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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections in California (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
364 Degrees Awarded
$18,900 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master's in California For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

With 113,581 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, criminal justice and corrections is the 6th most popular major in the United States. 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 California, there were 16,534 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,495 and $19,443 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 364 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered 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.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminal justice and corrections program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid.

Top 9 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections in California (With Aid)

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Long Beach. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 19 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full CSULB Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Stanislaus. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid list. California State University - Stanislaus is a fairly large public school situated in Turlock, California. It awarded 3 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree criminal justice students with aid list, Stan State has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Stanislaus are $18,540.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at California State University - Stanislaus

#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - San Bernardino. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. San Bernardino, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

CSUSB also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #7. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - San Bernardino are $17,936, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at California State University - San Bernardino

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Sacramento landed the #4 spot on the list. Sac State is located in Sacramento, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree criminal justice students with aid list, Sac State has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Sac State are $18,356, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at California State University - Sacramento

#5

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 7 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also took the #5 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State University are $18,790, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at San Jose State University

The University of Arizona Global Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 153 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

UAGC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at The University of Arizona Global Campus are $14,664, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at The University of Arizona Global Campus

#7

National University

La Jolla, California

National University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. National University is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 26 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

National University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at National University are $15,480.

Full National University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#8

University of San Diego

San Diego, California

University of San Diego did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 126 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USD, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of San Diego are $28,410.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at USD

#9

University of Antelope Valley

Lancaster, California

University of Antelope Valley did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. This small school is located in Lancaster, California, and it awarded 1 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

UAV also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #0.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at UAV

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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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