Graduate Certificates in Criminal Justice & Corrections
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Education Levels of Criminal Justice Majors
In 2019-2020, 584 earned their graduate certificate in criminal justice. This earns it the #23 spot on the list of the most popular graduate certificate programs in the nation.
The following table shows the number of diplomas awarded in criminal justice at each degree level.
Education Level | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Master’s Degree | 6,653 |
Graduate Certificate | 584 |
Doctor’s Degree | 215 |
Earnings of Criminal Justice Majors With Graduate Certificates
The median salary for graduates holding a graduate certificate in criminal justice is $77,800. This number may vary for a lot of reasons. For instance, you may decide to move to a location where people with your degree are rare and make more money. To get a better picture, earnings for this category of people can range from a low of $77,800 to a high of $77,800.

Student Debt
The median student debt for graduates holding a graduate certificate in criminal justice is $34,746. The school you go to and how long it takes you to graduate, among other things, can cause this number to vary. The chart below shows the range of accumulated debt loads. On the high side of the range, $41,085 is the debt load, and the debt load on the low side is $28,407.

The median monthly payment of a criminal justice graduate with a 10-year repayment plan is $405.
Student Diversity
More men than women pursue graduate certificates in criminal justice. About 67.8% of graduates in this field are male.
Gender | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Men | 396 |
Women | 188 |

The racial-ethnic distribution of criminal justice graduate certificate students is as follows:
Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 15 |
Black or African American | 57 |
Hispanic or Latino | 52 |
White | 239 |
International Students | 16 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 205 |

Most Popular Criminal Justice Programs for Graduate Certificates
There are 93 colleges that offer a graduate certificate in criminal justice. Learn more about the most popular 20 below:
University of Virginia - Main Campus tops the list of the most popular school in the U.S. for criminal justice majors who are seeking their graduate certificate. Roughly 25,600 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $15,772 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $17,076 per year. For the 2019-2020 academic year, 166 graduate certificates were handed out to criminal justice majors at University of Virginia. Around 2% of these students were from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group, and 13% were women.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice is the 2nd most popular school in the nation for students seeking a graduate certificate in criminal justice. Each year, around 15,700 students seeking various degrees attend the university. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $6,930 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $11,090 per year. During the 2019-2020 academic year, 127 people received their graduate certificate in criminal justice from John Jay. Of these students, 46% were women and 54% were members of underrepresented racial-ethnic groups.
University of Massachusetts - Lowell is the 3rd most popular school in the nation for students seeking a graduate certificate in criminal justice. Roughly 18,100 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $15,078 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $14,590 per year. For the 2019-2020 academic year, 66 graduate certificates were handed out to criminal justice majors at UMass Lowell. About 64% of this group were women, and 16% were students from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group.
Salve Regina University is the 4th most popular school in the nation for students seeking a graduate certificate in criminal justice. Each year, around 2,700 students seeking various degrees attend the university. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $42,220 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $11,250 per year. The criminal justice program at Salve Regina University awarded 58 graduate certificates during the 2019-2020 school year. Around 9% of these students were from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group, and 50% were women.
University of Louisville is the 5th most popular school in the nation for students seeking a graduate certificate in criminal justice. Each year, around 22,200 students seeking various degrees attend the university. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $11,966 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $13,260 per year. The criminal justice program at University of Louisville awarded 57 graduate certificates during the 2019-2020 school year. About 10% of this group were women, and 13% were students from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group.
The 6th most popular school in the country for criminal justice majors who are seeking their graduate certificate is Arizona State University - Skysong. Roughly 53,900 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $10,710 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $6,516 per year. The criminal justice program at Arizona State University - Skysong awarded 29 graduate certificates during the 2019-2020 school year. About 55% of this group were women, and 18% were students from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group.
The 8th most popular school in the country for criminal justice majors who are seeking their graduate certificate is Liberty University. Roughly 93,300 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $14,791 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $7,935 per year. During the 2019-2020 academic year, 21 people received their graduate certificate in criminal justice from Liberty University. About 35% of this group were women, and 18% were students from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group.
The 10th most popular school in the country for criminal justice majors who are seeking their graduate certificate is American Public University System. Each year, around 50,000 students seeking various degrees attend the university. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $6,840 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $6,660 per year. The criminal justice program at American Public University System awarded 20 graduate certificates during the 2019-2020 school year. Of these students, 27% were women and 36% were members of underrepresented racial-ethnic groups.
University of Houston - Downtown comes in at #16 on our list of the most popular colleges offering graduate certificates in criminal justice. Roughly 15,200 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $5,673 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $7,821 per year. During the 2019-2020 academic year, 10 people received their graduate certificate in criminal justice from UH Downtown. Of these students, 38% were women and 75% were members of underrepresented racial-ethnic groups.
The 18th most popular school in the country for criminal justice majors who are seeking their graduate certificate is University of Denver. Each year, around 13,800 students seeking various degrees attend the university. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $52,596 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $52,596 per year. The criminal justice program at University of Denver awarded 8 graduate certificates during the 2019-2020 school year. Of these students, 29% were women and 29% were members of underrepresented racial-ethnic groups.
The 19th most popular school in the country for criminal justice majors who are seeking their graduate certificate is University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. Roughly 27,700 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $4,788 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $6,943 per year. The criminal justice program at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus awarded 7 graduate certificates during the 2019-2020 school year. Around 50% of these students were from an underrepresented racial-ethnic group, and 50% were women.
California University of Pennsylvania is the 19th most popular school in the nation for students seeking a graduate certificate in criminal justice. Roughly 6,800 attend the school each year. The average in-state tuition for full-time undergraduates is $7,716 per year, while in-state graduate students, on average, pay $9,288 per year. For the 2019-2020 academic year, 7 graduate certificates were handed out to criminal justice majors at Cal U. Of these students, 33% were women and 8% were members of underrepresented racial-ethnic groups.
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Related Majors
Below are some popular majors that are similar to criminal justice that offer graduate certificates.
Major | Annual Degrees Awarded |
---|---|
Homeland Security | 318 |
265 | |
Other Homeland Security | 57 |
Fire Protection | 13 |
References
*The racial-ethnic minority student count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the percentage of racial-ethnic minorities.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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