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2023 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice

11 Ranked Colleges
92 Degrees Awarded
$34,700 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 32,891 people earned their degree in criminal justice, making the major the 27th most popular in the United States.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 92 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in criminal justice. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their criminal justice program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.

Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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The criminal justice school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major

The colleges and universities below are the best for doctor’s degree criminal justice students.

Top 11 Most Focused Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice

1
Walden University crest
Walden University
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Out of the 11 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Walden University landed the #1 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 66 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Walden University Criminal Justice Report

2
The Graduate Center crest
The Graduate Center, CUNY
New York, New York

Out of the 11 schools in the Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major that were part of this year’s ranking, The Graduate Center, CUNY landed the #2 spot on the list. New York, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at The Graduate Center, CUNY

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas Southern University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major list. TSU is a public institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Texas Southern University

4
University of New Haven crest
University of New Haven
West Haven, Connecticut

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of New Haven. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major list. University of New Haven is located in West Haven, Connecticut and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of New Haven Criminal Justice Report

5
UofL crest
University of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Louisville. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major list. This large school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at University of Louisville

6
GMU crest
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

George Mason University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Fairfax, Virginia, this large public school awarded 4 degrees to qualified doctorate’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Criminal Justice at GMU

7
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas

Texas State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major ranking, coming in at #7. Located in San Marcos, Texas, this large public school awarded 2 degrees to qualified doctorate’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Texas State

8
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

Michigan State University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major ranking, coming in at #8. Michigan State University is a public institution located in East Lansing, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Michigan State

9
Northcentral University crest
Northcentral University
San Diego, California

Northcentral University ranked #9 on this year’s Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major list. San Diego, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Northcentral University

9

With a ranking of #9, University of South Carolina - Columbia did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major list. UofSC is a large school located in Columbia, South Carolina that handed out 223 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at University of South Carolina - Columbia

9
Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale crest
Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida

With a ranking of #9, Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Doctorate Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major list. Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a fairly large school located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that handed out 165 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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