Police Science AAS Degree

You will graduate with knowledge and skills in: 

• Police operations
• Crime scene, accident, and general investigations
• Critical incident management
• Criminal and Constitutional Law
• Report writing and testifying
• Physical fitness conditioning
• Safe and legal use of force in defensive tactics and firearms

Explore Courses, Details, and Costs

Graduate with more than a degree. Your internship will ensure success with 128 hours of real-world work experience.

Hawkeye’s Crime Scene Lab will get you thinking critically while practicing legal and ethical evidence collection.

Hawkeye’s indoor and outdoor firearms ranges give you controlled practice options, where you can learn to safely and confidently operate and maintain your firearm.

You use state-of-the-art simulation technology to sharpen your decision making skills and work through real-world scenarios.

You can get right to work after your program. Or, if you plan to earn an associate degree and go on to earn a bachelor’s degree, consider your transfer options.

This program transfers to the UNI's Criminal Justice (BAS) program and the Iowa's Bachelor of Applied Studies (BAS) program.

If you’re interested in transferring, you must work closely with an academic advisor here and at the transfer institution. This is important to ensure courses transfer and you meet program requirements.

Plan your transfer

As a future criminal justice professional, students need to use good judgment in all areas of their personal, professional, and scholastic interactions and activities; and must keep their records clean.

Criminal justice organizations require background checks for internships, volunteer placements, and employment. This will include adult and juvenile civil and criminal issues, official and informal contacts with police, and character references. Employment will also hinge on the successful completion of a polygraph, credit check, and psychological evaluation.

Be aware that character counts and your behavior can sabotage your ability to graduate from this program and your ability to work in the field. Consider what your actions and criminal history says about you….i.e. an OWI conviction indicates that you demonstrate poor judgment by drinking to excess and deciding to drive, which may kill or injure you or another person. Remember your personal behaviors (even if no one knows about it) will be revealed during a polygraph, and what you do privately (when no one is watching or supervising) speaks volumes as to the true content of one’s character.

If you want to work in criminal justice avoid these issues:

• Acquiring speeding tickets or safety violation citations.
• Acquiring a suspended driver’s license or citations for driving with a suspended license.
• Participating in underage drinking, using fake ID’s, or buying alcohol for underage persons.
• Use or abuse of prescription drugs, street drugs, club drugs (ecstasy), marijuana, or synthetic drugs.
• Engaging in theft of property, goods, or services.

You will not be employable in criminal justice if you have:

• Felony convictions
• Domestic abuse convictions
• Placement on an abuse registry (Sex offender, child/elder abuse)
• Drug convictions, or history of drug use or abuse (methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, etc.) Each agency (city, county, state, or federal) sets their own limits on marijuana use from zero tolerance to a limited amount of use, and factors in how recent the use was.
• Weapons violations

Ultimately, criminal justice employers will rationalize your behavior by this criteria: If you know or reasonably believe an action is illegal or will cause harm then the best candidate will take responsibility, demonstrate self-control, and not do it.

Lastly, employers will ask our faculty for references. Students need to know that full-time faculty and adjunct faculty members are constantly formally and informally assessing students in terms of academic performance, attendance, honesty, professionalism, social skills, maturity, and appearance so that we can make objective assessments when asked. Your interactions count, and we are here to mentor you.

Felony Conviction Policy

If you have a felony conviction, you cannot enroll in the Firearms and Practicum courses, which will prevent you from completing the required coursework and graduating from the Police Science program.