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2022 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections

29 Ranked Colleges
215 Degrees Awarded
$21,900 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 215 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $72,680 and $116,043 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate” ranking looked at 29 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate.

Top 25 Best Value Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections

#1

Walden University

Minneapolis, Minnesota
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Walden University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. Walden University is a private for-profit institution located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has a large population, and it awarded 48 doctorate’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Walden University also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #7. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Walden University are $10,716.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Walden University

#2

Capella University

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Out of the 29 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, Capella University landed the #2 spot on the list. Minneapolis, Minnesota is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 24 students in 2019-2020.

Capella University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Capella University are $14,767, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Capella University

#3

The Graduate Center, CUNY

New York, New York

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The Graduate Center, CUNY. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate. New York, New York is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

The Graduate Center also took the #1 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at The Graduate Center are $23,640.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at The Graduate Center

#4

Sam Houston State University

Huntsville, Texas
#14 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Sam Houston State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Huntsville, Texas, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

SHSU also took the #14 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SHSU are $15,704, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Sam Houston State University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#5

California University of Pennsylvania

California, Pennsylvania
#11 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California University of Pennsylvania. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate. California University of Pennsylvania is a medium-sized school located in California, Pennsylvania that handed out 16 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree criminal justice students list, Cal U has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Cal U are $18,508.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at California University of Pennsylvania

#23 in overall quality

University of Nebraska at Omaha came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. University of Nebraska at Omaha is located in Omaha, Nebraska and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

UNOMAHA also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #23. Average graduate tuition and fees at UNOMAHA are $16,374, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at UNOMAHA

#7

University of North Dakota

Grand Forks, North Dakota
#20 in overall quality

University of North Dakota came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. University of North Dakota is a fairly large public school situated in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It awarded 1 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

UND also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #20. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of North Dakota are $18,326, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at UND

#8

University of Southern Mississippi

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

University of Southern Mississippi ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. Hattiesburg, Mississippi is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Southern Mississippi are $10,896, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southern Miss

#9

University of New Haven

West Haven, Connecticut
#10 in overall quality

University of New Haven did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #9. University of New Haven is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in West Haven, Connecticut. It awarded 2 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

University of New Haven also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #10. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of New Haven are $17,610.

Full University of New Haven Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#3 in overall quality

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. UC is a large school located in Cincinnati, Ohio that handed out 25 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

UC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC are $26,644, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

#11

Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas

Texas State University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. Texas State University is located in San Marcos, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

Texas State also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #24. Average graduate tuition and fees at Texas State University are $17,040, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Texas State Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#12

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

Little Rock, Arkansas

University of Arkansas at Little Rock did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #12. This medium-sized school is located in Little Rock, Arkansas, and it awarded 1 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Arkansas at Little Rock are $14,884, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Arkansas at Little Rock

#13

Florida State University

Tallahassee, Florida
#8 in overall quality

Florida State University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. This large school is located in Tallahassee, Florida, and it awarded 7 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

Florida State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Florida State University are $26,707, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Florida State

#14

Northeastern University

Boston, Massachusetts
#2 in overall quality

Northeastern University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. Northeastern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 3 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree criminal justice students list, Northeastern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Northeastern University are $25,558, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Northeastern

#19 in overall quality

Florida International University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #15. Miami, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree criminal justice students list, FIU has also earned the #19 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Florida International University are $24,211.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at FIU

#16

Nova Southeastern University

Fort Lauderdale, Florida
#18 in overall quality

Nova Southeastern University landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. This large school is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it awarded 11 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

NUS Florida not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #18 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Nova Southeastern University are $22,242, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full NUS Florida Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#17

Texas Southern University

Houston, Texas

Texas Southern University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. Houston, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

Average graduate tuition and fees at TSU are $13,221, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Texas Southern University

#18

University of Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky
#17 in overall quality

University of Louisville did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #18. This large school is located in Louisville, Kentucky, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

UofL also took the #17 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UofL are $27,575.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at UofL

#25 in overall quality

University of Nevada - Las Vegas did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #19. Las Vegas, Nevada is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UNLV, the school also landed the #25 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at UNLV are $21,962, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Nevada - Las Vegas

#20

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
#13 in overall quality

Temple University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. This large school is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree criminal justice students list, Temple has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Temple University are $24,236, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Temple University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

#16 in overall quality

With a ranking of #21, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s criminal justice students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #16 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of Illinois at Chicago are $27,036, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Illinois at Chicago

#22

Washington State University

Pullman, Washington
#15 in overall quality

Washington State University ranked #22 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Pullman, Washington, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Wazzu, the school also landed the #15 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Wazzu are $27,561, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Wazzu

#23

University of Central Florida

Orlando, Florida
#22 in overall quality

University of Central Florida did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #23. Located in Orlando, Florida, this large public school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s criminal justice students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UCF, the school also landed the #22 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at University of Central Florida are $28,657.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Central Florida

#24

Indiana University - Bloomington

Bloomington, Indiana
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #24, Indiana University - Bloomington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate list. Indiana University - Bloomington is a large public school situated in Bloomington, Indiana. It awarded 3 doctorate’s criminal justice degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree criminal justice students list, IU Bloomington has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at IU Bloomington are $33,338, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Indiana University - Bloomington

#25

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan
#4 in overall quality

Michigan State University landed the #25 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools for a Doctorate ranking. East Lansing, Michigan is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminal justice degrees to 7 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree criminal justice students list, Michigan State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Michigan State are $37,056, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Michigan State

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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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