2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections in South Dakota

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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 South Dakota, there were 208 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,283 and $27,581 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 135 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminal justice and corrections. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent criminal justice and corrections programs, but they also 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections in South Dakota

#1

University of South Dakota

Vermillion, South Dakota

#1 in overall quality

$18,555 Average Net Price

$37,640 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota list. University of South Dakota is located in Vermillion, South Dakota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 49 bachelors’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

USD also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend USD is $18,555 for south dakota bachelor’s degree criminal justice students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of South Dakota Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#2

University of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

#3 in overall quality

$19,893 Average Net Price

$31,423 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Sioux Falls. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota. University of Sioux Falls is a small school located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that handed out 22 bachelors’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Sioux Falls also took the #3 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Sioux Falls is $19,893 for south dakota bachelor’s degree criminal justice students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Sioux Falls

#4

Dakota Wesleyan University

Mitchell, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$21,574 Average Net Price

$40,095 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dakota Wesleyan University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Bachelor’s in South Dakota list. This small school is located in Mitchell, South Dakota, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

Dakota Wesleyan University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in South Dakota” list. The estimated yearly cost for Dakota Wesleyan University is $21,574 for South Dakota Bachelor’s Degree Criminal Justice students.

Full Dakota Wesleyan University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Plains States Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections

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.

Featured Criminal Justice Administration Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >