Can you add a Concentration after you've already graduated?

[sanantone]

I'm looking for something in Criminal Justice. I'm too old (mid 50s) to become a cop or anything like that, but I'm looking to do something I'd enjoy for the last 15 years or so of my working career. Entry level criminal justice jobs actually appeal to me at this point. I'm looking for something like insurance investigation, probation, PI, who knows.

I'm ex-Army (30 years ago), in good shape, and I've worked as a software developer for 30 years (so not an idiot). I think I just need something on the resume that shows I have an interest in the field to be taken seriously.

I used to be a parole officer, and you don't need a criminal justice degree to do that or probation. Most of the people I worked with didn't have a criminal justice degree. Instead, they had degrees in things like psychology, counseling, sociology, and social work, but departments are often so desperate they'll hire people with unrelated degrees. One of the guys hired on with me had some IT-related degree. You're past the age cutoff for federal probation, but if you weren't, you would need experience and a graduate degree to be competitive. I wouldn't earn a second bachelor's degree just to be a PI, but that's just my personal opinion. 

I'd recommend these two options.

1. Complete the 18-credit certificate in criminal justice at TESU. You can transfer in 100% of the credits from ACE or NCCRS-approved sources and pay $1,250 for the residency waiver. 

2. If you don't mind completing another degree, you might as well complete a master's degree, which will make you more competitive. In my opinion, it would be kind of a waste of time to add an undergraduate social science degree on top of an undergraduate liberal arts degree. Walden has a competency-based MS in Criminal Justice. I, personally, wouldn't want Walden on my resume, but the Tempo programs are affordable, and government agencies don't care where your degrees were earned as long as the school was accredited. 

Public Management and Leadership | MS in Criminal Justice | Walden University