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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice in Pennsylvania

10 Ranked Colleges
194 Degrees Awarded
$16,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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

Across Pennsylvania, there were 727 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 194 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in criminal justice. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent criminal justice programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminal justice program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania

The colleges and universities below are the best for pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students.

Top 10 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice in Pennsylvania

#1

Lehigh Carbon Community College

Schnecksville, Pennsylvania
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lehigh Carbon Community College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania. Lehigh Carbon Community College is a medium-sized school located in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania that handed out 22 associates’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

LCCC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend LCCC is $7,117 for Pennsylvania Associate Degree Criminal Justice students.

Full LCCC Criminal Justice Report

#2

Harrisburg Area Community College

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Harrisburg Area Community College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania. This fairly large school is located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 63 associates’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students list, HACC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. It costs about $11,990 for Pennsylvania Associate Degree Criminal Justice students per year to attend HACC.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Harrisburg Area Community College

#3

Lock Haven University

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lock Haven University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania. Lock Haven, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out associates’s criminal justice degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

LHU also made our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $20,506 for pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students per year to attend Lock Haven University.

Read more about Criminal Justice at LHU

#4

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

Mansfield, Pennsylvania
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania landed the #4 spot on the list. Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is a public institution located in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Mansfield University also took the #5 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Mansfield University of Pennsylvania is $19,065 for Pennsylvania Associate Degree Criminal Justice students.

Full Mansfield University Criminal Justice Report

#9 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College landed the #5 spot on the list. Pennsylvania Highlands is a small public school situated in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It awarded 14 associates’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students list, Pennsylvania Highlands has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Pennsylvania Highlands Community College is $7,583 for Pennsylvania Associate Degree Criminal Justice students.

Full Pennsylvania Highlands Criminal Justice Report

#6

Peirce College

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#7 in overall quality

Peirce College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania ranking. Peirce College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It awarded 13 associates’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students list, Peirce has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Peirce College is $10,128 for pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Peirce

#7

Clarion University of Pennsylvania

Clarion, Pennsylvania
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Clarion University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania list. Clarion University of Pennsylvania is a public institution located in Clarion, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 16 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Clarion University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. The estimated yearly cost for Clarion University is $20,011 for pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Clarion University

#8

York College of Pennsylvania

York, Pennsylvania
#2 in overall quality

York College of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #8. YCP is located in York, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 associates’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at YCP, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The yearly cost to attend York College of Pennsylvania is $20,652 for Pennsylvania Associate Degree Criminal Justice students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full YCP Criminal Justice Report

#9

Harcum College

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
#8 in overall quality

Harcum College landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania ranking. Harcum College is located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 associates’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

Harcum College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” list. It costs about $23,588 for Pennsylvania Associate Degree Criminal Justice students per year to attend Harcum College.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Harcum College

#10

South Hills School of Business & Technology

State College, Pennsylvania
#10 in overall quality

South Hills School of Business & Technology ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for an Associate in Pennsylvania list. South Hills School of Business & Technology is a private for-profit institution located in State College, Pennsylvania. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students list, South Hills School of Business & Technology has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in Pennsylvania” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for South Hills School of Business & Technology is $20,644 for pennsylvania associate degree criminal justice students.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Criminal Justice at South Hills School of Business & Technology

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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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