Resources for Criminal Justice Students: Job Search and Further Education
The UNT Department of Criminal Justice created this webpage to give students, particularly graduating seniors, some assistance in searching for employment within the criminal justice field as well as opportunities for further education related to criminal justice. Please use the links below to find information related to your area of interest.
If you would like to be an educator in the field of criminal justice, there are a number of avenues to do so. Students may have the opportunity to begin studying criminal justice as early as high school. For example, there is the School of Government, Law, and Law Enforcement in the Dallas Independent School District.
There are also many criminal justice instructor positions at community and junior colleges. Usually to obtain these positions you need at least a Master's degree and some field experience.
To become a criminal justice professor at a 4-year university, you will most likely need a J.D. or a Ph.D. in criminal justice or a related field. Please see the "Law School" or "Graduate Programs" links on the Career Search webpage for more information about furthering your education in the criminal justice field.
There are a number of criminal justice related opportunities at the County level. Sheriff's Departments and community supervision and corrections departments (adult and juvenile) are found at the County level (probation, parole, diversion programs, etc.). Please see the links below for criminal justice related career opportunities at the County level (Only major Texas Counties and those in the DFW area listed).
- Collin County Human Resources
- Bexar County Human Resources
- Dallas County
- Denton County Human Resources
- El Paso County Human Resources
- Harris County Human Resources
- Tarrant County Jobs)
- Travis County Human Resources
Law enforcement is one of the most popular aspects of the criminal justice field. Within the state of Texas there are over 1,000 law enforcement agencies. Please see the links below for information about local law enforcement agencies.
- Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE)
- TCOLE List of Law Enforcement Agencies and Vacancies
- The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
Law Enforcement Analyst Positions:
Criminalistics involves the collection and examination of items of physical evidence found at crime scenes such as firearms, ammunition components, footwear impressions, fingerprints, hairs, and fibers.The goal of criminalistics is to positively place a suspect at a crime scene using physical evidence.
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the UNT Health Science Center offers a Master's of Science degree in Forensic Genetics.
Useful links for students interested in learning more about the profession of criminalistics and the related career opportunities include:
If you are interested in continuing education related to criminal justice, see the list below of criminal justice graduate programs in Texas. There are also two links which will lead you to listings of criminal justice related graduate programs nationwide.
Professional Organizations:
Nationwide Listings of Graduate Programs:
CJ-Related Graduate Programs in Texas:
- Prairie View A&M University
- St. Mary's University
- Sam Houston State University
- Sul Ross State University
- Tarleton State University
- Texas A&M International University
- Texas State University - San Marcos
- University of Houston - Clear Lake
- University of Houston - Downtown
- University of Houston - Victoria
- University of North Texas
- University of Texas - Arlington
- University of Texas - Dallas
- University of Texas of the Permian Basin
- University of Texas - San Antonio
- University of Texas - Tyler
When searching for criminal justice related careers, don't forget about the private sector. There are a number of retail chains that offer careers in loss prevention and corporate security. A few of these include JC Penney, Target, Lowe's, Home Depot, Macy's, and Neimen Marcus. Contact a store near you for more information or see the link below for job listings in your area.
Military experience often puts applicants at an advantage when applying for many criminal justice jobs. If you are interested in military options, please see the links below.
The victim is often a forgotten member of the criminal justice system. However, there are many law enforcement agencies, district attorney's offices, and non-profit organizations which offer assistance and provide services to crime victims.
Please see the links below if you are interested in careers involving victim services. There are also now graduate programs specifically related to victimology and victim services if you are interested in furthering your education in this area.
- American Society of Victimology
- World Society of Victimology
- TDCJ Victim Services Division
- Victim Services
Example Victim Service Providers in DFW:
- Alliance for Children
- Battered Women's Foundation
- Brighter Tomorrows, Inc.
- CASA of Tarrant County
- Denton County Friends of the Family
- Denton County Children's Advocacy Center
- Disabled Crime Victims Assistance, Inc.
- Hope's Door
- MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
- New Beginning Center, Inc.
- SafeHaven of Tarrant County
- The Turning Point Rape Crisis Center