College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Criminal Justice Schools in Missouri

9 Colleges in Missouri
865 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 9 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice Schools in Missouri ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 865 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 Missouri 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 Missouri. 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 Missouri

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 Missouri Schools in Criminal Justice

1
Park University crest
Park University
Parkville, MO
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MO
179 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Park University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice. Located in the suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #327 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Park University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 179 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Park University in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Park University

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In MO
128 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

University of Central Missouri is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice. UCM is a large public university located in the distant town of Warrensburg. A Best Colleges rank of #967 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UCM is a great university overall.

There were about 128 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UCM in the most recent year we have data available.

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

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In MO
106 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in criminal justice has to take a look at Missouri Southern State University. Located in the city of Joplin, Missouri Southern is a public university with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1490 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Missouri Southern is a great university overall.

There were roughly 106 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Missouri Southern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Missouri Southern State University

4
Columbia College Missouri crest
Columbia College
Columbia, MO
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MO
187 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded

Columbia College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice. Columbia College Missouri is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Columbia. A Best Colleges rank of #664 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia College Missouri is a great college overall.

There were roughly 187 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Columbia College Missouri in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Columbia College

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In MO

UMKC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Kansas City. A Best Colleges rank of #480 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UMKC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 8 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at UMKC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from University of Missouri - Kansas City

5
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In MO
40.0% Growth in Graduates

Culver - Stockton is a fairly small private not-for-profit college located in the rural area of Canton. This college ranks 34th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were approximately 25 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Culver - Stockton in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Culver - Stockton College

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
125 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
41.6% Growth in Graduates

Drury University - CCPS is a fairly small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Springfield.More information about a degree in criminal justice from Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In MO

Located in the distant town of Fayette, CMU CLAS is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 32nd out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were about 15 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at CMU CLAS in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Central Methodist University - College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

8
Evangel crest
Evangel University
Springfield, MO
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12th Most Popular In MO
25.0% Growth in Graduates

Evangel is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Springfield. This university ranks 37th out of 48 colleges for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were about 8 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at Evangel in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Evangel University

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In MO

CMU CGES is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Fayette. This university ranks 40th out of 48 schools for overall quality in the state of Missouri.

There were roughly 15 criminal justice students who graduated with this degree at CMU CGES in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in criminal justice from Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies

Best Criminal Justice Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 742 314
Iowa 648 91
Kansas 599 281
Nebraska 500 21
North Dakota 416 2
South Dakota 381 0

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 349
Criminal Justice Studies 264
Corrections 82
Law Enforcement Investigation & Interviewing 28
Corrections Administration 13
Juvenile Corrections 12
Securities Services Administration/Management 6

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