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2024 Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Schools in the Plains States Region

27 Colleges in the Plains States Region
1,628 Police Science Degrees Awarded
Ranked #74 in popularity, criminal justice & police science is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 27 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for criminal justice & police science students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,628 degrees in criminal justice & police science during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Police Science School

Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Schools in the Plains States Region Your choice of criminal justice & police science school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for criminal justice & police science schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Criminal Justice & Police Science Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Police Science
Bachelor's Degrees in Police Science

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Police Science in the Plains States Region

Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the police science degree levels they offer.

10 Top Plains States Region Schools in Police Science

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MN
68 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Minnesota State University - Mankato is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice & police science. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #351 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Minnesota State Mankato is a great university overall.

There were approximately 68 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Minnesota State University - Mankato

2
Century College crest
Century College
White Bear Lake, MN
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MN
69 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Every student pursuing a degree in criminal justice & police science needs to check out Century College. Located in the large suburb of White Bear Lake, Century College is a public college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #460 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Century College is a great college overall.

There were about 69 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at Century College in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Century College

3
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MN
128 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in criminal justice & police science has to take a look at Alexandria Technical & Community College. Located in the remote town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #999 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means ATCC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 128 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at ATCC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Alexandria Technical & Community College

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MN
66 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Metropolitan State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in criminal justice & police science. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #556 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Metro State is a great university overall.

There were about 66 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at Metro State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Metropolitan State University

5
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In MN
47 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Located in the fringe town of Cloquet, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is a public college with a small student population. This college ranks 1895th out of 2,217 schools for overall quality nationwide.

There were about 47 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
14th Most Popular In MN

Located in the town of Winona, SMU MN is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #576 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SMU MN is a great university overall.

There were approximately 13 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at SMU MN in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MO
121 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Joplin, Missouri Southern is a public university with a small student population. This university ranks 30th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were roughly 121 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at Missouri Southern in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Missouri Southern State University

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IA
57 Police Science Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Ankeny, DMACC is a public college with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #501 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means DMACC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 57 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at DMACC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Des Moines Area Community College

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In MN
13.8% Growth in Graduates

Normandale Community College is a medium-sized public college located in the small city of Bloomington. A Best Colleges rank of #343 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Normandale Community College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 29 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at Normandale Community College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from Normandale Community College

9
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In MN

North Hennepin Community College is a small public college located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park. A Best Colleges rank of #790 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means North Hennepin Community College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 30 criminal justice & police science students who graduated with this degree at North Hennepin Community College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & police science from North Hennepin Community College

Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice & police science colleges for a specific state in the Plains States Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 742 514
Missouri 693 179
Iowa 648 143
Kansas 599 17
Nebraska 500 44
North Dakota 416 13
South Dakota 381 49

View All Rankings >

One of 21 majors within the Criminal Justice & Corrections area of study, Criminal Justice & Police Science has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Police Science

Related Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 2,506
Criminal Justice 1,617
Corrections 126
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 63
Securities Services Administration/Management 55
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 30
Law Enforcement Investigation & Interviewing 30
Corrections Administration 13
Juvenile Corrections 12

View All Police Science Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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