What do you learn in a bachelor's in law enforcement?

Earning a bachelor's in law enforcement degree can be a powerful stepping stone toward a wide array of careers.

Discover what you'll learn in a bachelor's in law enforcement program, and find out what requirements you'll need to meet to graduate.

What to expect from a law enforcement bachelor's program

Whether you're pursuing a bachelor's degree in law enforcement, criminology, criminal justice, or a related field, the primary underlying focus is the same. The common theme is teaching an understanding of how the law works, how to implement or enforce it, and how it may impact people.

Degrees in criminal justice and criminology focus more heavily on this. In contrast, psychology and political science degrees will not be as focused on law enforcement in particular but will provide opportunities to learn the same information through electives.

The less focused options may offer unique opportunities to pursue more niche jobs. For example, a degree in psychology may help more with being a criminal profiler, victim advocate, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) behavior analyst, or crime analyst, as it helps you understand the nature of criminals and victims.

Bachelor's in law enforcement curriculum

Depending on your chosen degree, your core curriculum will be different. However, here are a few common courses you may see and the degree programs with which they are most often associated:

• Economics of crime (criminology degree): This course teaches students how economic factors can influence a person's criminal behavior and how crime can affect the economics of a community.
• Motivation (psychology degree): This course teaches how motivation can influence people's actions, which is highly applicable to understanding criminal motives.
• Comparative law (political science degree): This course teaches students how laws and the legal system work across local and international jurisdictions.

Specializations and concentrations

Your first choice in the specialization of a bachelor's in law enforcement is determining which degree program you want to choose. The best course of action is to work backward from the career or group of careers that you're most interested in and find the degree that best supports that.

For example, a psychology degree might be the most fitting for you if you want to work for the FBI as a behavior analyst. A criminal justice or criminology degree might be the best fit if you want to work as a probation officer.

From there, you'll have additional specialization options through your higher-level elective class selections. These may include:

• Forensic science
• Homeland security
• Crisis management
• Case management

Graduation requirements for a law enforcement bachelor's degree

Each of the degrees mentioned above is a four-year program that requires 120 credit hours to graduate. You'll need to complete a set number of general elective credits that will be quite similar across each degree program, and you'll then need to complete core courses and electives specific to the degree you selected.

Each degree will have some sort of capstone requirement, which may be a special project or an internship where you'll be asked to demonstrate what you've learned through your studies. For example, if you choose a degree in criminal justice, you may be asked to complete an internship with a group such as a local police department, a federal agency, a victim advocacy organization, or a local court.

Explore bachelor's degrees in law enforcement

Are you ready to delve deeper into the wide world of law enforcement? Then check out edX's courses and programs in law enforcement and get started today.