There are few career fields that have seen quite the increase in popularity of criminal justice. Influences of television, increase mainstream media attention, and technological innovation have all helped to create new and interesting jobs and fields of study related to solving crimes and prosecuting offenders. Like most career trends, the recent spike in criminal justice interest has led to a large number of new criminal justice college programs being developed, and with those new programs come new and innovative sources of funding, including criminal justices scholarships from a wide variety of sources.
Where should you first start looking for scholarships for criminal justice? The answer is undoubtedly the financial aid office of your college or university. Criminal justice degrees come in all shapes and sizes, and there are two-year, four-year, graduate and certificate programs, all with different financial commitments. The financial aid officers at your school are the real experts on sources of criminal justice financial aid that it appropriate for your program and goals. After you’ve contacted the college financial aid office, you have the chance to play detective while hunting for criminal justice scholarships.
The Internet is a great source of information about the organizations that offer scholarships to criminal justice majors, and search engines and websites like Financial Aid Finder are here to point you in the right direction.
The federal government offers some interesting opportunities for criminal justice majors looking for financial aid and job opportunities. The Department of Homeland Security Undergraduate Scholarships are perfect for those pursuing degrees in the science and technology of criminal justice, which includes engineering and mathematics as they relate to security. The scholarship program, which provides a generous monthly award of $1,000 and a 10-week paid summer internship, is for students who have completed at least one semester of college or university. Associations and membership organizations are also great sources of criminal justice scholarships. The American Criminal Justice Association, with chapters in all regions of the United States, offers modest but prestigious scholarships to their student members, at both the undergraduate and graduate level. The National Black Police Association is another national organization, which targets the law enforcement end of the criminal justice spectrum by offering one scholarship per year to a young African-American high school senior.
If you are pursuing a career in criminal justice, there are options for scholarships and financial aid. Use your investigative and analytical skills to use before you start school by search for scholarships on the Internet and beyond in order to get the highest amount of free money for college that you can!
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