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2024 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Iowa

12 Colleges in Iowa
643 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$39,063 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.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 12 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Iowa ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 643 degrees in criminal justice & corrections during the 2020-2021 academic year.

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

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Iowa 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

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 Schools in Iowa list to help you make the college decision. 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 Iowa

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 Iowa Schools in Criminal Justice

1
Simpson College crest
Simpson College
Indianola, IA

Any student who is interested in criminal justice & corrections has to take a look at Simpson College. Located in the fringe town of Indianola, Simpson College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. A Best Colleges rank of #549 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Simpson College is a great college overall.

There were about 23 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Simpson College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $40,370.

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

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
135 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
5.9% Growth in Graduates

Iowa State University is a good decision for students interested in a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.

There were about 135 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, criminal justice degree recipients usually make around $36,457 at the beginning of their careers.

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

3
Waldorf crest
Waldorf University
Forest City, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
43 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
20.9% Growth in Graduates

Waldorf University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Waldorf is a small private for-profit university located in the town of Forest City. A Best Colleges rank of #505 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Waldorf is a great university overall.

There were approximately 43 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Waldorf in the most recent data year. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Waldorf University get an earnings boost of around $11,754 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections graduates.

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

4
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
80 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
52.5% Growth in Graduates

Des Moines Area Community College is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in criminal justice & corrections. DMACC is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Ankeny. A Best Colleges rank of #501 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means DMACC is a great college overall.

There were approximately 80 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at DMACC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career income of $36,664.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Des Moines Area Community College

5

St. Ambrose University is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Davenport. A Best Colleges rank of #441 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means St. Ambrose University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 29 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at St. Ambrose University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career wages of $35,744.

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

6
Loras crest
Loras College
Dubuque, IA

Loras is a small private not-for-profit college located in the small city of Dubuque. A Best Colleges rank of #604 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Loras is a great college overall.

There were roughly 18 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Loras in the most recent year we have data available. After graduating, criminal justice degree recipients generally make about $40,707 in their early careers.

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

7
BVU crest
Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, IA

BVU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the remote town of Storm Lake. This university ranks 19th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 24 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at BVU in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn around $38,989 for their early career.

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

8
Grand View University crest
Grand View University
Des Moines, IA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$37,116 Median Starting Salary
$26,565 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize city of Des Moines, Grand View University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 26th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 23 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Grand View University in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, criminal justice degree recipients usually make around $37,116 at the beginning of their careers.

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

9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$31,517 Median Starting Salary
$27,000 Median Student Debt

Located in the rural area of Lamoni, Graceland Lamoni is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 18th out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 4 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Graceland Lamoni in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $31,517.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Graceland University - Lamoni

10
Mount Mercy crest
Mount Mercy University
Cedar Rapids, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
39 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
5.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids, Mount Mercy is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were roughly 39 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Mount Mercy in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program report average early career earnings of $30,427.

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

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Plains States Region

Explore all the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Plains States Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 284 1,523
Missouri 283 1,221
Kansas 266 583
Nebraska 238 608
North Dakota 210 225
South Dakota 204 154

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 388
Criminal Justice & Police Science 159
Criminal Justice 91
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 5

View All Criminal Justice Concentrations >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 452
Fire Protection 158
Security Science and Technology 41

View All Criminal Justice Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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