Criminal Justice, Public Administration and Government Degree Programs
If you are interested in starting a career or advancing your opportunities in a criminal justice, public administration, government or history related field, GCU can help you get there. With offerings at both the bachelor’s and master’s level, our highly qualified faculty members prepare students with the skills and knowledge base to pursue their professional goals. GCU offers these criminal justice, social science and political science degree programs both on campus and online.
Government study-related majors are rated as the third best college major according to The Princeton Review.1
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Choose from a large selection of bachelor programs and tailor your social science or justice studies degree to your interests. History, government and sociology are just a few of our many degrees and emphases available to students interested in becoming a political science major.
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Advance your career and gain specialized field knowledge with a criminal justice, public administration or government master’s degree. Prepare to implement your degree into your career through gaining relevant skills.
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Criminal Justice, Public Administration and Government Degrees FAQs
Career opportunities for criminal justice degree majors are vast and rewarding, allowing you to make a positive impact in your local community, nationally or on a global scale. Many criminal justice careers are involved in law enforcement, corrections, the judicial process, and prevention and intervention programs. Common careers in criminal justice public administration include:
- Detectives and criminal investigators
- Private detectives and investigators
- Police and sheriff’s patrol officers
- Bailiffs
- Criminal justice and law enforcement educators (postsecondary)
As a political science major, you will benefit from studying how laws are made and how public policy impacts the general population, both socially and economically. Many different career fields benefit from the skills learned in political science and government degree programs, including strong analytical, research, writing and verbal communication skills. Possible careers for political science majors include:
- Political scientists
- Political science educators (postsecondary)
- Public relations specialists
- Broadcast announcers
- Media and communications workers
- Writers and authors
Generally speaking, social science degree students study human behavior and relationships within a variety of settings in order to unveil common trends and their impact on individuals and the community. Degrees in sociology and psychology fall into the social science field and can prepare you for careers in many industries, including politics, marketing and business. Depending on your education level, social science majors may find careers as:
- Social and community service managers
- Marriage and family therapists
- Counselors
- Child, family and school social workers
- Healthcare social workers
- Mental health and substance abuse social workers
- Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists
In a government public administration degree program, you will study, in-depth, state and local governance, political theories, municipal government and public policy analysis. At Grand Canyon University, you will gain knowledge in the American Constitution, qualitative and quantitative research methods for politics, the impact of policy creation, and contemporary topics that affect local and state communities, such as healthcare, homeland security and environmental protections.
Grand Canyon University's online and evening programs offer the flexibility you need to get ahead, providing a quality education to help you thrive in today's complex world.
1Retrieved from The Princeton Review, Top 10 College Majors, in March 2022
2COVID-19 has adversely affected the global economy and data from 2020 may be atypical compared to prior years. The pandemic may impact the predicted future workforce outcomes indicated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as well. Accordingly, data shown is based on September 2021, which can be found here: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Police and Detectives