We strive for a balance of enriching and challenging—but not overwhelming. Our faculty, staff, and student support team is highly accessible and accommodating to help you succeed in your studies and graduate with a degree.

Our goal is to best prepare you for success in your work, and that’s what drives the development of our criminal justice curriculums.

Step 1 is getting educated. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), crime scene investigators (CSIs, alternatively referred to as “forensic science technicians”) are typically required to hold a bachelor’s degree.

While a major in a natural science like biology or chemistry may be preferred for a role more focused in a laboratory setting, an education in criminal justice can be appropriate for jobs more heavily favoring crime scene analysis and evidence collection in the field. Our bachelor’s degree curriculum includes a course titled “Evidence Forensics” which covers the basic rules of evidence collection.

Prerequisites for employment will vary by the job. Sometimes prior law enforcement or criminology experience will be required, particularly for senior-level roles.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Every job is different and educational requirements will vary by employer. Some will only require a high school diploma, while others (particularly federal agencies) may require an associate or bachelor’s degree.

You may be able to qualify for entry-level jobs without a degree, but advancing your career in criminal justice may become more difficult without any formal college-level education.

You are typically not required to earn a degree to enroll in police academy and work as a police officer. A high school diploma is often the minimal required formal education, with a required background check. Some agencies may require a bachelor’s degree or a certain number of credit hours, especially at the federal level.

While you may not need a degree for your first entry-level job as a police officer, if you plan to continue advancing your career in criminal justice, earning an associate or bachelor’s degree is a good idea.

While there are some similarities between the two main types of adult gerontology nurse practitioners, these are the biggest differences between primary care NPs and acute care NPs:

• Their job roles and responsibilities
• Where they work
• Skills and personality traits
• Specialization
• Certification

Yes.

In the past, there were separate designations for Adult Nurse Practitioners (ANP) and Geriatric Nurse Practitioners (GNP). Now the two roles have been combined into Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (AGNP). The knowledge and skills developed in an MSN or DNP-AGNP program will best prepare you to work with geriatric/elderly patients.

Graduating with an MSN or DNP degree and becoming board certified as a primary care nurse practitioner (AGPCNP-BC) will qualify you to practice as an NP and pursue a geriatric specialty.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), core competencies for Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners include:

• Contributes to improved knowledge and care of the adult gerontology population
• Uses scientific knowledge and theoretical foundations to detect psychological, physiological, and sociological development and aging
• Be a leader facilitating the coordination and planning to deliver care to the adult gerontology population
• Promotes safety and risk reduction
• Continually evaluates the quality of care delivery models
• Integrates appropriate technologies into deliver healthcare in remote, face-to-face encounters
• Aids in the development of health promotion programs within a health community or system
• Provides wellness promotion and disease prevention services balancing the costs, risks and benefits to individuals

That’s just a sample! As an AGNP you will carry many different responsibilities as a crucial member of a healthcare team.

There are two types of general NPs: Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners (AGPCNPs) and Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP). Both NPs provide ongoing health counseling, prevention and management for their patients.

The primary difference is the patient population they care for: FNPs practice across the lifespan in family practice, including pediatric, adult, and geriatric care. AGNPs work only with adolescent, adult, and geriatric patients.

If you are open to working with children you may choose the FNP path, while those who prefer to work with adults only may choose the AGNP path.

Primary care AGNPs are responsible for providing continuous, comprehensive medical care for patients across the adult lifespan (13 and older). AGNPs work primarily in outpatient care settings helping patients develop their personal healthcare assessments and manage long-term chronic illnesses.

AGNPs work under the supervision of a physician, with varying degrees of autonomy. They do not “specialize” in a traditional sense, acting as big picture managers of a patients’ healthcare plan and facilitating connections to specialized care as necessary. However, nurses can begin their NP career in primary care and branch into a specialty of their choosing later, such as acute care or mental health.

Practicing as an AGNP requires close collaboration with a team of healthcare staff dedicated to the long-term health needs of their patients.