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Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

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2023 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

261 Colleges
$35,465 Avg Salary
$25,425 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections School for You

Criminal Justice & Corrections is the #36 most popular major in the country with 7,783 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Grad Degree Search has created its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 261 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the United States

Check out the criminal justice programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 25 Top Schools in Criminal Justice & Corrections

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

Our 2023 rankings named University of Chicago the best school in the United States for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#2

University of San Diego

San Diego, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of San Diego. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. USD is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of San Diego

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of St Thomas Minnesota. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. Located in the city of Saint Paul, UST MN is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public college with a very large student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Report

#5

Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wayland Baptist University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. Wayland Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Plainview.

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#6

Southwestern College

Winfield, KS

Southwestern College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the town of Winfield, SC is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southwestern College

#7

Simpson College

Indianola, IA

Simpson College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the town of Indianola, Simpson College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Simpson College Report

North Dakota State University - Main Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at North Dakota State University - Main Campus

#9

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

Texas Christian University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools ranking. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Texas Christian University

#10

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND

With a ranking of #10, University of North Dakota did quite well on this year’s best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. UND is a large public school located in the small city of Grand Forks.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of North Dakota

#11

George Washington University

Washington, DC

George Washington University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a very large student population.

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Minnesota State University - Mankato came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools ranking. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Minnesota State University - Mankato

University of Massachusetts - Lowell ranked #13 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. UMass Lowell is a large public school located in the suburb of Lowell.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Massachusetts - Lowell Report

University of Wisconsin - Platteville ranked #14 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. UW - Platteville is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Platteville.

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California State University - Long Beach did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #15 on the list. CSULB is a fairly large public school located in the city of Long Beach.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at California State University - Long Beach Report

Illinois State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Illinois State University Report

#17

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

With a ranking of #17, Michigan State University did quite well on this year’s best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Michigan State University

#18

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

Lewis University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lewis University

#19

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY

University of Louisville landed the #19 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the city of Louisville, UofL is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Louisville Report

Concordia University, Saint Paul did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the large city of Saint Paul, Concordia University, Saint Paul is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Concordia University, Saint Paul Report

With a ranking of #21, West Chester University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the large suburb of West Chester, WCUPA is a public school with a large student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at West Chester University of Pennsylvania Report

#22

Saint Louis University

Saint Louis, MO

Saint Louis University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Saint Louis University Report

#23

Seattle University

Seattle, WA

Seattle University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. Located in the city of Seattle, Seattle U is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Seattle University

American Public University System ranked #24 on this year’s Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools list. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at American Public University System

With a ranking of #25, Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses did quite well on this year’s best schools for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the large city of Fort Wayne, Trine is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses

Rest of the Top Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

#26

Boston University

Boston, MA
#27

Salve Regina University

Newport, RI
#28

Northeastern University

Boston, MA
#29

Curry College

Milton, MA
#31

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA
#33

DeSales University

Center Valley, PA
#34

Excelsior College

Albany, NY
#37

University of North Georgia

Dahlonega, GA

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students that almost earned our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools award.

Rank College Location
40 Columbus State University Columbus, GA
41 Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA
42 Xavier University Cincinnati, OH
43 Fisher College Boston, MA
44 Bellevue University Bellevue, NE
45 Marywood University Scranton, PA
46 Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI
47 Mississippi College Clinton, MS
48 Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN
49 Roger Williams University Bristol, RI
50 Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA
51 Arizona State University - Skysong Scottsdale, AZ
52 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL

Criminal Justice & Corrections by Region

View the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

Criminal Justice & Corrections is one of 4 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 2,759
Security Science and Technology 1,875
Other Homeland Security 456
Fire Protection 172

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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