Best Detective programs in Virginia, ranked by enrollment
Conduct investigations related to suspected violations of federal, state, or local laws to prevent or solve.
11 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 510 people a year. The job pays a median of $112,760 in Virginia across about 3,180 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (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 Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0107In Virginia → | 360 | 70.6% | 4 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 2 | CIP 43.0403In Virginia → | 136 | 26.7% | 7 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 3 | CIP 43.0408In Virginia → | 12 | 2.4% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
| 4 | CIP 43.0402In Virginia → | 2 | 0.4% | 1 | $40,889 | $25,000 |
Top 11 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 11 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 2 feeder programs | 343 | Criminal Justice/Police Science | $43,612 | 68% | — | 87% |
| 2 | Washington University of Science and Technology Alexandria, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 52 | Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism | — | 67% | — | 7% |
| 3 | University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 42 | Criminal Justice/Police Science | — | 96% | — | 17% |
| 4 | Regent University Virginia Beach, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism | — | 57% | $18,677 | 38% |
| 5 | ECPI University Virginia Beach, VA Private for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 19 | Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysis | — | 42% | $21,909 | 75% |
| 6 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism | — | 80% | — | 72% |
| 7 | Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism | — | 46% | — | 90% |
| 8 | Hampton University Hampton, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Cyber/Computer Forensics and Counterterrorism | — | 57% | $34,268 | 62% |
| 9 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Criminalistics and Criminal Science | — | 49% | — | 90% |
| 10 | South University - Richmond Glen Allen, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Criminal Justice/Police Science | $37,713 | 42% | $26,545 | — |
| 11 | South University - Virginia Beach Virginia Beach, VA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Criminal Justice/Police Science | $37,713 | 8% | $24,945 | — |
All 11 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Mason University | Fairfax | Public | 343 | 2 |
| Washington University of Science and Technology | Alexandria | Private for-profit | 52 | 1 |
| University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville | Public | 42 | 1 |
| Regent University | Virginia Beach | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| ECPI University | Virginia Beach | Private for-profit | 19 | 2 |
| James Madison University | Harrisonburg | Public | 14 | 1 |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk | Public | 6 | 1 |
| Hampton University | Hampton | Private not-for-profit | 5 | 1 |
| Radford University | Radford | Public | 2 | 1 |
| South University - Richmond | Glen Allen | Private for-profit | 1 | 1 |
| South University - Virginia Beach | Virginia Beach | Private for-profit | 1 | 1 |
What detectives and criminal investigators earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $93,790. Virginia pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Virginia
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, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Detectives and Criminal Investigators page.
How to become a Detective
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- 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
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Virginia
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 Virginia.
What degree do you need to become a Detective?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Criminal Justice/Police Science, which awarded 360 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 70.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Detective?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections, Security Science and Technology. Together they graduate about 510 people a year in Virginia.
How much do detectives and criminal investigators earn in Virginia?+
The median is $112,760 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 20.2% 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 Virginia?+
11 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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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