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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology in California

9 Ranked Colleges
1,342 Degrees Awarded
$19,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor's in California

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Criminology is the 79th most popular major in the country with 10,182 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 1,416 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,342 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in criminology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Criminology Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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

Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree criminology students.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology in California

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. California State University - Fresno is located in Fresno, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 430 bachelors’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

Fresno State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $5,464 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Criminology at Fresno State

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - San Marcos. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California. Located in San Marcos, California, this fairly large public school awarded 278 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSUSM, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSUSM is $13,399 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at California State University - San Marcos

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #3 spot on the list. UC Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 429 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for UC Irvine is $14,783 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of California - Irvine Criminology Report

#4

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Humboldt State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Humboldt State University is located in Arcata, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 55 bachelors’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Humboldt State University, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $14,692 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students.

Full Humboldt State University Criminology Report

#5

Azusa Pacific University

Azusa, California
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Azusa Pacific University landed the #5 spot on the list. Azusa, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s criminology degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

Azusa Pacific did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Azusa Pacific is $26,293 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students.

The low student loan default rate of 3.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Azusa Pacific Criminology Report

#6

Holy Names University

Oakland, California
#4 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Holy Names University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Holy Names University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oakland, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

HNU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for HNU is $23,034 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at Holy Names University

#7

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#8 in overall quality

Mount Saint Mary’s University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s criminology degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.

MSMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $29,214 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students per year to attend MSMU.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at Mount Saint Mary’s University

#8

University of La Verne

La Verne, California
#6 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of La Verne did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. ULV is a medium-sized school located in La Verne, California that handed out 55 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree criminology students list, ULV has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend ULV is $25,780 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminology at ULV

#9

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, California Lutheran University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California list. Located in Thousand Oaks, California, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 53 degrees to qualified bachelors’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

CLU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $26,489 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students per year to attend California Lutheran University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminology at California Lutheran University

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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