Legal and Public Safety
Legal and Public Safety

Criminal Justice - Associate in Arts (AA) (6050)

If you have an interest in criminal justice, police work or law enforcement support services, HACC’s Criminal Justice Program can put you on the path to a rewarding career. After earning your Associate in Arts (AA) degree, we can help you determine your interests and transfer your credits to a four-year college. Eagerly YOURS, our admissions counselors and the social science department chair, Mark Nelson, can answer your questions about our two-year Criminal Justice program.

Jump to career information below!

This degree is ideal for students who want to pursue a career in:

  • Law enforcement
  • Correctional rehabilitation
  • Juvenile and adult probation and parole
  • Private security and investigations
  • Forensic science or military police
  • Criminology

We can help you determine which career path aligns with your goals. Your career opportunities depend on your chosen curriculum. You can choose to become a:

  • Criminal investigator
  • Patrol officer
  • Drug agent
  • Prosecuting attorney
  • Private criminal and civil attorney
  • Probation and parole officer
  • Correctional counselor
  • Security manager
  • Private investigator
  • Undercover investigator
  • Crime-scene technician
  • Forensic scientist
  • Crime-lab expert
     

 

Explore YOUR career with Career Coach! Career Coach is a helpful tool that will assist you in developing a path from your education to the job market. With Career Coach, you can find:

  • Average hourly wages
  • Information about possible careers of interest through a variety of search options
  • Discover what occupations are in demand within the region you select
  • Number of individuals currently employed within that occupation
  • Anticipated number of job openings available – just to name a few!

Begin exploring your options now!

 

You have the opportunity to select between two transfer concentrations: Law Enforcement and General.

As you complete our program, you will learn how to: 

  • Demonstrate an awareness of professional ethics including ethical and legal entrance requirements to the criminal justice
  • Translate observations into writing
  • Use technology as a form, or method, to conduct research
  • Describe components of the criminal justice system including corrections, courts, law enforcement and the private sector
  • Examine diversity issues as they impact criminal justice
  • Demonstrate an awareness of the dynamics of organizational behavior
  • Manage and build teams
  • Analyze problems and develop solutions

Before you enroll in our Criminal Justice program, you may need to complete Act 33 Child Abuse and/or Act 34 Pennsylvania State Police Criminal background checks.
 

 

  • View summaries of every course at HACC by browsing our class schedules database.
  • Review our program guide (pdf) to view a list of required courses, recommended course sequencing and program competencies.

Affordably YOURS, our two-year degree program is a transfer program that is flexible enough to transfer to a wide variety of four-year colleges and universities with no loss of credit, both inside and outside of the statewide transfer credit system. If your intended transfer school participates in the Pennsylvania statewide college credit system (PASSHE), you will be able to begin your studies at that school at the junior level. If your intended transfer institution is not within the PASSHE system, you are recommended to select a four-year school as soon as possible. This will allow you to learn the transfer college’s program requirements so you can take the proper classes at HACC.

Our transfer options for criminal justice students include:

 

Albright College -Degree Completion Program: General Program Course Equivalencies (pdf)
Carlow University: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Central Penn College: Criminal Justice AA to Criminal Justice BS (pdf)
Cheyney University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania - Lock Haven: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania - Mansfield: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
East Stroudsburg University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Elizabethtown College, Accelerated Programs: Criminal Justice into Criminal Justice (pdf)
Geneva College: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Indiana University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Kutztown University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Lebanon Valley College: Criminal Justice (pdf)
Lincoln University: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Penn State Harrisburg: Criminal Justice (pdf)
PennWest California: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
PennWest Clarion: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
PennWest Edinboro: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Saint Francis University - Francis Worldwide: Criminal Justice (A.S.) (pdf)
Saint Francis University - Francis Worldwide: Criminal Justice (A.A.) - Transfer Track (pdf)
Shippensburg University of PA: Criminal Justice into Criminal Justice (pdf)
Shippensburg University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
Slippery Rock University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
University of Pittsburgh: Criminal Justice, General to Administration of Justice (College of General Studies) (pdf)
University of Pittsburgh: Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement to Administration of Justice (College of General Studies) (pdf)
West Chester University of PA: Pennsylvania Statewide P2P Agreement (pdf)
West Virginia University: Criminology B.A. (pdf)
West Virginia University: Criminal Justice B.A.S. (pdf)
York College of Pennsylvania: Criminal Justice (pdf)
York College of Pennsylvania: Criminal Justice Articulation Agreement (pdf)

You may complete this program at our GettysburgHarrisburg, Lancaster, Lebanon and York campuses provided you take your coursework through various modalities (e.g., on-campus/in-person instruction, hybrid, synchronous remote instruction and/or asynchronous instruction).

 

Yes! We offer many scholarships through the HACC Foundation. Each scholarship has specific eligibility requirements. To learn how to apply, please visit hacc.edu/Scholarships.

Enroll anytime for our spring, summer and fall classes. To apply, please visit our website and include the unique Criminal Justice program code 6050. This code will ensure you are applying for the correct program.

 

Future students, we are excited to connect with you and answer your questions. Please choose the option that works best for you to meet with us.

Current HACC students, please contact our Advising Department with any questions.

Meet Tanishia: Single Mom Who Wanted More

“It [HACC] has given me the chance to do something that my children can be proud of.”