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2024 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

83 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
6,410 Bachelor's Degrees
$36,485 Avg Early-Career Salary
Criminal Justice & Corrections is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #7 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 83 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,410 bachelor's degrees in criminal justice & corrections during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The criminal justice bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a host of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for criminal justice & corrections students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

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

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 Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Great Lakes Region

Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for criminal justice & corrections students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

13 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice

1
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
158 Annual Graduates
$37,461 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Michigan State University is a great option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn about $37,461 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Michigan State University

2
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2
194 Annual Graduates
$34,159 Median Starting Salary
$25,707 Median Student Debt

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn about $34,159 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

3
Purdue University Global crest
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN
$41,882 Median Starting Salary
$40,244 Median Student Debt

It is hard to beat Purdue University Global if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Purdue University Global is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University Global earn $5,397 more than the standard criminal justice student.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Purdue University Global

4
56 Annual Graduates
$66,436 Median Starting Salary
$22,250 Median Student Debt

Siena Heights University is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the distant town of Adrian, Siena Heights University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Siena Heights University receive $29,951 more than the typical criminal justice grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Siena Heights University

5
192 Annual Graduates
$34,572 Median Starting Salary
$15,875 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career income of $34,572.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Illinois at Chicago

6
111 Annual Graduates
$34,197 Median Starting Salary
$19,464 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make about $34,197 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Indiana University - Bloomington

7
178 Annual Graduates
$114,947 Median Starting Salary
$20,500 Median Student Debt

Union is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cincinnati.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at Union Institute & University get $78,462 above the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Union Institute & University

8
Ferris crest
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI
301 Annual Graduates
$37,995 Median Starting Salary
$25,260 Median Student Debt

Located in the distant town of Big Rapids, Ferris is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn around $37,995 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Ferris State University

9
258 Annual Graduates
$38,130 Median Starting Salary
$26,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

After graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually make around $38,130 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Western Illinois University

10
145 Annual Graduates
$36,805 Median Starting Salary
$22,531 Median Student Debt

Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal.

Soon after graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $36,805 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Illinois State University

11
87 Annual Graduates
$36,200 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.

Soon after graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients generally make about $36,200 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Loyola University Chicago

12
123 Annual Graduates
$34,512 Median Starting Salary
$23,367 Median Student Debt

Ball State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Muncie.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make an average of $34,512 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Ball State University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
14 Lewis University Romeoville, IL
15 Lake Superior State University Sault Ste Marie, MI
16 Madonna University Livonia, MI
17 University of Wisconsin - Platteville Platteville, WI
18 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
19 University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI
20 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice & corrections schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,345
Ohio 252 1,426
Illinois 241 1,658
Indiana 235 1,444
Wisconsin 213 502

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting area of study, Criminal Justice & Corrections has other similar majors worth exploring.

Criminal Justice Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 4,185
Criminal Justice 1,299
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 339
Criminal Justice & Police Science 339
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 132
Securities Services Administration/Management 67
Corrections 35
Corrections Administration 12
Juvenile Corrections 2

Related Major Annual Graduates
Security Science and Technology 263
Fire Protection 251
Homeland Security 203
Other Homeland Security 55

Notes and References

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