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

55 Colleges in the Southwest Region
7,558 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,309 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #7 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 55 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 7,558 bachelor's degrees in criminal justice & corrections to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region Your choice of criminal justice & corrections for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality criminal justice program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

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

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections.

10 Top Southwest Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice

1
805 Annual Graduates
$39,195 Median Starting Salary
$46,989 Median Student Debt

University of Phoenix - Arizona is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. UOPX - Arizona is a very large private for-profit university located in the city of Phoenix.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from University of Phoenix - Arizona get an earnings boost of approximately $4,886 above the typical income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Phoenix - Arizona

2
373 Annual Graduates
$37,629 Median Starting Salary
$22,000 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat Arizona State University - Tempe if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. ASU - Tempe is a fairly large public university located in the city of Tempe.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Arizona State University - Tempe make $3,320 more than the average criminal justice grad.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Arizona State University - Tempe

3
262 Annual Graduates
$37,629 Median Starting Salary
$22,000 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat Arizona State University - Skysong if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Arizona State University - Skysong make $3,320 more than the average criminal justice student.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Arizona State University - Skysong

4
899 Annual Graduates
$33,981 Median Starting Salary
$23,218 Median Student Debt

It's difficult to beat Sam Houston State University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career income of $33,981.

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

5
49 Annual Graduates
$38,562 Median Starting Salary
$20,429 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at Texas Christian University get $4,253 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Texas Christian University

6
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
345 Annual Graduates
$32,894 Median Starting Salary
$19,500 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career wages of $32,894.

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

7
520 Annual Graduates
$30,182 Median Starting Salary
$11,644 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley 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 wages of $30,182.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

8
43 Annual Graduates
$48,204 Median Starting Salary
$27,156 Median Student Debt

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Norman, University of Oklahoma is a public university with a very large student population.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus receive $13,895 more than the average criminal justice graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

9
76 Annual Graduates
$55,876 Median Starting Salary
$25,000 Median Student Debt

Wayland Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of Plainview.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Wayland Baptist University earn $21,567 more than the average criminal justice graduate.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Wayland Baptist University

10
208 Annual Graduates
$34,624 Median Starting Salary
$22,757 Median Student Debt

UH Downtown is a large public university located in the city of Houston.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career income of $34,624.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Houston - Downtown

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice & corrections colleges for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Texas 245 4,865
Arizona 200 1,914
Oklahoma 190 421
New Mexico 133 358

View All Rankings >

Criminal Justice & Corrections is one of 4 different types of Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting programs to choose from.

Criminal Justice Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 3,988
Criminal Justice 2,459
Criminal Justice & Police Science 579
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 186
Corrections 168
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 93
Securities Services Administration/Management 70
Juvenile Corrections 15

Majors Similar to Criminal Justice

Related Major Annual Graduates
Security Science and Technology 372
Homeland Security 298
Other Homeland Security 7

Notes and References

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