Minnesota·Community and Social Service Occupations·SOC 21-1092

Best Probation Officer programs in Minnesota, ranked by enrollment

Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole.

29 schools in Minnesota run programs that feed this job, graduating 2,994 people a year. The job pays a median of $81,580 in Minnesota across about 2,040 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProbation OfficerParole Officer (PO)Correctional CounselorJuvenile Probation OfficerCourt WorkerParole AgentPeople OfficerTruant Officer
Graduates / yr
2,994
in Minnesota
Median pay · Minnesota
$81,580
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,040
people employed
Schools
29
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
52%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,425
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Minnesota that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

1 programs in Minnesota that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Minnesota (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 Minnesota page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 44.0701In Minnesota
2,994
100.0%
29$37,264$26,140

Top 25 schools in Minnesota

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 29 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Walden University
Minneapolis, MN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1,740Social Work
2Winona State University
Winona, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
142Social Work$44,54657%75%
3Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Winona, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
108Social Work66%$18,16393%
4University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Minneapolis, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
108Social Work85%80%
5The College of Saint Scholastica
Duluth, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
91Social Work$45,37171%$21,15093%
6University of Minnesota - Duluth
Duluth, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
87Social Work$43,19865%89%
7St Catherine University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
77Social Work$44,25761%$21,04292%
8University of St Thomas
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
74Social Work76%$28,88885%
9Minnesota State University - Mankato
Mankato, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
73Social Work$42,91554%88%
10Capella University
Minneapolis, MN Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
72Social Work20%$19,369
11Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
71Social Work$43,72640%95%
12Minnesota State University Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
67Social Work$43,47157%59%
13Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
65Social Work$47,63744%99%
14Southwest Minnesota State University
Marshall, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
38Social Work$46,36845%62%
15Bemidji State University
Bemidji, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
34Social Work$47,19248%56%
16Augsburg University
Minneapolis, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
30Social Work$43,30352%$23,58582%
17Bethel University
Saint Paul, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
29Social Work$45,25971%$25,22588%
18Concordia College at Moorhead
Moorhead, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Social Work61%$23,42563%
19Rochester Community and Technical College
Rochester, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
12Social Work29%
20South Central College
North Mankato, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
12Social Work39%
21St Olaf College
Northfield, MN Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Social Work$45,14684%$18,12448%
22Century College
White Bear Lake, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
8Social Work31%
23Minneapolis Community and Technical College
Minneapolis, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
8Social Work20%
24Inver Hills Community College
Inver Grove Heights, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
7Social Work24%
25Minnesota State College Southeast
Winona, MN Public · 1 feeder programs
5Social Work47%

All 29 schools in Minnesota

Every school in Minnesota 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.

All schools in Minnesota that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Walden UniversityMinneapolisPrivate for-profit1,7401
Winona State UniversityWinonaPublic1421
Saint Mary's University of MinnesotaWinonaPrivate not-for-profit1081
University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesMinneapolisPublic1081
The College of Saint ScholasticaDuluthPrivate not-for-profit911
University of Minnesota - DuluthDuluthPublic871
St Catherine UniversitySaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit771
University of St ThomasSaint PaulPrivate not-for-profit741
Minnesota State University - MankatoMankatoPublic731
Capella UniversityMinneapolisPrivate for-profit721
Saint Cloud State UniversitySaint CloudPublic711
Minnesota State University MoorheadMoorheadPublic671
Metropolitan State UniversitySaint PaulPublic651
Southwest Minnesota State UniversityMarshallPublic381
Bemidji State UniversityBemidjiPublic341

What probation officers and correctional treatment specialists earn in Minnesota

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Minnesota
$81,580
Mean annual
$84,020
Jobs in state
2,040
What the range looks like
10th pct$56,650Median$81,58090th pct$104,150
Versus the national median
+23.1%

U.S. median $66,270. Minnesota pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.20×

Concentrated here: Minnesota employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Minnesota

St. Cloud, MN
$103,770median
60 jobs
Rochester, MN
$105,350median
70 jobs
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
$80,430median
1,240 jobs
Duluth, MN-WI
$81,580median

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.6%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
7,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,400
92,300 → 94,800
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

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, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists page.

How to become a Probation Officer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Minnesota

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 1 majors mapped to Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 44.0701Social Work

Common questions

Answers for people weighing probation officers and correctional treatment specialists programs in Minnesota.

What degree do you need to become a Probation Officer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 2,994 degrees in Minnesota in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Probation Officer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work. Together they graduate about 2,994 people a year in Minnesota.

How much do probation officers and correctional treatment specialists earn in Minnesota?+

The median is $81,580 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 23.1% above the U.S. median of $66,270. 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 probation officers and correctional treatment specialists growing?+

BLS projects a +2.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Minnesota?+

29 institutions in Minnesota reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 probation officers and correctional treatment specialists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Probation Officer, Parole Officer (PO), Correctional Counselor, Juvenile Probation Officer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1092.

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists in other statesNew YorkCaliforniaTexasIllinoisMichiganOhioKentuckyPennsylvania
Programs in MinnesotaSocial Work

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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