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2024 Best Criminal Justice Master's Degree Schools

103 Colleges in the United States
2,792 Master's Degrees
Ranked #69 in popularity, criminal justice is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 103 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of criminal justice. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 2,792 master's degrees in criminal justice during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice School for Your Master's Degree

Best Criminal Justice Master's Degree Schools Your choice of criminal justice for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a master's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for criminal justice students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Criminal Justice Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminal Justice Master's Degree Schools ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.


 

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Criminal Justice in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

17 Top Schools for a Master's in Criminal Justice

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
98 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Massachusetts - Lowell if you wish to pursue a master's degree in criminal justice. UMass Lowell is a large public university located in the large suburb of Lowell.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from University of Massachusetts - Lowell

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
131 Annual Graduates

University of San Diego is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in criminal justice. Located in the city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from University of San Diego

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
196 Annual Graduates

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in criminal justice needs to look into John Jay College of Criminal Justice. John Jay is a large public college located in the large city of New York.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
163 Annual Graduates

Arizona State University - Skysong is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in criminal justice. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public university located in the city of Scottsdale.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Arizona State University - Skysong

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
185 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Phoenix, UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from University of Phoenix - Arizona

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
33 Annual Graduates

SHSU is a fairly large public university located in the distant town of Huntsville.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
28 Annual Graduates

RWU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Bristol.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Roger Williams University

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
60 Annual Graduates

Salve Regina is a small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Newport.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Salve Regina University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Annual Graduates

Columbia Southern University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the town of Orange Beach.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Columbia Southern University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from George Mason University

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Annual Graduates

UofL is a very large public university located in the large city of Louisville.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from University of Louisville

11
Walden University crest
Walden University
Minneapolis, MN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
150 Annual Graduates

Walden University is a very large private for-profit university located in the city of Minneapolis.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Walden University

11
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20 Annual Graduates

Michigan State is a very large public university located in the small city of East Lansing.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Michigan State University

12
Curry crest
Curry College
Milton, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
23 Annual Graduates

Curry is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Milton.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Curry College

13
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
10 Annual Graduates

UST MN is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Paul.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from University of St Thomas Minnesota

14
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Annual Graduates

Located in the remote town of Williamsburg, Cumberlands is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from University of the Cumberlands

15
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Clinton, MC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice from Mississippi College

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Criminal Justice Master's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
16 Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale, FL
17 National University San Diego, CA
18 Wayland Baptist University Plainview, TX
19 Wilmington University New Castle, DE
20 ,
20 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX
21 Purdue University Global West Lafayette, IN
22 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
23 St John’s University - New York Queens, NY
24 Widener University Chester, PA
25 Texas State University San Marcos, TX

Criminal Justice by Region

View the Best Criminal Justice Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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

Majors Similar to Criminal Justice

Related Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 3,405
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 469
Securities Services Administration/Management 130
Law Enforcement Investigation & Interviewing 125
Criminal Justice & Police Science 90
Security & Loss Prevention Services 62
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 33
Juvenile Corrections 20
Corrections Administration 8
Corrections 1

Notes and References

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