Ranked #27 in popularity, criminal justice is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 8 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice Schools in New Jersey ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 620 degrees in criminal justice during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Your choice of criminal justice school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Criminal Justice 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.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminal Justice Schools in New Jersey list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the criminal justice degree levels they offer.
Raritan Valley Community College is a good choice for students interested in a degree in criminal justice. Located in the rural area of Branchburg, RVCC is a public college with a medium-sized student population. This college ranks 36th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were roughly 69 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at RVCC in the most recent year we have data available.
The College of New Jersey is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice. Located in the large suburb of Ewing, TCNJ is a public college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #251 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means TCNJ is a great college overall.
There were approximately 56 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at TCNJ in the most recent data year.
Kean University is a wonderful decision for students interested in a degree in criminal justice. Located in the suburb of Union, Kean is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #942 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Kean is a great university overall.
There were roughly 169 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Kean in the most recent data year.
It is hard to beat Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus if you want to pursue a degree in criminal justice. Located in the large suburb of Teaneck, FDU is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #844 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means FDU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 37 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at FDU in the most recent year we have data available.
Located in the suburb of Cranford, Union County College is a public college with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1132 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Union County College is a great college overall.
There were approximately 82 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Union County College in the most recent year we have data available.
Berkeley College - Woodland Park is a small private for-profit college located in the large suburb of Woodland Park. This college ranks 34th out of 44 colleges for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were approximately 105 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Berkeley College - Woodland Park in the most recent data year.
CSE is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Morristown. This college ranks 26th out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were about 11 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at CSE in the most recent year we have data available.
RCSJ is a moderately-sized public college located in the suburb of Sewell. This college ranks 43rd out of 44 schools for overall quality in the state of New Jersey.
There were approximately 82 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at RCSJ in the most recent data year.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
college factual
Your choice of criminal justice school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Criminal Justice School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.
