College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2024 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota

6 Ranked Colleges
196 Degrees Awarded
$17,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 in South Dakota” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 113,121 criminal justice & corrections students received their degree, making the major the 7th most popular in the country. In 2019-2020, criminal justice & corrections graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $35,465 and had an average of $25,425 in loans still to pay off.

Across South Dakota, there were 196 criminal justice & corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $36,222 and $34,033 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota” ranking, we looked at 6 colleges that offer a degree in criminal justice & corrections. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality criminal justice & corrections programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminal justice & 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.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Criminal Justice Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 in South Dakota” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota

The colleges and universities below are the best for south dakota criminal justice students.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Criminal Justice & Corrections in South Dakota

1
USD crest
University of South Dakota
Vermillion, South Dakota

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of South Dakota. It ranked #1 on our 2024 Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota list. This medium-sized school is located in Vermillion, South Dakota, and it awarded 41 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

USD also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in South Dakota” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $19,389 for South Dakota Criminal Justice students per year to attend University of South Dakota.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%.

Full University of South Dakota Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

2
LATI crest
Lake Area Technical Institute
Watertown, South Dakota

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Area Technical Institute landed the #2 spot on the list. LATI is a small school located in Watertown, South Dakota that handed out 14 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at LATI, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in South Dakota” ranking. It costs about $13,301 for south dakota criminal justice students per year to attend LATI.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lake Area Technical Institute

3
Western Dakota Tech crest
Western Dakota Technical Institute
Rapid City, South Dakota

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Dakota Technical Institute landed the #3 spot on the list. Western Dakota Tech is a small school located in Rapid City, South Dakota that handed out 27 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

Western Dakota Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in South Dakota” list. The estimated yearly cost for Western Dakota Technical Institute is $15,434 for South Dakota Criminal Justice students.

Full Western Dakota Tech Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

4
Southeast Tech crest
Southeast Technical College
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, Southeast Technical College landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it awarded 17 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Southeast Tech, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in South Dakota” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southeast Technical College is $16,188 for South Dakota Criminal Justice students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.9% 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 more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southeast Technical College

5
University of Sioux Falls crest
University of Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Sioux Falls landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Sioux Falls is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It awarded 23 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Sioux Falls did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in South Dakota” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Sioux Falls is $21,662 for south dakota criminal justice students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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%.

Full University of Sioux Falls Criminal Justice & Corrections Report

6

National American University - Rapid City came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice Schools in South Dakota ranking. National American University - Rapid City is located in Rapid City, South Dakota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 40 ’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

National American University - Rapid City did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in South Dakota” list. It costs about $17,526 for South Dakota Criminal Justice students per year to attend National American University - Rapid City.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at National American University - Rapid City

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options