Hi, I'm a student of criminology law and society major at University of California, Irvine and am pursuing a Bachelors. From what I have heard, my major is very theoretical and philosophy based; however, some of its aspects do pertain to criminal justice. Does this make my major in the category of "related fields" when I send in my application to my desired police department?

In addition to my pursuit of an academic degree, I also volunteer at the hospital and will be trying the Police Explorer program as well. Will those be supplemental to my applicaion? In other words, does it make me "stand out" from other applicants?

To my understanding of the application process, the recruiting officers are very selective when they do background checks, and I don't want to miss out on any opportunity to be perceived fit for the job. However, I do not plan to join the military and I dont have a very extensive job history. What can I do to boost my chances?

Thanks.

Your major is fine. Get the best grades you can. You appear to be doing good preparing to obtain a police officer job. Volunteer work looks very good on an application or resume. Joining a police explorer program is also a great idea. You don't need an extensive job history. You don't even need any. Although it often helps to have a job history to give an indication of what kind of employee you might be. Even if you have only worked one job before applying to become a police officer, getting a good recommendation from your employer could be very beneficial. Keep up the good work!

You have a good major and some good ideas!

Thank you. Your clarifications really do help. I have another question: How do you get promoted to detective/seargent once you are a police officer? I was planning to get an online masters degree at UCI in Criminology, Law, And Society so would that be a major attribute?

How you become a detective/sergeant varies depending on the department. You would usually have to be a police officer for at least two years before being eligible to be promoted. Larger departments usually require officers to take a competitive examination before being promoted to detective/sergeant. Your performance as an officer is usually taken into account. If you don't do a good job as an officer, and don't have a good reputation, you will have more of a difficult time getting promoted usually. You should certainly earn a masters degree if you can. That would certainly benefit you.

Good major.

Great major, and great school (UCI)!