Criminal Justice and Corrections programs in Tennessee
33 schools in Tennessee teach this, at certificate or associate level. 7 of them report what graduates earn two years out; the highest is $38,649 at Cleveland State Community College.
What this work pays in Tennessee
Security Guards in Tennessee earn a median of $36,000 a year across 27,690 jobs. That is what the occupation pays everyone in it — not what graduates of any one program below earned.
| Also leads to | Median | Jobs in Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Managers, All Other | $99,430 | 17,510 |
| Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | $59,280 | 15,630 |
| Compliance Officers | $63,960 | 7,990 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $56,310 | 7,870 |
| Correctional Officers and Jailers | $50,940 | 6,990 |
Occupation wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.
Schools
| School | Credential | Median debt | Graduate earnings, 2 yrs | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland State Community College Cleveland | Undergraduate certificate | — | $38,649 (38 grads) | 58 |
| Walters State Community College Morristown | Undergraduate certificate | — | $38,649 (60 grads) | 139 |
| Volunteer State Community College Gallatin | Associate's degree | — | $36,674 (16 grads) | 10 |
| Strayer University-Tennessee Nashville | Associate's degree | — | $35,810 (17 grads) | 0 |
| Nashville State Community College Nashville | Associate's degree | — | $29,685 (16 grads) | 4 |
| Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga Chattanooga | Associate's degree | $26,692 | $25,194 (230 grads) | 1 |
| Remington College-Memphis Campus Memphis | Associate's degree | $20,000 | $21,595 (279 grads) | 4 |
| Bethel University McKenzie | Associate's degree | $17,250 | not published | 30 |
| Chattanooga College Medical Dental and & Technical Careers Chattanooga | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| Chattanooga State Community College Chattanooga | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Cleveland State Community College Cleveland | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Columbia State Community College Columbia | Associate's degree | — | not published | 6 |
| Cumberland University Lebanon | Associate's degree | — | not published | 12 |
| Dyersburg State Community College Dyersburg | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 12 |
| Dyersburg State Community College Dyersburg | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Jackson State Community College Jackson | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 2 |
| Jackson State Community College Jackson | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Nashville State Community College Nashville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 3 |
| Northeast State Community College Blountville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 21 |
| Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 21 |
| Roane State Community College Harriman | Associate's degree | — | not published | 11 |
| South College Knoxville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 3 |
| South College Knoxville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 23 |
| Southwest Tennessee Community College Memphis | Associate's degree | — | not published | 12 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Elizabethton Elizabethton | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 2 |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Hohenwald Hohenwald | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jacksboro Jacksboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Jackson Jackson | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Morristown Morristown | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | — |
| Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Oneida-Huntsville Huntsville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| Volunteer State Community College Gallatin | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 32 |
| Walters State Community College Morristown | Associate's degree | — | not published | 17 |
A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.
Email me when these figures change
The U.S. Department of Education publishes new cost, debt and earnings figures once a year, and every number on this page changes at once. One email when that happens for Criminal Justice and Corrections — nothing else, and nothing in between.
Program and outcome figures: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10.