools – ACC, Huston-Tillotson, Saint Edward’s, and UT Austin each run a currently active criminal-justice-related program, verified against each school’s own site.
APD runs its own pathway – A roughly 32-week, 1,280-hour Regular Academy that follows APD’s own selection process. A degree isn’t required to apply, though TCOLE governs the state license every graduate ultimately needs.
Wages vary a lot by role – Entry-level protective service work and detective or supervisory work pay very differently, per May 2025 BLS data, though hiring and promotion requirements are set agency by agency.
Confirm before you enroll – Program names, tuition, and agency hiring requirements change year to year. Verify current details directly with the school or agency, not just this page.

If tuition is what’s holding you back, talk to each school’s financial aid office and file the FAFSA before you rule out the four-year track. Federal aid, state grants, and school-specific scholarships can close a lot of that gap.

Looking beyond this city? Read the full guide to Criminal Justice Schools in Texas.