Criminal Justice Programs in Milwaukee, WI

Updated September 28, 2026

Milwaukee criminal justice jobs run through the Milwaukee Police Department, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and education requirements vary by role. MPD doesn’t require a degree to apply, but Wisconsin law requires its officers to earn 60 college credits or an associate degree within five years of hire.

Milwaukee runs on rotating shifts, and that’s the first thing to know before you chase a badge or a caseload here. Whether you end up patrolling the city’s police districts, working intake at the county jail, or investigating cases for the Sheriff’s Office, you’ll work nights, weekends, and holidays before you ever work a 9-to-5. Here’s how the jobs, the training, and the degree options actually break down in Milwaukee.

The first step to a criminal justice career in Milwaukee is picking a program, and the city doesn’t leave you short of options.

Featured Programs:

Criminal Justice Careers in Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Police Department is the largest employer in the field here, running patrol, investigations, and community liaison work across the city’s police districts. Correctional and courtroom-security roles sit with the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.

Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB), part of the Wisconsin Department of Justice, sets the state’s employment, education, and training standards for law enforcement, tribal law enforcement, jail, and juvenile-detention officers. Its current Basic Law Enforcement Academy runs for 720 hours. Jail officers train separately, through the 200-hour Basic Jail Officer Academy. Wisconsin allows two paths into the law-enforcement academy: agency-sponsored, where a department hires you first and pays for training, and pre-service, where you complete a qualifying academy program on your own before you apply, subject to its own admission and education requirements.

The Milwaukee Police Department doesn’t require a degree to apply. Its selection process, run through the city’s Fire and Police Commission, includes a written exam, physical-ability testing, an oral assessment, a background investigation, and medical, drug, and psychological screening. That process is specific to MPD, not a statewide standard. Once hired, though, Wisconsin law requires MPD officers to complete at least 60 college credits or earn an associate degree within five years of employment.

No matter where you live in Milwaukee, the Milwaukee County Transit System runs bus service across the city and into the surrounding county, so getting to class, a job, or an internship doesn’t require a car.

Associate vs. Bachelor’s: Choosing Your Milwaukee CJ Degree

Your two main options are an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree. At MPD, detective, sergeant, and lieutenant openings are internal competitive promotions open to members who meet the department’s own minimum qualifications, not degree-gated entry points, so don’t assume a bachelor’s buys you a faster route to detective work. A bachelor’s degree is required for FBI Special Agent eligibility, but the degree alone doesn’t qualify you. The FBI also requires qualifying professional experience. Tuition varies a lot by school and residency status. UW-Milwaukee posts current cost estimates by residency and program level on its own site, and every school in the table below does the same. Get a quote directly from admissions before you commit.

Coursework in a Milwaukee-area CJ program can include topics like criminal law, policing procedure, corrections procedure, and forensic science, split between lecture and hands-on labs. The exact mix depends on the school, so check a program’s own course catalog for what it actually teaches.

Joining a local organization while you study can pay off in contacts before you have a resume. Worth a look: the Paralegal Association of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Police Association, and the Professional Association of Wisconsin Licensed Investigators.

Where to Study Criminal Justice in Milwaukee

Per U.S. Department of Education data, four institutions physically located in Milwaukee offer a Criminal Justice and Corrections program at some credential level:

Institution	Type	Criminal Justice Credential(s)	Also Offers (Adjacent Programs)
Milwaukee Area Technical College	Public, 2-year	Associate, undergraduate certificate	Legal Support Services (associate, certificate), Fire Protection (associate), and Security Science and Technology (certificate)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	Public, 4-year	Bachelor’s, master’s, undergraduate certificate	Security Science and Technology (certificate)
Wisconsin Lutheran College	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s	None
Mount Mary University	Private nonprofit, 4-year	Bachelor’s	None

Milwaukee Area Technical College’s and UW-Milwaukee’s criminal justice programs are both confirmed active in their current course catalogs. Confirm enrollment status, format, and admission requirements for all four schools directly with each one before applying. 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.

Job Outlook and Salaries for Criminal Justice Careers in Milwaukee

Milwaukee-area BLS wage data for May 2025 covers five separate protective-service occupations, not a single career ladder. Security Guards earn a median of $37,870 a year in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro. Correctional Officers and Jailers earn $63,910. Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers earn $82,090. Detectives and Criminal Investigators earn $92,910. First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives earn $105,680. These are occupational medians, not a progression an individual worker moves through, and none of them represents the Milwaukee Police Department’s own pay scale. MPD doesn’t publish a wage figure that BLS verifies separately, so check the department’s current job listing for its actual starting pay and any education-based pay incentives.

Wisconsin’s 2024-34 growth projections show a 1.4 percent statewide decline for Security Guards, with about 1,520 average annual openings. Correctional Officers and Jailers face a 9.3 percent decline, with about 480 average annual openings. Detectives and Criminal Investigators are down 1 percent, with about 100 average annual openings. Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives are both roughly flat at -0.5 percent, with about 880 and 120 average annual openings, respectively. These are Wisconsin state-level projections, separate from the BLS wage figures above.

May 2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Security Guards, 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 Milwaukee-area wage data and Wisconsin state-level growth projections, 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 Milwaukee?

Not to apply. The Milwaukee Police Department doesn’t require a degree for entry, but Wisconsin law requires its officers to complete 60 college credits or earn an associate degree within five years of hire. Other Wisconsin law enforcement agencies set their own hiring requirements, so check with the specific department you’re applying to.

What’s the Wisconsin law enforcement academy like?

Wisconsin’s Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB) certifies the state’s Basic Law Enforcement Academy, currently 720 hours. Jail officers go through a separate, shorter track, the 200-hour Basic Jail Officer Academy. You can enter through an agency that hires you first and sponsors your training, or through a qualifying pre-service academy program before you’re hired.

How does MPD’s hiring process work?

The Milwaukee Police Department’s selection process, run through the city’s Fire and Police Commission, includes a written exam, physical-ability testing, an oral assessment, a background investigation, and medical, drug, and psychological screening. This process is specific to MPD, not a statewide standard.

How much do police officers make in Milwaukee?

Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers in the Milwaukee-Waukesha metro earn a median $82,090 a year, per May 2025 BLS data. That’s an occupational figure, not MPD’s specific pay scale. Check MPD’s own recruitment page for its actual starting pay and any education-based pay incentives.

Which Milwaukee schools offer criminal justice degrees?

Four institutions in Milwaukee carry a Criminal Justice and Corrections program in federal education data: Milwaukee Area Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Mount Mary University. Confirm current enrollment and program details directly with each school.

Key Takeaways

MPD’s degree rule kicks in after hire, not before – Wisconsin law requires MPD officers to earn 60 college credits or an associate degree within five years of employment. A degree isn’t required to apply.
Police and jail training are two different Wisconsin tracks – LESB’s 720-hour Basic Law Enforcement Academy and 200-hour Basic Jail Officer Academy are separate certifications, not interchangeable training.
Five careers, five separate wage figures – Security Guards, Correctional Officers, Patrol Officers, Detectives, and Police Supervisors are distinct BLS occupations in the Milwaukee area, not steps on one ladder.
Four schools, right in the city – Milwaukee Area Technical College, UW-Milwaukee, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Mount Mary University all carry a CJ-family program, per federal education data.

Each of these jobs comes with its own statutory training standard, agency hiring process, and certification path. Check the specific department or Wisconsin’s LESB requirements for the role you want before you commit to a program.

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