Why are Most Criminal Justice Degree Programs Offered Online Only

So you went on Google, Yahoo, or MSN and searched for “Criminal Justice Degree,” “Criminal Justice Programs,” or “Criminal Justice Schools.” You got the results, and based on the first one to three pages, you saw “Online Criminal Justice” in the title or you were taken to a website that claimed to offer all the Criminal Justice Programs. Hence the assertion that most criminal justice degree programs are offered only online.

The truth is that most Criminal Justice degree programs are offered in a traditional setting of a college or a university, not online. The problem lies with for-profit companies that advertise programs for online / private colleges and universities, not the search engines. In essence, the search engine index is manipulated to show the most relevant results. Take a look for yourself:

As you can see, the first 7 listings seem to affirm that most criminal justice programs are only offered online. You can see that by the yellow circles around the term “online.” This is also true for tens and tens more (in some cases hundreds of results). However, you can also see the search results marked with a question mark. These first page results offer information on criminal justice degrees and programs online as well as offline.

The Problem

The problem is that the offline or traditional schools being presented are arbitrary. In all cases the list of colleges and universities is not extensive, offering 1 – 5 schools that are private, for-profit, and known only via TV, radio, print, and online advertisement. It is a list of schools that offer a bounty fee for sending a lead their way.

For example, If you are looking for a criminal justice college or university in the state of Massachusetts you would like more options than Bay State College. What about Boston University, Northeastern University, & University of Massachusetts for starters? How can you make an educated decision about the future of your educaiton if you are provided with limited options. You can’t!

The Solution

I would love to tell you it’s my blog. Which it is, of course! But the panacea is learning to search better. Instead of doing a broad search for Criminal Justice Degrees perform a search for Criminal Justice Degrees in New York, even adding a city to it: Criminal Justice Degrees in Albany New York <– now that’s bound to get you the result you want!

If you don’t know where you would like to study you can use terms like Best or Top before your search term: Best Criminal Justice Degrees. This will give you a broad list of results but it should provide you with a list of best degree programs. Of course the list may be compiled on a hunch, it may be arbitrary, or just plain silly. This is where my expertise comes in, and thus, I hope you will be able to find what you’re looking for at the Criminal Justice Online Blog. It’s a work in progress. So, if you would like more info that’s not yet available on my site just shoot me an email.