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2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

9 Ranked Colleges
176 Degrees Awarded
$20,500 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 113,581 criminal justice and corrections students received their degree, making the major the 6th most popular in the country. In 2017-2018, criminal justice and corrections graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,952 and had an average of $24,936 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 2,972 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,492 and $25,635 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 176 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,267 and $46,814 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in criminal justice and corrections. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminal justice and corrections programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the criminal justice and corrections program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

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 “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 29 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UChicago are $61,548, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Chicago

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #2 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Edwardsville, Illinois, and it awarded 4 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k list, SIUE has also earned the #0 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at SIUE are $9,300.

Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#3

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Governors State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. GSU is a small school located in University Park, Illinois that handed out 6 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

GSU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at GSU are $14,674.

Full GSU Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. UIC is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UIC are $27,036, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at UIC

#5

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 49 diplomas to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at WIU are $11,996.

Full Western Illinois University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#6

Lewis University

Romeoville, Illinois

Lewis University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Romeoville, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 45 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k list, Lewis has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Lewis are $14,780, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Lewis University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #7. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 7 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Illinois State are $11,069, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Illinois State

#8

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago State University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois master’s degree criminal justice students whose families make $30-$48k list, CSU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Chicago State University are $15,056.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Chicago State University

#9

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 11 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Loyola Chicago are $19,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Loyola University Chicago Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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