2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 33,568 people earned their degree in criminal justice, making the major the 32nd most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 8,875 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 154 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in criminal justice. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminal justice programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminal justice program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice in California (With Aid)

#1

National University

La Jolla, California

#2 in overall quality

$15,480 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend National University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. National University is a fairly large school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 26 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

National University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Criminal Justice Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at National University are $15,480, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at National University

#2

University of San Diego

San Diego, California

#1 in overall quality

$28,410 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of San Diego landed the #2 spot on the list. University of San Diego is located in San Diego, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 126 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USD, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at USD are $28,410, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at USD

#3

University of Antelope Valley

Lancaster, California

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Antelope Valley. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Lancaster, California, and it awarded 1 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

UAV did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #0 on our “Best Criminal Justice Master’s Degree Schools in California” list.

Full UAV Criminal Justice Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice in the Far Western US Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice (With Aid)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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