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2024 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in California

55 Colleges in California
15,960 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$32,381 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #7 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 55 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of criminal justice & corrections. Combined, these schools handed out 15,960 degrees in criminal justice & corrections to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in California The criminal justice program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for criminal justice & corrections schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Criminal Justice & Corrections Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Criminal Justice
Bachelor's Degrees in Criminal Justice
Master's Degrees in Criminal Justice

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 Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the criminal justice degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Criminal Justice

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
131 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of San Diego if you wish to pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the large city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #187 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USD is a great university overall.

There were roughly 131 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at USD in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at University of San Diego earn $84,545 more than the average graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from University of San Diego

2
Golden West College crest
Golden West College
Huntington Beach, CA
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
170 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$67,154 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in criminal justice & corrections has to check out Golden West College. Golden West College is a large public college located in the suburb of Huntington Beach. A Best Colleges rank of #189 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Golden West College is a great college overall.

There were approximately 170 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Golden West College in the most recent data year. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Golden West College receive an earnings boost of about $34,773 above the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Golden West College

3
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
392 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
19.1% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat San Diego State University if you want to pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 392 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, criminal justice degree recipients generally make an average of $31,547 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from San Diego State University

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
173 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$65,580 Median Starting Salary

Any student pursuing a degree in criminal justice & corrections has to check out Santa Rosa Junior College. Located in the midsize city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public college with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #364 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SRJC is a great college overall.

There were roughly 173 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SRJC in the most recent data year. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Santa Rosa Junior College receive an earnings boost of about $33,199 over the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Santa Rosa Junior College

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
579 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$40,657 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Diego, UAGC is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #305 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UAGC is a great university overall.

There were about 579 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UAGC in the most recent year we have data available. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from The University of Arizona Global Campus get an earnings boost of about $8,276 over the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Arizona Global Campus

6
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
156 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
15.4% Growth in Graduates

National University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 156 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at National University get $17,468 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from National University

7
Moreno Valley College crest
Moreno Valley College
Moreno Valley, CA
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
215 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$64,773 Median Starting Salary

Moreno Valley College is a medium-sized public college located in the large suburb of Moreno Valley. This college ranks 111th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 215 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Moreno Valley College in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from Moreno Valley College receive $32,392 more than the average criminal justice grad.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Moreno Valley College

8
SWC Chula Vista crest
Southwestern College
Chula Vista, CA
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
208 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
6.7% Growth in Graduates

SWC Chula Vista is a large public college located in the large city of Chula Vista. A Best Colleges rank of #295 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SWC Chula Vista is a great college overall.

There were about 208 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SWC Chula Vista in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn around $30,359 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Southwestern College

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
493 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$39,111 Median Starting Salary

Sac State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Sacramento. A Best Colleges rank of #249 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Sac State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 493 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Sac State in the most recent data year. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from California State University - Sacramento earn a boost of about $6,730 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections graduates.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from California State University - Sacramento

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
233 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$37,329 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Francisco, SFSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #204 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SFSU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 233 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from San Francisco State University make $4,948 more than the average criminal justice grad.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from San Francisco State University

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 553
Oregon 266 471
Nevada 192 684
Hawaii 164 173
Alaska 119 73

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 8,527
Criminal Justice Studies 4,834
Criminal Justice & Police Science 1,897
Corrections 372
Security & Loss Prevention Services 294
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 25
Securities Services Administration/Management 11

View All Criminal Justice Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fire Protection 3,730
Security Science and Technology 377
Homeland Security 242
Other Homeland Security 14

View All Criminal Justice Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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