What Will I Learn in a Juvenile Justice Degree Program?

Earning a degree in juvenile justice will teach you how to work with children and teenagers in the criminal justice system. You'll learn how to help the youth of America get their lives back on track and stay out of trouble. Your studies will focus on the skills and knowledge you need to help reduce juvenile crime and keep juvenile criminals from growing up into adult ones. Subjects studied in this degree program will include crime, psychology, corrections, policing, probation, counseling the justice system, family services and crime prevention.

BSCJ in Juvenile Justice

What Can I Do With a Juvenile Justice Degree?

Many juvenile justice students enter the program in order to become parole or probation officers. These careers offer the opportunity to work one on one with juvenile offenders and help them improve their lives. The juvenile justice system focuses on rehabilitation over punishment, and many workers will focus on community based rehabilitation for young offenders. Your job title may be juvenile mental health counselor, child protective services worker, juvenile probation officer, juvenile corrections caseworker, juvenile court referee or school resource officer. After earning this degree you may want to go to law school in order to work as an attorney or judge within the juvenile justice system.

What Is the Career Outlook for Juvenile Justice Degree Students?

Juvenile justice degree students, particularly those who choose to become probation officers or correctional treatment specialists, will have faster than average growth in their occupation through 2018, with excellent job opportunities. States are increasingly focusing on the need for rehabilitation and alternate forms of punishment, and probation is at the center of this type of treatment for offenders, especially those in the juvenile justice system. You can expect to find many openings available to you, as well as a good salary.