by our College Data Analytics Team
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 113,121 criminal justice and corrections students received their degree, making the major the 7th most popular in the country. In 2019-2020, criminal justice and 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 the Southwest region, there were 16,306 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,694 and $26,138 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 1,055 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,204 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region” ranking looked at 35 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminal justice and corrections. That schools that top this list have a program in criminal justice and corrections in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region” 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.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hardin - Simmons University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Abilene, Texas, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 17 degrees to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Hardin - Simmons University
Out of the 35 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Sam Houston State University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Huntsville, Texas, this large public school handed out 117 diplomas to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
Full Sam Houston State University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M International University. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region. Laredo, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 35 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Texas A&M International University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lamar University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. This fairly large school is located in Beaumont, Texas, and it awarded 97 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lamar University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Texas at Dallas. The school came in at #5 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region. Located in Dallas, Texas, this small public school awarded 16 degrees to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at UNT Dallas
Arizona State University - Skysong came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large public school situated in Scottsdale, Arizona. It awarded 163 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 Arizona State University - Skysong Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
With a ranking of #7, University of Houston - Downtown did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. UH Downtown is a fairly large school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 40 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Houston - Downtown Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
Tarleton State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Tarleton is located in Stephenville, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 37 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.
With a ranking of #9, Northeastern State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, this medium-sized public school handed out 20 diplomas to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%.
Aspen University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Aspen University is a medium-sized private for-profit school situated in Denver, Colorado. It awarded 22 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Texas Southern University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Houston, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
Wayland Baptist University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Wayland Baptist University is a small school located in Plainview, Texas that handed out 12 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Wayland Baptist University
Prairie View A & M University ranked #13 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Prairie View A & M University is a public institution located in Prairie View, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 13 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Sul Ross State University ranked #14 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Alpine, Texas is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.
Full Sul Ross State University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
MSU Texas ranked #15 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Wichita Falls, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 9 students in 2020-2021.
University of Phoenix - Arizona ranked #16 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 185 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at UOPX - Arizona
Texas Christian University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas Christian University is a fairly large school located in Fort Worth, Texas that handed out 17 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.7% 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%.
Grand Canyon University landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Grand Canyon University is a large private for-profit school situated in Phoenix, Arizona. It awarded 126 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Grand Canyon University
Texas A & M University - Central Texas came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Texas A & M University - Central Texas is a public institution located in Killeen, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Texas A & M University - Central Texas
New Mexico State University - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #20. Located in Las Cruces, New Mexico, this fairly large public school awarded 12 diplomas to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at NMSU Main Campus
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #21. UT Rio Grande Valley is a large public school situated in Edinburg, Texas. It awarded 24 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.7% 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 UT Rio Grande Valley
With a ranking of #22, Angelo State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Angelo State is a fairly large public school situated in San Angelo, Texas. It awarded 6 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Angelo State University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
With a ranking of #23, University of North Texas did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. This large school is located in Denton, Texas, and it awarded 23 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of North Texas
West Texas A&M University ranked #24 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. West Texas A&M University is a medium-sized public school situated in Canyon, Texas. It awarded 5 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at West Texas A&M University
The University of Texas at San Antonio ranked #25 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. San Antonio, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 14 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 5.0% 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 our data sources and methodologies
