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2024 Best Criminal Justice Schools in the Southwest Region

28 Colleges in the Southwest Region
3,424 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
Criminal Justice is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #27 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual looked at 28 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Criminal Justice Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 3,424 degrees in criminal justice during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice School

Best Criminal Justice Schools in the Southwest Region Your choice of criminal justice school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Criminal Justice School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

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
Doctor'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 the Southwest Region. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Criminal Justice in the Southwest Region

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the criminal justice degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools in Criminal Justice

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In AZ
373 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in criminal justice needs to take a look at Arizona State University - Tempe. ASU - Tempe is a very large public university located in the midsize city of Tempe. A Best Colleges rank of #119 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.

There were about 373 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University - Tempe

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In AZ
976 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Any student who is interested in criminal justice has to look into University of Phoenix - Arizona. UOPX - Arizona is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #113 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UOPX - Arizona is a great university overall.

There were approximately 976 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UOPX - Arizona in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from University of Phoenix - Arizona

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In AZ
433 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Arizona State University - Skysong is a good option for students pursuing a degree in criminal justice. Located in the city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #314 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means ASU - Skysong is a great university overall.

There were about 433 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Arizona State University - Skysong

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In TX
44 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Sam Houston State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in criminal justice. Located in the distant town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #565 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SHSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 44 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at SHSU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In TX
542 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #458 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UT Rio Grande Valley is a great university overall.

There were roughly 542 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UT Rio Grande Valley in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In OK
43 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #140 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means University of Oklahoma is a great university overall.

There were roughly 43 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at University of Oklahoma in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In TX
104 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Wayland Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Plainview. A Best Colleges rank of #476 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Wayland Baptist University is a great university overall.

There were about 104 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Wayland Baptist University in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Wayland Baptist University

8
Tarleton crest
Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
21st Most Popular In TX

Tarleton is a fairly large public university located in the town of Stephenville. This university ranks 59th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were roughly 11 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Tarleton in the most recent data year.

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

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In OK

UCO is a large public university located in the large suburb of Edmond. A Best Colleges rank of #994 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCO is a great university overall.

There were approximately 25 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UCO in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from University of Central Oklahoma

10
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In AZ
78 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Yuma, AWC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population. This college ranks 23rd out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were approximately 78 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at AWC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Arizona Western College

Best Criminal Justice Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 905 1,196
Arizona 670 1,815
Oklahoma 565 274
New Mexico 416 33

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 Studies 6,952
Criminal Justice & Police Science 3,470
Corrections 1,281
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 753
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 214
Securities Services Administration/Management 122
Juvenile Corrections 69
Protective Services Operations 13
Corrections Administration 7
Security & Loss Prevention Services 1

View All Criminal Justice Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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