by our College Data Analytics Team
If you’re a veteran, service member, or military-affiliated student looking to study criminal justice and corrections. at the Master’s Degree level, you’ve come to the right place. This ranking highlights 130 programs ranked on how well they support veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections., using our 2026 methodology.
We measure this ranking on the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students: affordability and veteran financial benefits (including GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon support), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community. So you can compare your options, College Factual reviewed colleges nationwide, drawing primarily on U.S. Department of Education data (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Want to compare schools head to head? Check out our College Combat tool to weigh the factors that matter most to you.
Narrow this ranking to a degree level below:
Here are the top-ranked criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans:
Leading the list is East Carolina University, our #1 criminal justice and corrections. college for veterans. The school's overall veterans score is 88.2 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. Read more about criminal justice and corrections. at East Carolina University
A rank of #2 makes The University of Texas at Arlington one of the top criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veteran students. The University of Texas at Arlington scores 87.9 out of 100 for veteran support overall. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at The University of Texas at Arlington
California State University-Long Beach is a great choice for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections., landing the #3 spot this year. The school's overall veterans score is 86.7 out of 100. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at California State University-Long Beach
A rank of #4 makes Rutgers University-Newark one of the top criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veteran students. It scores 86.1 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Rutgers University-Newark
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus is a great choice for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections., landing the #5 spot this year. It scores 85.6 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Franklin University landed the #6 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. It scores 85.4 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Franklin University
University of Central Florida placed #7 among the best criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans. It scores 84.7 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at University of Central Florida
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee landed the #8 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. It scores 84.7 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. Read more about criminal justice and corrections. at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
University of Nebraska at Omaha ranked #9 on our 2026 list of the best criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans. University of Nebraska at Omaha scores 83.5 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at University of Nebraska at Omaha
Southern New Hampshire University landed the #10 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. It scores 83.3 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for Southern New Hampshire University
Texas State University landed the #11 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. It scores 83.0 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for Texas State University
Illinois State University came in at #12 for veteran criminal justice and corrections. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 83.0 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for Illinois State University
National University ranked #13 on our 2026 list of the best criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans. National University scores 82.8 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at National University
Hilbert College came in at #14 for veteran criminal justice and corrections. students this year. It scores 82.7 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 84.3, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Hilbert College
University of North Alabama placed #15 among the best criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans. University of North Alabama scores 82.7 out of 100 for veteran support overall. Its affordability for veterans scores 100.0, and veteran resources 66.7. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for University of North Alabama
Florida State University ranked #16 on our 2026 list of the best criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans. Florida State University scores 82.4 out of 100 for veteran support overall. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, and veteran resources 100.0. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for Florida State University
George Mason University landed the #17 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. It scores 82.2 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at George Mason University
Georgia State University landed the #18 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. The school's overall veterans score is 82.0 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Georgia State University
Colorado State University Global came in at #19 for veteran criminal justice and corrections. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 81.7 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Colorado State University Global
Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus landed the #20 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. The school's overall veterans score is 81.6 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 75.7, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. Read more about criminal justice and corrections. at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus
University of South Carolina-Columbia came in at #21 for veteran criminal justice and corrections. students this year. The school's overall veterans score is 81.6 out of 100. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for University of South Carolina-Columbia
Grand Valley State University landed the #22 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. The school's overall veterans score is 81.5 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Grand Valley State University
University of Colorado Colorado Springs came in at #23 for veteran criminal justice and corrections. students this year. It scores 81.0 out of 100 for serving veteran and military students. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, alongside a 100.0 veteran-support score. See the full criminal justice and corrections. report for University of Colorado Colorado Springs
Columbia Southern University ranked #24 on our 2026 list of the best criminal justice and corrections. colleges for veterans. Columbia Southern University scores 80.9 out of 100 for veteran support overall. On veteran affordability it scores 100.0, with a veteran-resources score of 66.7. More about the criminal justice and corrections. program at Columbia Southern University
University of Wisconsin-Platteville landed the #25 spot for veterans pursuing criminal justice and corrections.. The school's overall veterans score is 80.2 out of 100. Veteran affordability (GI Bill benefits, tuition support) scores 100.0, alongside a 66.7 veteran-support score. Read more about criminal justice and corrections. at University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Not far behind, these criminal justice and corrections. colleges also rank among the best for veterans this year:
*These averages are for the top 25 ranked colleges only.
Our ranking weighs the factors that matter most to veteran and military-affiliated students studying criminal justice and corrections.: affordability and veteran financial benefits (GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon), academic quality, on-campus veteran resources and support services, veteran-friendly policies, and the size of the veteran student community.
This list is compiled by College Factual, 2026 edition.
References
Read more about our data sources and methodologies.
