College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Criminal Justice Schools in Tennessee

12 Colleges in Tennessee
811 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in criminal justice, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #27 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 12 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Criminal Justice Schools in Tennessee ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 811 degrees in criminal justice to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice School

Best Criminal Justice Schools in Tennessee Your choice of criminal justice school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for criminal justice schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Criminal Justice Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Criminal Justice
Bachelor's Degrees in Criminal Justice
Master's Degrees in Criminal Justice

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 the Best Criminal Justice Schools in Tennessee. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Criminal Justice in Tennessee

The schools below may not offer all types of criminal justice degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Tennessee Schools in Criminal Justice

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TN
125 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in criminal justice has to check out Middle Tennessee State University. Middle Tennessee State University is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Murfreesboro. A Best Colleges rank of #866 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Middle Tennessee State University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 125 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Middle Tennessee State University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Middle Tennessee State University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In TN
113 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in criminal justice has to look into University of Memphis. UofM is a very large public university located in the large city of Memphis. A Best Colleges rank of #748 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UofM is a great university overall.

There were approximately 113 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UofM in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from University of Memphis

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In TN
99 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in criminal justice needs to take a look at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. Located in the medium-sized city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #957 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Chattanooga is a great university overall.

There were approximately 99 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UT Chattanooga in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In TN
96 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

East Tennessee State University is a good choice for students interested in a degree in criminal justice. Located in the city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #851 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means ETSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 96 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at ETSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from East Tennessee State University

5
Bethel crest
Bethel University
McKenzie, TN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In TN
53 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Bethel is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of McKenzie. A Best Colleges rank of #1180 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Bethel is a great university overall.

There were approximately 53 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Bethel in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Bethel University

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11th Most Popular In TN
12.5% Growth in Graduates

Located in the town of Lebanon, CU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 30th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were roughly 16 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at CU in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Cumberland University

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In TN
68 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Tennessee State University is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Nashville. This university ranks 28th out of 45 schools for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 68 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Tennessee State University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Tennessee State University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In TN
48 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

UT Martin is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Martin. This university ranks 31st out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 48 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UT Martin in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from The University of Tennessee - Martin

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In TN
91 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Austin Peay State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the medium-sized city of Clarksville. This university ranks 29th out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were approximately 91 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Austin Peay State University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Austin Peay State University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
15th Most Popular In TN

Martin Methodist is a small public college located in the distant town of Pulaski. This college ranks 43rd out of 45 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.

There were about 6 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Martin Methodist in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Martin Methodist College

Best Criminal Justice Colleges in the Southeast Region

Explore all the Best Criminal Justice Colleges in the Southeast Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 715 981
North Carolina 710 335
Georgia 690 455
Virginia 630 722
South Carolina 530 572
Kentucky 518 639
Mississippi 501 214
Alabama 500 381
Louisiana 489 24
Arkansas 466 114
West Virginia 410 41

View All Rankings >

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

Related Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice & Police Science 413
Criminal Justice Studies 322
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 11
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 4
Protective Services Operations 3

View All Criminal Justice Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options