2024 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in Georgia

Ranked #30 in popularity, criminal justice & corrections is one of the most sought-after master's degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 10 schools in Georgia to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of criminal justice & corrections. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 127 master's degrees in criminal justice & corrections during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

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

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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

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

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to criminal justice & corrections students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - The number of criminal justice & corrections students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt criminal justice & corrections students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized criminal justice & corrections related body.

Our complete 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

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 & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in Georgia.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in Georgia

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections.

10 Top Georgia Schools for a Master's in Criminal Justice

1

Columbus State University
Columbus, GA

62 Annual Graduates

$65,327 Median Starting Salary

Columbus State University is a wonderful decision for individuals pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. CSU is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Columbus.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their master's degree from Columbus State University earn $17,475 more than the average criminal justice graduate.

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

2

Mercer University
Macon, GA

It is difficult to beat Mercer University if you wish to pursue a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Macon, Mercer is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Mercer University

3

Georgia College & State University
Milledgeville, GA

6 Annual Graduates

Georgia College & State University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the town of Milledgeville, Georgia College is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Georgia College & State University

4

Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA

13 Annual Graduates

Kennesaw State University is a good option for students interested in a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the suburb of Kennesaw, KSU Georgia is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Kennesaw State University

5

University of North Georgia
Dahlonega, GA

5 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Dahlonega, UNG is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of North Georgia

6

Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA

2 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Georgia State University

7

Albany State University
Albany, GA

18 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Albany, Albany State is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Albany State University

8

Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, GA

2 Annual Graduates

CAU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Atlanta.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Clark Atlanta University

9

South University, Savannah
Savannah, GA

4 Annual Graduates

$39,115 Median Starting Salary

South University, Savannah is a fairly small private for-profit university located in the city of Savannah.

Soon after graduating, criminal justice master's recipients generally make about $39,115 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from South University, Savannah

10

South University's online programs
Savannah, GA

15 Annual Graduates

$39,115 Median Starting Salary

South University's online programs is a medium-sized private for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Savannah.

After graduating, criminal justice master's recipients usually make around $39,115 in their early careers.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from South University’s online programs

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Florida	208	577
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 >

Rankings in Majors Related to Criminal Justice

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	84
Criminal Justice	43

Notes and References

• 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.