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Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

31 Colleges
$24,450 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$36,578 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections School for You

Out of all the majors we analyze each year, criminal justice and corrections was ranked #36 in the country. In fact 7,783 degrees and certificates were handed out in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Grad Degree Search has created the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 31 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for criminal justice students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges.

Top 10 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

#1

Ferris State University

Big Rapids, MI

Our analysis found Ferris State University to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the distant town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Ferris undergraduate students pay an average of $13,188 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Ferris State University Report

#2

Youngstown State University

Youngstown, OH
$9,732 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Youngstown State University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best criminal justice and corrections schools in the Great Lakes Region . Youngstown State University is a large public school located in the small city of Youngstown.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Youngstown State University are $9,732 per year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Youngstown State University Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Trine University-Regional/Non-Traditional Campuses. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large city of Fort Wayne, Trine is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

Trine undergraduate students pay an average of $9,576 in tuition and fees each year.

Trine also claimed a spot on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools in this category.

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

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Illinois State University is a great value for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.

Illinois State undergraduate students pay an average of $24,172 in tuition and fees each year.

Illinois State excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

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

$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public college with a fairly large student population.

SIUE undergraduate students pay an average of $11,496 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#6

Xavier University

Cincinnati, OH

Xavier University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the city of Cincinnati, Xavier is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Xavier are $42,460 a year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Xavier University Report

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

Western Illinois University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Macomb.

WIU undergraduate students pay an average of $13,297 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Western Illinois University Report

$9,239 Average Tuition & Fees

Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value criminal justice and corrections programs. IWU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Marion.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at IWU are $9,239 a year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global Report

#9

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL
$35,472 Average Tuition & Fees

Lewis University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Lewis undergraduate students pay an average of $35,472 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lewis University

#10

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Aurora are $26,760 per year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Aurora University

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice and corrections schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 79
Illinois 182
Ohio 236
Indiana 103
Wisconsin 43

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.

  • 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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