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2024 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

78 Colleges in the Southeast Region
2,280 Master's Degrees
$44,568 Avg Early-Career Salary
Criminal Justice & Corrections is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #30 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.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 78 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for criminal justice & corrections students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,280 master's degrees in criminal justice & corrections to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School for Your Master's Degree

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region Your choice of criminal justice & corrections for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality criminal justice program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for criminal justice & corrections students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Criminal Justice Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Southeast Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for criminal justice & corrections students seeking a a master's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

11 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Master's in Criminal Justice

1

American Public University System is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the fringe town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at American Public University System get $17,370 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from American Public University System

2
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

Florida State University is a great choice for students pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn an average of $45,057 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Florida State University

3

Any student who is interested in a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections needs to take a look at Columbia Southern University. Located in the fringe town of Orange Beach, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit university with a large student population.

Criminal Justice & Corrections master's degree recipients from Columbia Southern University get an earnings boost of around $13,933 over the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Columbia Southern University

4

Any student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections has to check out George Mason University. GMU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Fairfax.

Master's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at George Mason University make $11,153 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from George Mason University

5
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA

Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Criminal Justice & Corrections master's degree recipients from Liberty University receive an earnings boost of about $12,261 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Liberty University

6

UCF is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Orlando.

Students who graduate with their master's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $45,067.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Central Florida

7

Located in the city of Louisville, UofL is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Master's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at University of Louisville get $24,715 above the typical college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Louisville

8
St. Leo University crest
Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FL

Located in the small suburb of Saint Leo, St. Leo University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their master's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career wages of $43,614.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Saint Leo University

9
51 Annual Graduates

Cumberlands is a large private not-for-profit university located in the remote town of Williamsburg.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of the Cumberlands

10
8 Annual Graduates

MC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the large suburb of Clinton.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Mississippi College

11

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Fort Lauderdale.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make around $43,676 for their early career.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Florida International University Miami, FL
13 University of South Carolina - Columbia Columbia, SC
14 Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL
15 Columbus State University Columbus, GA
16 University of Mississippi University, MS
17 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL
18 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA
19 Columbia College Columbia, SC

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice & corrections schools for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 208 577
Georgia 190 127
Virginia 182 568
North Carolina 178 81
Tennessee 166 109
Alabama 151 211
Kentucky 147 110
Louisiana 147 201
South Carolina 146 61
Mississippi 145 41
Arkansas 121 18
West Virginia 112 176

View All Rankings >

Criminal Justice & Corrections is one of 4 different types of Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting programs to choose from.

Criminal Justice Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 1,578
Criminal Justice 647
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 30
Securities Services Administration/Management 25

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 753
Security Science and Technology 317
Other Homeland Security 187
Fire Protection 13

Notes and References

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