California has numerous online bachelor’s programs in criminal justice and criminology, but current research did not identify a dedicated online bachelor’s degree in Crime Scene Investigation at a California-based institution. The 21 verified programs below can support selected investigative, evidence, law enforcement, and public-safety career paths. They are not interchangeable with laboratory-based forensic science degrees.
That limitation is especially relevant in California. A criminal justice degree may be accepted for a civilian crime-scene position at one agency but rejected as science preparation by another. The state’s Criminalist classification requires a physical or biological science major, including specified chemistry and quantitative-analysis coursework. A general criminal justice bachelor’s degree does not automatically satisfy those requirements.
Applicants should begin by identifying the job they want:
- Crime scene investigator or forensic investigator: Often emphasizes photography, fingerprints, documentation, evidence recovery, chain of custody, report writing, and courtroom testimony.
- Evidence or property technician: May focus on evidence intake, storage, tracking, packaging, and chain-of-custody procedures.
- Criminalist or crime-laboratory analyst: Usually requires substantial chemistry, biology, molecular biology, statistics, instrumentation, and laboratory coursework.
- Detective or sworn CSI assignment: May require entry into law enforcement, academy training, patrol experience, and promotion or assignment within an agency.
- Digital evidence specialist: Usually needs computer forensics, cybersecurity, information technology, or digital-investigation training beyond a general justice curriculum.
Readers still exploring the broader field can review the guide to criminal justice degrees in California before comparing online formats.
California online criminal justice bachelor’s programs at a glance
This is a reasonably complete list of currently verified programs at California-based institutions. Minor gaps may remain among small private institutions, limited-cohort programs, or newly launched options. The list excludes hybrid programs that were not verified as fully online, homeland-security degrees with criminal justice concentrations, and sociology degrees whose criminology concentrations were not confirmed online.
Tuition figures are the schools’ published rates where verified. Per-unit prices are not directly comparable because transfer policies, fees, semester versus quarter units, and the number of remaining credits vary.
| School | Online degree | Entry model | Published tuition | CSI-related features |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento State | BS in Criminal Justice | Upper-division completion | $489 per unit | Investigative techniques, investigations, research |
| CSU Long Beach | BS in Criminology and Criminal Justice | Upper-division completion | $425 per unit | Broad criminology and justice curriculum |
| CSU San Bernardino | BA in Criminal Justice | Degree completion | No current 2026-27 rate verified | Forensic profiling elective |
| San Diego State | BS in Criminal Justice | Degree completion | Conflicting published rates of $539 and $553 per unit | Investigation and report writing; forensic elective |
| San Francisco State | BA in Criminal Justice Studies | Degree completion | $24,900 total, or $415 per unit | Policy, law, ethics, research, capstone |
| National University | BS in Criminal Justice Administration | Full bachelor’s or transfer | $640 per credit | Criminal evidence, intelligence, investigations |
| California Baptist University | BA in Criminal Justice | Full bachelor’s or transfer | $541 per unit plus fees | Investigations, law enforcement, administration |
| Azusa Pacific University | BA in Criminal Justice | Bachelor’s completion | $527 per unit | Required field experience |
| Azusa Pacific University Global | BS in Criminal Justice | Full bachelor’s or transfer | $535 per credit | Investigations, law, policing; no campus visits |
| Point Loma Nazarene University | BA in Criminal Justice | First-year or transfer | $560 per unit | Internship and applied work |
| Fresno Pacific University | BA in Criminology | Degree completion | $567 per unit plus fee | Restorative justice, victims, criminology |
| University of La Verne | BS in Criminal Justice and Criminology | Degree completion | $675 per semester hour plus applicable fees | Quantitative analysis, research, capstone |
| University of Massachusetts Global | BA in Criminal Justice | Full bachelor’s or transfer | $500 per credit | Evidence, forensics, digital-evidence topics |
| California Coast University | BS in Criminal Justice | First-year or transfer | $170 per unit | Investigation, forensic science, computer forensics |
| Humphreys University | BS in Criminal Justice | Specialized completion | $375 per quarter unit | Credit for qualifying POST training and experience |
| Vanguard University | BA in Criminal Justice | Professional program | $555 per unit | Interviewing, interrogation, research lab, optional practicum |
| Jessup University | BS in Criminal Justice | Full bachelor’s or transfer | $500 per unit | Forensics and internship or research project |
| Mount Saint Mary’s University | BS in Criminology | Adult undergraduate program | $663 per unit plus session fee | Criminalistics electives and semester-long internship |
| Abraham Lincoln University | BS in Criminal Justice | Full bachelor’s | $415 per semester credit plus applicable fees | Evidence handling and crime-scene investigation |
| Hope International University | BA in Criminal Justice | First-year or transfer | $450 per unit plus fees | Crime prevention, criminal law, public safety |
| Simpson University | BS in Criminal Justice | Degree completion | $602 per credit plus $37 registration fee per credit | General investigative techniques |
Fully online California State University pathways
The five verified CSU options are primarily transfer or degree-completion programs. They generally expect substantial lower-division credit before enrollment. First-year applicants seeking a four-year online path should not assume they can enter these programs directly from high school.
Sacramento State Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Sacramento State offers an asynchronous, fully online upper-division completion program with accelerated courses during fall, spring, and summer. Admission requires at least 45 transferable units, specified general education preparation, a minimum 2.5 GPA, and four lower-division criminal justice prerequisites.
The curriculum covers research methods, criminological theory, law, courts, corrections, police-community relations, ethics, and investigations. General Investigative Techniques is required before admission, which gives the program more direct investigative relevance than a curriculum limited to criminology and public administration. No campus residency or natural-science laboratory sequence was identified.
Tuition is published at $489 per unit. The university estimates approximately $23,472 to $24,450 for 48 to 50 completion units, plus listed fees. Actual cost depends on transfer evaluation and the remaining degree requirements.
This degree can support broad justice-system and field-investigation goals, but it does not include the chemistry and biological science sequence required for California Criminalist eligibility.
CSU Long Beach Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice Online
CSU Long Beach’s program is a fully online, asynchronous, cohort-based pathway designed for transfer students. Applicants generally need at least 60 lower-division units, completed transfer preparation, prerequisite social-science courses, and a published 3.0 GPA.
The online degree received CSU approval on January 10, 2025. Its curriculum concentrates on criminology, criminal behavior, justice institutions, ethics, public policy, research, and social analysis. The university lists crime scene investigation and forensic technician work among possible careers, but that career list should not be treated as proof that the program meets a particular agency’s technical hiring standards.
Tuition is $425 per unit, with an estimated completion cost of $22,100 to $25,925 depending on accepted transfer credit. Applicants seeking fingerprint, photography, or evidence-recovery work should examine electives carefully and plan for separate practical training if those subjects are not included in sufficient depth.
CSU San Bernardino Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Online
CSU San Bernardino delivers its criminal justice BA entirely online in accelerated sessions of approximately seven weeks. It is a transfer-oriented pathway rather than a clearly advertised four-year program for first-time college students.
Required coursework covers criminal law, justice institutions, and quantitative or statistical preparation. Six criminal justice electives allow some customization. Forensic profiling is one available elective, alongside subjects such as victimology, criminal procedure, and policing.
Forensic profiling is an academic topic rather than a substitute for crime-scene processing. It does not teach the full set of practical competencies usually associated with evidence photography, latent print development, scene measurement, biological evidence collection, or laboratory analysis.
The active program page did not publish a current 2026-27 tuition rate during this review. An older $420-per-semester-unit figure was excluded because it could not be verified as current. Applicants should include tuition and mandatory fees in their written cost estimate after the university evaluates their transfer credit.
San Diego State University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Online
SDSU offers a fully online, asynchronous completion program using accelerated course modules. Applicants generally need at least 60 transferable semester units, the CSU Golden Four courses, specified social-science and statistics preparation, and a minimum 2.8 college GPA.
The curriculum includes law enforcement, corrections, juvenile justice, research, public administration, Investigation and Report Writing, and a choice involving forensic anthropology or forensic science. Those offerings create a clearer link to investigative work than programs focused almost entirely on administration or policy.
The degree still lacks a documented natural-science laboratory sequence. An online forensic science survey course cannot be assumed to provide the practical chemistry, biology, microscopy, instrumentation, or evidence-analysis experience expected in many crime laboratories.
SDSU’s public pages displayed conflicting tuition rates during the research review. The main program page showed $553 per unit, while the tuition page showed $539. Applicants should obtain the applicable cohort rate in writing and ask whether it is fixed for the duration of the program.
San Francisco State University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Studies
San Francisco State’s asynchronous completion program uses two courses per eight-week session. Admission requires at least 60 transferable semester units or 90 quarter units, and applicants may enter from any prior major.
The curriculum examines criminal law, justice systems, research methods, inequality, ethics, policy, and complementary studies. A capstone integrates the major, but the program does not emphasize technical crime-scene work or laboratory methods.
The published program total is $24,900, calculated at $415 per unit. Because this is a completion program, the figure does not include the cost of lower-division courses completed elsewhere.
SFSU is better aligned with justice policy, administration, community issues, legal systems, and analytical work than with technical evidence processing. Prospective CSI applicants would need to build practical competencies through employment, internships, agency training, or separate courses.
Private online programs with investigation or forensic content
Private universities vary widely in structure. Some admit first-year students, while others expect transfer credit or operate through adult and professional education divisions.
California Coast University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
California Coast University offers a 126-unit, fully online BS with open enrollment and self-paced courses. It has no scheduled class meetings, group projects, or fixed exam dates. Most other asynchronous programs in this guide still use academic terms and assignment deadlines, so California Coast’s self-paced structure is materially different.
The curriculum includes criminal investigation, forensic science, computer forensics, cybercrime, criminal law, criminal behavior, justice procedures, research methods, law enforcement, juvenile justice, corrections, terrorism, and domestic violence. The presence of investigation, forensic science, and computer-forensics courses creates several routes for exploring evidence-related work.
Those courses are delivered online, and no required laboratory residency or in-person crime-scene practicum was identified. A graduate may understand investigative concepts without having performed scene photography, latent print processing, alternate-light examination, evidence packaging, or laboratory validation.
California Coast is institutionally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission and approved by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. Bachelor’s tuition is $170 per unit, with estimated tuition of $21,420 for 126 units before transfer credit, textbooks, and other charges. Up to 93 applicable semester units may transfer under current policy.
Mount Saint Mary’s University Bachelor of Science in Criminology
Mount Saint Mary’s offers a fully online BS through its Weekend, Evening and Online College. The complete degree requires 124 semester units and combines criminology with quantitative research, criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, human rights, diversity, community policing, criminal policy, and a capstone.
Investigation-related electives include criminalistics and criminal profiling. The program also describes a semester-long internship with a local or federal agency. Remote applicants should verify whether placements can be completed in their own part of California or outside the Los Angeles area.
This program has one of the more visible applied components among the listed criminology degrees. Even so, the title and curriculum remain grounded in criminology rather than laboratory forensic science. Applicants should obtain the exact course list for the criminalistics electives and determine whether any include practical exercises.
Published 2026-27 tuition is $663 per unit plus a $105 services fee for each session. Transfer evaluation will have a substantial effect on total cost.
Abraham Lincoln University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Abraham Lincoln University’s 120-credit BS is delivered completely online across ten semesters. Its curriculum covers law enforcement, prosecution, courts, corrections, juvenile justice, criminal investigation, evidence handling, inmate management, and crime-scene investigation.
Crime-scene investigation and evidence handling are unusually explicit subjects for a broad online criminal justice degree. The public materials reviewed did not identify an in-person laboratory residency or technical scene-processing practicum. Applicants should ask how practical skills are taught, demonstrated, and assessed.
The institution is accredited by DEAC, and the BS in Criminal Justice has appeared among its accredited programs. ALU publishes domestic bachelor’s tuition of $415 per semester credit, or $1,245 for a three-credit course. Its published full-program tuition is $49,800 for 120 credits before transfer credit and applicable fees. A transfer evaluation is needed to calculate an individual student’s remaining cost.
Vanguard University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Professional Education
Vanguard’s 120-unit BA is available fully online for working professionals. Accelerated classes begin approximately every eight weeks, and the advertised completion time of as few as 22 months depends on prior credit.
The 46-unit criminal justice major includes courts and criminal procedure, law enforcement, criminological theory, prisons and jails, statistics, interviewing and interrogation, forensic psychology, and research methods with a laboratory component. An optional practicum can add applied experience, although it is not required of every student.
Interviewing, interrogation, statistical analysis, and research design are useful in investigative settings. Forensic psychology addresses behavior and legal issues rather than physical evidence analysis, so it should not be confused with criminalistics.
Professional-education tuition is $555 per unit for 2026-27. Applicants generally submit prior transcripts, proof of high school completion, an essay, and a resume. The university normally looks for at least a 2.0 prior college GPA, subject to its review process.
Jessup University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Jessup delivers its BS online in seven-week courses with six annual start dates. The 54-unit major covers criminal law, criminology, police and society, corrections, violence and terrorism, and forensics. Students complete either a criminal justice internship or a research project.
The forensics course provides relevant academic exposure, while the internship option may offer workplace experience. The value of an internship will depend on placement duties. Administrative work at a justice agency is different from supervised evidence recovery or scene documentation.
Online undergraduate tuition is $500 per unit for 2026-27. Qualifying police academy training may receive up to 12 transfer credits.
Jessup remains institutionally accredited by WSCUC, but its current status is Accredited on Warning following a June 26, 2026 commission action. Accreditation remains in effect during the Warning. Applicants should read the current WSCUC action and monitor the institution’s status rather than relying on older accreditation summaries.
University of Massachusetts Global Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice
UMass Global, a California-based institution despite its name, offers an online instructor-led 120-credit BA. Applicants with at least 12 transferable credits generally need a 2.0 cumulative GPA.
Coursework covers courts, corrections, criminology, evidence, forensics, police and society, ethics, homeland security, gangs, immigration, victim advocacy, and digital-evidence topics. This range can help students compare traditional field investigation with digital and intelligence-related specialties.
No required laboratory residency or in-person crime-scene practicum was identified. Students targeting technical work should review detailed course descriptions rather than relying on the words “evidence” or “forensics” in a course title.
Published tuition is $500 per credit before transfer credit, financial aid, or employer benefits.
National University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration
National University offers its BS online, in person, and in hybrid formats with accelerated year-round scheduling. Its curriculum includes criminal evidence, courts, criminology, criminal intelligence, investigations, leadership, corrections, juvenile justice, and a faculty-supervised senior project.
Evidence, intelligence, and investigation courses may support investigative or administrative goals. The senior project can also demonstrate research and professional writing. No required natural-science laboratory sequence was identified.
Tuition is $640 per credit. The university lists an estimated 120-credit cost of $69,000 before transfer credit, aid, discounts, or other adjustments. Transfer applicants should request an evaluation before comparing the total against lower-priced completion programs.
Simpson University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Degree Completion
Simpson’s fully online completion major consists of 12 seven-week courses. Students generally take two courses per term, while advisors create an individualized plan for the rest of the bachelor’s requirements.
The major includes criminology, constitutional law, corrections, police and society, criminal law, courts, law-enforcement ethics, restorative justice, community justice, and General Investigative Techniques. That investigation course directly relates to the CSI search, but the overall program remains a general criminal justice degree.
No laboratory sequence or in-person scene-processing residency was identified. Applicants should distinguish the 12-course major from the total number of credits they still need to graduate.
For 2026-27, degree-completion tuition is $602 per credit plus a $37 registration fee per credit. The added per-credit fee materially changes the effective price and should be included in cost comparisons.
Other online California criminal justice and criminology options
Point Loma Nazarene University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice
Point Loma Nazarene University offers a fully online, asynchronous BA with multiple eight-week entry points. Unlike many completion programs, it permits students to begin without prior college credit.
The curriculum covers criminal justice foundations, law, community policing, restorative justice, cultural competency, communication, ethics, and applied work. An internship is included. Online applicants should verify how placements are approved and whether they can use an agency near home.
Tuition is $560 per unit for 2026-27. The degree may support civilian justice and law-enforcement applications, but its curriculum is less technical than a dedicated CSI or forensic science program.
Azusa Pacific University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Completion
Azusa Pacific offers this completion pathway online and at its Inland Empire location. Applicants may enter with at least 15 prior college units, while graduation requires 120 total units and at least half of major credits through APU.
The 51-unit criminal justice curriculum includes criminological theory, research methods, criminal law, constitutional issues, race and ethnicity, terrorism, family violence, and required field experience. The field component adds applied learning, but online students should ask where it can be completed and what duties qualify.
Tuition is $527 per unit for 2026-27. The program does not contain the laboratory science sequence required for criminalist work.
Azusa Pacific University Global Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice
Azusa Pacific University Global is a separate WSCUC-accredited institution from Azusa Pacific University. It was renamed from Los Angeles Pacific University in 2026.
Its 120-credit BS is fully online and asynchronous, with no campus visits or required live meetings. Up to 90 approved credits may transfer. Coursework includes criminal law and procedure, policing, corrections, courts, investigations, risk analysis, and federal-agency topics.
The format provides substantial geographic flexibility, but it has no required in-person crime-scene practicum or laboratory residency. Tuition is $535 per credit before transfer credit and aid.
California Baptist University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice
California Baptist delivers its BA asynchronously in eight-week sessions. Current official materials identify it as a BA, despite older references that may describe a BS.
Coursework addresses leadership, ethics, criminal justice systems, research, public-sector management, law enforcement, corrections, and investigations. No required laboratory, campus residency, or technical crime-scene practicum was identified.
Tuition is $541 per unit plus fees. Advertised accelerated completion timelines assume that a student has already completed a substantial share of general education and elective requirements.
University of La Verne Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Criminology
La Verne’s 52-semester-hour major can be completed online through a degree-completion pathway. It combines sociology, quantitative analysis, research methods, criminological theory, justice-system study, electives, and a senior capstone.
Research and quantitative analysis can support crime analysis, program evaluation, policy, and investigative reasoning. The curriculum does not include a dedicated CSI concentration or documented natural-science laboratory sequence.
The university publishes a 2026-27 online undergraduate tuition rate of $675 per semester hour plus applicable fees. Transfer applicants should also examine major-specific restrictions, residency requirements, and the number of credits that must be completed through La Verne. The tuition needed to finish the degree will depend on that evaluation.
Hope International University Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice
Hope International’s online BA accepts qualifying first-year and transfer applicants and uses eight-week modules. The curriculum emphasizes human behavior, crime prevention, public safety, criminal law, juvenile justice, criminology, and Christian ethics.
No laboratory residency or required technical CSI practicum was identified. The program is more closely aligned with broad public-safety and justice education than with physical evidence analysis.
Online undergraduate tuition is listed at $450 per unit plus applicable fees. The tuition page uses inconsistent BS terminology, but the current catalog identifies Criminal Justice as a BA. WSCUC records the criminal justice bachelor’s program as an approved distance-education offering.
Fresno Pacific University Bachelor of Arts in Criminology
Fresno Pacific offers a fully online, 39-unit cohort completion curriculum designed for approximately 18 months. Tuition is $567 per unit plus a student-services fee.
The program emphasizes criminology, victims, restorative justice, conflict resolution, criminal justice administration, law, and social and psychological explanations of crime. It is adjacent to CSI education rather than a technical investigation program.
The public admissions description references postsecondary and work-experience expectations. Applicants should verify the current rules directly because the published wording does not provide a simple universal threshold.
Humphreys University Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Online Completion
Humphreys operates a specialized 182-quarter-unit completion program for experienced law-enforcement personnel. Applicants need at least one year of full-time law-enforcement experience and a qualifying combination of California POST certification, an associate degree, or approved prior training.
POST certificates and documented professional learning may reduce the remaining coursework substantially. This structure may be efficient for an experienced California officer seeking advancement, but it is not a normal first-year-entry bachelor’s program.
Tuition is $375 per quarter unit for 2026-27. A generic total would be misleading because the remaining units depend heavily on prior degrees, POST training, and experiential-credit review. Humphreys is currently accredited by WSCUC; its earlier Warning is no longer current.
Can an online criminal justice degree qualify someone for CSI work?
Sometimes, but only for specific positions whose requirements match the applicant’s education and experience.
California agencies use titles differently. A crime scene investigator may be a civilian specialist at one department and a sworn assignment at another. “Forensic investigator,” “forensic specialist,” “evidence technician,” and “criminalist” can refer to materially different duties.
The City of Sacramento’s Forensic Investigator classification, for example, allows qualifying bachelor’s study in criminal justice, forensic science, chemistry, biology, or a related field to substitute for specified experience. Duties include evidence collection, fingerprint work, photography, and reports.
A City of San Bernardino forensic specialist recruitment used a different standard. It required relevant experience and coursework in criminalistics, forensics, or physical or natural science, and explicitly stated that criminal justice courses were not physical or natural science courses for that recruitment.
Neither requirement should be generalized statewide. They demonstrate why applicants need to read current job postings before selecting a degree.
Laboratory criminalistics has a different academic baseline
California’s Criminalist examination bulletin requires a college degree with a major in a physical or biological science, including eight semester hours of general chemistry and three semester hours of quantitative analysis. A BA or BS in criminal justice ordinarily will not satisfy that education pattern merely because it contains a forensic science elective.
Depending on the laboratory specialty and employer, additional preparation may include subjects such as the following. This is not a universal California hiring checklist:
- General chemistry laboratories
- Organic chemistry with laboratories
- Additional analytical chemistry
- Biology and molecular biology
- Genetics or biochemistry
- Statistics
- Instrumental analysis
- Microscopy
- Laboratory quality assurance
- Scientific report writing
Subjects beyond the statewide minimum may appear in employer requirements, preferred qualifications, specialty training, or examination materials. Applicants should distinguish those specialty-dependent expectations from California’s stated minimum of a qualifying science major, general chemistry, and quantitative analysis.
Those targeting controlled substances, toxicology, DNA, trace evidence, firearms, or other crime-laboratory disciplines should compare forensic science, chemistry, biology, biochemistry, and molecular biology degrees instead of relying on a broad criminal justice major.
How to audit an online curriculum for CSI preparation
A program name provides limited information. BA versus BS also does not establish how much science or practical training a degree contains. Review required courses, electives, and learning formats for each of the following areas.
Evidence recognition and recovery
Look for instruction in identifying, documenting, collecting, packaging, and preserving physical evidence. Stronger field-oriented courses should address contamination prevention, biological hazards, scene security, search patterns, and chain of custody.
An introductory “forensics” course may survey these subjects without requiring practical performance. Ask whether students complete simulations, evidence-packaging exercises, supervised fieldwork, or competency assessments.
Photography and scene documentation
CSI work can require manual camera operation, exposure control, scale photography, low-light techniques, alternate light sources, image logs, sketches, measurements, and written scene notes. None of the verified programs was documented as a complete online photography-based CSI degree.
Students may need a separate photography course, local laboratory class, agency academy, or internship to gain these skills.
Fingerprints and impression evidence
A field investigator may locate, develop, photograph, lift, and preserve latent prints. Footwear and tire impressions may require casting or specialized photography. General criminal justice coursework rarely provides enough practical repetition to establish competence in these tasks.
Ask whether a course covers only fingerprint identification theory or includes actual processing methods and documentation.
Reports and courtroom testimony
SDSU explicitly includes Investigation and Report Writing, while several other programs require research, capstones, or senior projects. These assignments can develop organized writing, but an investigative report has its own conventions.
Useful preparation includes factual observation, chronological narratives, evidence identifiers, diagram references, technical terminology, and testimony based on documented procedures.
Internships and field experience
Mount Saint Mary’s, Point Loma Nazarene, Azusa Pacific, and Jessup include internships or field experiences in some form. Vanguard offers an optional practicum, while Jessup permits either an internship or research project.
Before enrolling, ask:
- Who locates the placement?
- Can it be completed near the student’s home?
- Must the agency have a formal university agreement?
- Are background checks, fingerprinting, insurance, or vaccinations required?
- Will the placement involve investigations or only administrative observation?
- Can current justice employees use their workplace?
- What happens if no qualifying placement is available?
An internship label alone does not guarantee access to crime scenes or physical evidence.
Accreditation and online program quality
Institutional and programmatic accreditation answer different questions.
WSCUC accredits many of the public and private universities in this guide. DEAC institutionally accredits California Coast University and Abraham Lincoln University. Institutional accreditation concerns the school as a whole and can affect financial aid, transfer, graduate admission, and employer recognition.
The Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission accredits qualifying forensic science and CSI programs within its defined scope. None of the 21 programs in this guide was verified as currently FEPAC-accredited. That is not the same as saying the institutions are unaccredited. It means their criminal justice or criminology degrees should not be described as having FEPAC programmatic accreditation.
FEPAC is highly relevant when comparing dedicated forensic science or qualifying CSI programs. It is less applicable to broad criminal justice programs designed for policing, corrections, administration, policy, or criminology. Applicants comparing non-FEPAC forensic options should examine science, mathematics, laboratory, and practical requirements directly.
Jessup requires an additional disclosure. It is accredited, but WSCUC placed the institution on Warning on June 26, 2026. Humphreys’ earlier Warning has been removed and should not be presented as current.
Transfer, admission, and cost planning
The lowest advertised rate does not necessarily produce the lowest final bill. California Coast publishes the lowest per-unit tuition in this group, but it requires 126 semester units for the full degree. A student transferring nearly 90 units could face a very different total than a first-year applicant.
Humphreys uses quarter units, so its $375 rate should not be compared directly with semester-credit prices. Its final cost can also change substantially through POST and experiential credit.
Before applying, request a written transfer evaluation that answers:
- Total credits accepted
- Credits applied to general education
- Credits applied to the major
- Remaining institutional residency credits
- Remaining upper-division credits
- Required prerequisites not included in the major
- Mandatory fees
- Textbook or technology charges
- Internship expenses
- Estimated time to completion
- Whether tuition can change during the program
Completion programs at Sacramento State, CSU Long Beach, CSU San Bernardino, SDSU, SFSU, Azusa Pacific, Fresno Pacific, La Verne, Humphreys, and Simpson depend heavily on prior coursework. Their published completion timelines do not apply to an applicant missing lower-division general education or prerequisites.
First-year applicants have clearer full-degree routes through institutions such as California Coast, APU Global, Point Loma Nazarene, UMass Global, Abraham Lincoln, and Hope International, subject to each school’s admission rules.
Choosing a program around a specific California career goal
A practical decision begins with current job descriptions rather than school career lists. Save several postings from agencies where you might realistically work, then build a spreadsheet of recurring requirements.
For civilian crime-scene or forensic investigation
Prioritize:
- Criminal investigation
- Evidence procedures
- Photography
- Fingerprints
- Scene documentation
- Report writing
- Internship or practicum access
- Statistics and research
- Courtroom presentation
- A plan for hands-on training
SDSU, California Coast, Mount Saint Mary’s, Abraham Lincoln, Sacramento State, Vanguard, Jessup, UMass Global, National University, and Simpson include some explicit investigation, evidence, or forensic content. The depth and practical format still require course-level review.
For sworn law enforcement with a later CSI assignment
Research academy and hiring requirements first. The degree may help satisfy education preferences or support advancement, but the agency may require patrol experience before an officer can seek an investigative assignment.
Humphreys is designed specifically around experienced law-enforcement personnel and qualifying POST training. It is poorly matched to someone who has not yet entered the profession.
For evidence and property operations
Courses in evidence, criminal procedure, documentation, ethics, information systems, and chain of custody can be useful. Job postings may also require inventory control, database skills, lifting, a driver’s license, irregular shifts, and successful completion of an intensive background investigation.
Ask whether the desired position processes crime scenes or primarily manages evidence after collection. The educational and practical needs are different.
For crime-laboratory employment
Choose science first. California’s Criminalist standard provides a clear warning against assuming that any degree with “criminal justice,” “criminology,” or a forensic elective will qualify.
A science-heavy forensic science degree, chemistry degree, biology degree, or related natural-science major is usually a more defensible foundation. Verify the exact chemistry, biology, statistics, and laboratory requirements for the specialty before enrolling.
For digital evidence
Computer forensics at California Coast and digital-evidence topics at UMass Global provide relevant exposure. A technical role may still demand deeper study in operating systems, networks, cybersecurity, scripting, mobile devices, legal procedure, and forensic software.
A criminal justice major paired with information technology or cybersecurity coursework may align better with digital evidence than a traditional field-CSI curriculum.
A final enrollment checklist
Before committing to an online criminal justice bachelor’s program, obtain clear answers to these questions:
- Is the program a full bachelor’s degree or an upper-division completion pathway?
- How many of your existing credits will apply to graduation?
- Does the curriculum teach the practical tasks in your target job postings?
- Are forensic courses scientific, behavioral, legal, or investigative?
- Does the degree require an internship, and can it be completed locally?
- Are any laboratories, residencies, or campus visits required?
- Is the format self-paced, asynchronous with deadlines, or scheduled live online?
- What is the full remaining cost after transfer credit and mandatory fees?
- Is the institution currently accredited, and by which accreditor?
- Does a target employer require natural-science coursework that the program lacks?
- Is the desired CSI role civilian or sworn?
- What experience, background investigation, driver’s-license status, physical duties, and shift availability does the employer require?
California’s online options provide broad access to criminal justice, criminology, investigation, evidence, and public-safety education. Their value for CSI depends on the exact job. Match the curriculum to real agency requirements, plan separately for hands-on evidence skills, and choose a science-based degree when the intended career is laboratory criminalistics rather than field investigation.