College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Criminal Justice Studies Schools in California

17 Colleges in California
4,834 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded
Criminal Justice Studies is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #16 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 17 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice Studies Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,834 degrees in criminal justice studies during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice Studies School

Best Criminal Justice Studies Schools in California Your choice of criminal justice studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Criminal Justice Studies School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that 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 Studies Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Criminal Justice Studies
Bachelor's Degrees in Criminal Justice Studies
Master's Degrees in Criminal Justice Studies

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminal Justice Studies Schools in California ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Criminal Justice Studies in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the criminal justice studies degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Criminal Justice Studies

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
391 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

San Diego State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice studies. SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were about 391 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from San Diego State University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In CA
420 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

The University of Arizona Global Campus is a great option for students pursuing a degree in criminal justice studies. UAGC is a very large private for-profit university located in the city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #305 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UAGC is a great university overall.

There were about 420 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at UAGC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from The University of Arizona Global Campus

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In CA
493 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

It is hard to beat California State University - Sacramento if you wish to pursue a degree in criminal justice studies. Located in the large city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #249 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Sac State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 493 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from California State University - Sacramento

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In CA
233 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

San Francisco State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice studies. SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #204 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 233 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from San Francisco State University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In CA
321 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Long Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were about 321 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from California State University - Long Beach

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In CA
365 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #252 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cal State Fullerton is a great university overall.

There were roughly 365 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at Cal State Fullerton in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from California State University - Fullerton

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In CA
330 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

Cal State LA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 84th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 330 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at Cal State LA in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from California State University - Los Angeles

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In CA
266 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

Located in the midsize city of San Bernardino, CSUSB is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 99th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 266 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at CSUSB in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from California State University - San Bernardino

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10th Most Popular In CA
242 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

Located in the suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #366 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Cal State East Bay is a great university overall.

There were roughly 242 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at Cal State East Bay in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from California State University - East Bay

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In CA
237 Criminal Justice Studies Degrees Awarded

San Jose State is a fairly large public university located in the large city of San Jose. A Best Colleges rank of #161 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means San Jose State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 237 criminal justice studies students who graduated with this degree at San Jose State in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice studies from San Jose State University

Best Criminal Justice Studies Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Criminal Justice Studies Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 831 284
Oregon 587 300
Nevada 354 588
Hawaii 267 78

View All Rankings >

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice 8,527
Criminal Justice & Police Science 1,897
Corrections 372
Security & Loss Prevention Services 294
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 25
Securities Services Administration/Management 11

View All Criminal Justice Studies Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options