Best programs to become a detectives and criminal investigator in Alaska
2 Alaska schools offer programs that train detectives and criminal investigators, graduating 77 people a year. Detectives and criminal investigators in Alaska earn a median of $114,940 across about 140 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
You do not need a college degree to become a detectives and criminal investigator. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Alaska are Criminal Justice/Police Science and Signal/Geospatial Intelligence (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. It also expects less than 5 years of related work experience.
Conduct investigations related to suspected violations of federal, state, or local laws to prevent or solve.
2 programs in Alaska that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Alaska (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Alaska page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0107In Alaska → | 74 | 96.1% | 2 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 2 | CIP 29.0203In Alaska → | 3 | 3.9% | 1 | $56,755 | $24,878 |
Top 2 schools in Alaska
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 2 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, AK Public · 1 feeder program | 61 | Criminal Justice/Police Science | — | 28% | — | 63% |
| 2 | University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK Public · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Criminal Justice/Police Science | $34,617 | 38% | — | — |
All 2 schools in Alaska
Every school in Alaska with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Alaska Southeast | Juneau | Public | 61 | 1 |
| University of Alaska Fairbanks | Fairbanks | Public | 16 | 2 |
Fields of study in Alaska that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
What detectives and criminal investigators earn in Alaska
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $93,790. Alaska pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Alaska
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Detectives and Criminal Investigators page.
How to become a detectives and criminal investigator
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Work experience needed
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Alaska
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 14 majors mapped to Detectives and Criminal Investigators10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 03.0208Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services
- 29.0203Signal/Geospatial Intelligence
- 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
- 43.0107Criminal Justice/Police Science
- 43.0114Law Enforcement Investigation and Interviewing
- 43.0115Law Enforcement Record-Keeping and Evidence Management(no graduates reported)
- 43.0121Suspension and Debarment Investigation(no graduates reported)
- 43.0122Maritime Law Enforcement(no graduates reported)
- 43.0123Cultural/Archaelogical Resources Protection(no graduates reported)
- 43.0402Criminalistics and Criminal Science
- 43.0403Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism
- 43.0405Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
- 43.0407Geospatial Intelligence
- 43.0408Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis
Common questions
Answers for people weighing detectives and criminal investigators programs in Alaska.
What degree do you need to become a detectives and criminal investigator?+
You do not need a college degree to become a detectives and criminal investigator. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Alaska are Criminal Justice/Police Science and Signal/Geospatial Intelligence (IPEDS completions). BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. It also expects less than 5 years of related work experience.
Which college majors lead to becoming a detectives and criminal investigator?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job in Alaska are Criminal Justice/Police Science and Signal/Geospatial Intelligence (IPEDS completions). In all, 2 feeder programs graduate about 77 people a year in Alaska (IPEDS completions).
How much do detectives and criminal investigators earn in Alaska?+
The median is $114,940 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 22.6% above the U.S. median of $93,790. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for detectives and criminal investigators growing?+
BLS projects a -0.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 7,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Alaska?+
2 institutions in Alaska reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do detectives and criminal investigators work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Detective, Criminalist, Investigator, Special Agent, Forensic Specialist, Criminal Investigator among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 33-3021.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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