Criminal Justice Programs in Wisconsin

Updated September 17, 2026

Wisconsin employs more than 54,000 people in protective service occupations, according to May 2025 BLS wage data, with median pay ranging from $39,080 for bailiffs to $91,040 for detectives and criminal investigators. Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Standards Board requires officers to hold an associate degree or 60 accredited college credits, usually completed within five years of starting the job, on top of academy training. Wisconsin has 39 institutions offering a criminal-justice-family program if you want to get ahead of that requirement.

State Agency: Wisconsin Department of Justice

Wisconsin was home to an estimated 5.97 million people as of July 1, 2025, per the U.S. Census Bureau. If you’re considering a career in law enforcement, corrections, or the courts here, you’re stepping into a field with steady demand and a real decision to make about how much schooling to get first. Here’s what the job market, the training path, and the degree options actually look like.

Overview

The Wisconsin Department of Justice tracks crime data through its Bureau of Justice Information and Analysis, including the state’s violent crime rate. If you go into law enforcement here, you’re stepping directly into that data, not just the version of it you’ve seen on the news.

Criminal Justice Education in Wisconsin

Most CJ degrees are structured as a general education in the field rather than a narrow specialty, because the career paths a graduate can enter include patrol work, corrections, the courts, federal agencies, and private security. Some Wisconsin schools offer concentrations in juvenile corrections or court administration if you already know which direction you’re headed.

Featured Programs:

Major Wisconsin Cities

Milwaukee

Search Your State

Concordia University, St. Paul offers flexible online criminal justice programs aligned with the set of skills the Wisconsin Department of Health Services identifies as essential for criminal justice professionals. Learn more about the criminal justice, forensic behavioral health, CJ leadership, and other related programs available online through CSP Global.

A four-year program will walk you through the core of the system rather than a single job within it. Expect coursework in:

Criminal Law: the statutes and case law that define what’s prosecutable and how.
American Crime and Justice Systems: how police, courts, and corrections function as one pipeline, not three separate jobs.
Criminal Justice History: how the system got to its current form, including the policy shifts that still shape it.
Racial Relations and Ethics: the trust gap this field works against, and what accountability looks like in practice.
Research and Reporting: the writing and data skills every report, warrant application, and case file demands.

If your program offers an internship, take it. It’s the difference between reading about the job and standing in a booking room while it happens. Several Wisconsin schools also offer introductory coursework online, which helps if you’re balancing school with a job or family.

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Wisconsin

39 Wisconsin institutions offer programs in the criminal justice family (criminal justice, legal support, homeland security, fire protection, security science, or a related credential), according to U.S. Department of Education data. All 39 are in-state programs; none in this dataset are distance-only. Confirm current enrollment, format, and admission requirements directly with any school before applying, since federal data lags a school’s live catalog.

Institution	City	Control / Type	Credential Levels Offered
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Milwaukee	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s, Master’s, Undergraduate certificate
University of Wisconsin-Platteville	Platteville	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s, Master’s
Milwaukee Area Technical College	Milwaukee	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Madison Area Technical College	Madison	Public, 4-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate, Graduate certificate, Post-baccalaureate certificate
Fox Valley Technical College	Appleton	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Marian University	Fond Du Lac	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s, Master’s, Graduate certificate
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	Eau Claire	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh	Oshkosh	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s
University of Wisconsin-Parkside	Kenosha	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s
University of Wisconsin-Superior	Superior	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s, Undergraduate certificate
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	Whitewater	Public, 4-year	Undergraduate certificate
Concordia University-Wisconsin	Mequon	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Associate, Bachelor’s
Carroll University	Waukesha	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s
Carthage College	Kenosha	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s, Undergraduate certificate
Edgewood College	Madison	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s
Viterbo University	La Crosse	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s
Mount Mary University	Milwaukee	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s
Wisconsin Lutheran College	Milwaukee	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s
Ottawa University-Milwaukee	Brookfield	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s
Bryant & Stratton College-Wauwatosa	Wauwatosa	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Associate, Bachelor’s, Undergraduate certificate
Herzing University-Brookfield	Brookfield	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Associate, Bachelor’s
Herzing University-Kenosha	Kenosha	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Associate, Bachelor’s
Herzing University-Madison	Madison	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Associate, Bachelor’s
Rasmussen University-Wisconsin	Green Bay	Private for-profit, 4-year	Associate, Bachelor’s, Undergraduate certificate
Maranatha Baptist University	Watertown	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Associate
College of Menominee Nation	Keshena	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Undergraduate certificate
Blackhawk Technical College	Janesville	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Chippewa Valley Technical College	Eau Claire	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Gateway Technical College	Kenosha	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Lakeshore Technical College	Cleveland	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Mid-State Technical College	Wisconsin Rapids	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Moraine Park Technical College	Fond du Lac	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Nicolet Area Technical College	Rhinelander	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Northcentral Technical College	Wausau	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Northeast Wisconsin Technical College	Green Bay	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Northwood Technical College	Rice Lake	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College	Fennimore	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Waukesha County Technical College	Pewaukee	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate
Western Technical College	La Crosse	Public, 2-year	Associate, Undergraduate certificate

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.

If you’re pursuing a criminal justice degree in Wisconsin and need funding, note that the Katherine Prichard Benz Award is a UW–Madison School of Social Work scholarship, not a general criminal-justice award, so check whether your program qualifies. The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives also offers scholarships, though eligibility varies by chapter and award.

You can also find criminal justice scholarship opportunities by clicking here.

What Criminal Justice Careers Pay in Wisconsin

Wisconsin employs more than 54,000 people in protective service occupations statewide, earning a median annual wage of $60,110, as of the May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data. That figure covers everything from security guards to state troopers, so the number for your specific job will vary from there.

Occupation	Wisconsin Employment	Median Annual Wage	2024-34 Job Growth (Wisconsin)
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers	12,320	$78,090	-0.5%
Detectives and Criminal Investigators	1,640	$91,040	-1.0%
Paralegals and Legal Assistants	4,780	$58,500	-1.2%
Bailiffs	250	$39,080	-6.1%

None of these four occupations is projected to add jobs in Wisconsin over the 2024-34 period, per ProjectionsCentral’s long-term outlook. Although employment is projected to decline in these occupations, openings can still occur as workers leave the occupation or the workforce. Bailiff openings are shrinking fastest at -6.1%, which tracks with a small occupation base of 250 workers statewide.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for police and detectives, correctional officers and bailiffs, paralegals and legal assistants, and the broader protective service field. 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 Wisconsin?

Wisconsin law-enforcement officers must meet Wisconsin Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB) requirements, including an associate degree or 60 accredited college credits. That college-credit requirement can generally be completed within five years of starting law-enforcement employment, and academy, hiring, and agency-specific requirements also apply.

How much do criminal justice jobs pay in Wisconsin?

It depends heavily on the role. As of May 2025 BLS data, bailiffs earn a median of $39,080, patrol officers $78,090, and detectives $91,040. Paralegals and legal assistants sit at $58,500.

Where can I study criminal justice in Wisconsin?

Thirty-nine Wisconsin institutions offer programs in the criminal justice family, according to federal education data, ranging from technical college associate degrees to bachelor’s and master’s programs at UW system schools. The table above lists them by city and credential level.

Is the job outlook gor criminal justice careers in Wisconsin? growing

Not currently. The four Wisconsin occupations with state-level projections (patrol officers, detectives, paralegals, and bailiffs) are all projected to be flat to decline through 2034, per ProjectionsCentral. However, openings can still occur as workers leave these roles.

Key Takeaways

Wisconsin employs over 54,000 people in protective service occupations, earning a median of $60,110 a year as of May 2025 BLS data.
Patrol officers and detectives lead on pay — $78,090 and $91,040 median annually — while bailiffs sit lowest at $39,080.
39 in-state institutions offer a criminal-justice-family program, per federal education data, covering associate through master’s credentials.
Job growth is flat to declining across the four tracked occupations through 2034, though openings can still occur as workers leave these roles.
A completed degree may not be required at hire, but Wisconsin LESB standards require an associate degree or 60 accredited college credits, generally within five years of starting law-enforcement employment.

Worried about paying for the degree? The scholarships guide lists awards built for criminal justice majors, with eligibility, amounts, and deadlines.

Read: Scholarships for Criminal Justice Majors and Grad Students