Maybe it started with a creek you grew up fishing, the summer it turned a strange color and nobody could say who was responsible. Now you want to be the person who finds out, and the question is practical: is an environmental crime investigation degree the right way in?
The cases are out there. In fiscal year 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened 187 new criminal cases and charged 156 defendants. What’s less clear is which degree prepares you to work those cases.
Unity Environmental University’s Applied Bachelor’s in Environmental Crime Investigation pairs ecology and natural resource law with GIS, digital forensics, and courtroom procedure. Before you decide on this degree, you should be able to judge three things: what you’ll study, what you can show employers along the way, and how a 90-credit degree fits your time, budget, and long-term plans.
What Is an Environmental Crime Investigation Degree?
An environmental crime investigation degree trains you to investigate crimes against wildlife and the environment.
These cases include poaching, wildlife trafficking, illegal dumping, and pollution violations. Working with them means understanding the ecosystem that was harmed, the law that was broken, and the evidence that proves it, so the degree combines ecology, natural resource law, GIS mapping, and digital forensics.
Environmental cases are rarely solved by one person, which is why the degree covers so much ground. The EPA’s criminal enforcement program relies on special agents, forensic scientists, and attorneys working side by side, and an investigator who understands both the science and the law can work with all three.
What You’ll Study: Wildlife Forensics, Environmental Law, and Investigation
Programs in this field are built around three kinds of knowledge: the science of ecosystems, the laws that protect them, and the evidence skills that connect the two. Unity’s Environmental Crime Investigation program pairs a 42-credit program core with 45 professional core credits and 3 electives, so nearly every course points toward investigation work. Here’s how the courses cover each area:
- Science foundation: Investigators need to recognize when an ecosystem has been harmed. Unity covers this in Biological Diversity, Ecology, and Evolution and in Ecological Principles: Applications to Conservation and Wildlife.
- Law and the justice system: Enforcement is shared across local, state, federal, and tribal agencies, and cases rest on laws such as the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Courses in Administrative Structure and Criminal Justice, Natural Resource Law and Policy, and Courtroom Procedures and Evidence take you from how agencies work to how a case is presented.
- Evidence and forensics: Cases rise or fall on evidence, both physical and digital. Four Unity courses handle it directly: Digital Evidence and Substance Recognition, Cybercrime and Digital Forensics, Wildlife Forensics and Digital Investigation, and Wildlife Genetics and Forensic Applications.
- Field investigation and mapping: Modern investigations rely on drones, remote cameras, environmental sensors, and spatial data. You’ll work with them in Wildlife and Environmental Crime Investigations, Investigative Tools in Wildlife and Fisheries, and Digital Mapping and GIS for Environmental Crime Investigations.
- Communication and prevention: Investigators write reports, work with the people a case affects, and look for patterns before crimes happen. Three courses build those skills: Investigative Communication for Law Enforcement, Engaging Affected Parties in Investigation, and Environmental Criminology: Patterns and Prevention.
How Case-Based Projects and Simulations Work
Programs in this field often teach through case work and simulation. You might present findings through written reports, exhibits, and mock testimony in a simulated courtroom, or practice data recovery, metadata analysis, and keeping a digital chain of custody, the steps that determine whether digital evidence holds up in court. In Unity’s program, the courtroom procedures and cybercrime courses use both approaches.
How This Degree Compares With Criminal Justice and Forensic Science
Many criminal justice and conservation law enforcement degrees center on policing, courts, and enforcement procedure. An environmental crime investigation degree instead centers on building cases from environmental evidence.
Environmental forensics is mostly lab work, and most environmental forensic science and wildlife forensics degree options train the scientists who run the analysis. This degree trains the investigators who collect the evidence and put the lab’s findings to work. If a lab role like wildlife forensic scientist or environmental forensic scientist is your goal, expect to need a natural-science degree and lab training. Society for Wildlife Forensic Science (SWFS) certification, for example, requires a bachelor’s degree in a field such as biology, chemistry, environmental science, or forensic science.
Is an Environmental Crime Investigation Degree Right for You?
An environmental crime investigation degree fits people who want to work on the evidence side of environmental protection. The roles it leads to fall into two groups.
Civilian roles support enforcement without arrest authority, such as wildlife forensics analysts, digital forensics specialists on environmental cases, or policy and compliance officers. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement shows how these roles work together, employing intelligence analysts and forensic scientists alongside special agents and wildlife inspectors. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects 13% growth for forensic science technicians from 2025 to 2035, much faster than average.
Sworn roles, like environmental crime investigator or conservation officer at a government agency, are law enforcement positions with arrest authority. They require separate agency or academy training in addition to a degree, and our breakdown of environmental crime investigation careers covers requirements and pay for each path.
Which path makes sense often depends on where you’re starting. Three backgrounds tend to fit this degree especially well.
Officers Already Working in Law Enforcement
For an officer, the degree adds additional training: natural resource law, evidence handling for environmental cases, GIS, and court-ready reporting. Agencies are recruiting for exactly that mix. “We need officers who understand both the law and the science behind what they’re seeing,” says the Delaware Natural Resources Police.
Career Changers Coming From Another Field
Your current work may carry over more than you expect.
- Regulatory or compliance work gives you a head start on permits and violations, and the degree adds evidence and case-building.
- IT or data experience maps onto digital forensics and GIS, applied to environmental cases.
- A lab or field science background supports the ecology and genetics courses, with investigation and courtroom skills layered on top.
Service Members, Veterans, and Military Spouses
Military experience in security forces, military police, or investigations often carries over directly, especially evidence handling, report writing, and working within a chain of command. At Unity, veterans, active military members, and their dependents pay a reduced rate of $423 per credit, and Unity’s support for military students covers benefits and next steps.
How Employers View a 90-Credit Bachelor’s Degree
Most bachelor’s degrees require 120 credits, or about four years of full-time study. A 90-credit bachelor’s, often called an applied bachelor’s, reaches the same degree level with fewer general electives and more career-focused coursework, which is why it can take closer to three years. Our comparison of 90-credit and 120-credit bachelor’s degrees walks through the trade-offs in more detail.
Employers and graduate programs decide for themselves whether a degree meets their requirements, and degrees under 120 credits aren’t accepted everywhere. Before you enroll in any program like this, confirm three things:
- The education requirement for the agency or employer you’re targeting
- Entry requirements for any master’s program you might pursue
- How federal financial aid would work if you later decide to add a second bachelor’s degree
Accreditation matters just as much. Choose a program approved by a recognized institutional accreditor, since employers, graduate schools, and federal financial aid all rely on it. Unity’s program is approved by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE), and Unity’s accreditation and disclosure page explains what that means for your plans. If your goals change, you can also continue into a 120-credit pathway.
Environmental Crime Investigation Degree Cost and Time to Complete
What you’ll pay depends on three things: the price per credit, the number of credits the degree requires, and how many credits you bring with you. For context, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports that average annual tuition and fees at four-year schools in 2022 to 2023 ranged from $9,800 at public institutions to $40,700 at private nonprofit institutions.
Time works the same way. At 30 credits a year, a 120-credit bachelor’s takes about four years and a 90-credit bachelor’s takes about three, and transfer credit shortens either one.
At Unity Career Edge, tuition is $470 per credit, locked through 2030, with books and materials billed separately. Courses run in five-week terms with eight starts a year. You can transfer in up to 60 credits, including AP and CLEP credit, as long as at least 30 credits are earned at Unity. Here’s how transfer credit changes both your timeline and your tuition:
| Credits You Transfer In | Credits Remaining | Approximate Time at 30 Credits a Year | Estimated Tuition for Remaining Credits |
| 0 | 90 | About 3 years | $42,300 |
| 30 | 60 | About 2 years | $28,200 |
| 60 (maximum) | 30 | About 1 year | $14,100 |
Estimates are before financial aid and don’t include books or materials. Actual time depends on your transfer evaluation, course load, and academic progress, and Unity’s transfer students page explains how to get your credits reviewed.
Two funding sources can help cover the rest:
- Federal financial aid: The program is eligible for federal student aid, so start by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
- Employer tuition assistance: If your employer offers tuition benefits, our article on using employer tuition assistance explains how to request the benefit.
Plan Your Environmental Crime Investigation Degree at Unity
By now you can decide if this is the degree for you on your own terms: what it teaches, where its forensics work begins and ends, and how it fits the schedule you already have.
Unity Environmental University’s A.B.S. in Environmental Crime Investigation prepares you to carry an environmental case from the first piece of evidence to testimony. Along the way, you earn digital badges for skills-first general education courses and a Transferable Workplace Skills Endorsement, both shareable with employers before you graduate. Courses are designed for the life you’re already living, and our academic calendar shows upcoming start dates.
Request information about the Environmental Crime Investigation program to get your transfer credits reviewed and map out your start.
Common Questions About Environmental Crime Investigation Degrees
Can Police Academy or Military Training Count Toward the Degree?
It often can. Many programs accept military training through the Joint Services Transcript, which Unity evaluates using American Council on Education (ACE) recommendations. Other training and certifications can be reviewed through Unity’s Credit for Prior Learning process, a portfolio review worth up to 30 credits for a $500 fee. Transfer and prior learning credit together can’t exceed 60 credits.
How Much Time Does Each Term Take?
Expect a significant weekly commitment. Each five-week term typically includes 3 to 6 credits, and Unity’s credit-hour standard equals at least 45 hours of effort per credit, so a 3-credit course means roughly 27 hours a week. Courses have due dates and require participation at least twice a week.
Do You Need a Science or Criminal Justice Background to Start?
No. Enrollment requires a high school diploma or equivalent, with no application fee, essay, or SAT. The curriculum includes foundational biology and ecology courses, so you build the science background inside the degree.
