2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region
8
Ranked Colleges
76
Degrees Awarded
$28,100
Avg Cost*

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2021-2022, 10,878 people earned their degree in criminology, making the major the 76th most popular in the United States.
Across the Southwest region, there were 751 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 76 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,505 and $37,295 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in criminology. The colleges and universities that top this list are recognized because their criminology program is one of the largest majors offered at the school.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region”.
Top 8 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology in the Southwest Region
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oklahoma City University. The school came in at #1 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region. Oklahoma City University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full OCU Criminology Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of the Southwest. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region list. This small school is located in Hobbs, New Mexico, and it awarded 3 masters’s criminology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at USW
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Texas A&M University - Commerce. The school came in at #3 for the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region. This fairly large school is located in Commerce, Texas, and it awarded 21 masters’s criminology degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at Texas A&M Commerce
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M University - Kingsville. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas A&M University - Kingsville is located in Kingsville, Texas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 7 masters’s criminology degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Texas A&M Kingsville Criminology Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Houston - Clear Lake. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region list. University of Houston - Clear Lake is a medium-sized school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 10 masters’s criminology degrees in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.4% 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 UH Clear Lake
The University of Texas at Dallas did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #6. UT Dallas is a public institution located in Richardson, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 11 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Criminology at UT Dallas
Northern Arizona University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region ranking. NAU is a large school located in Flagstaff, Arizona that handed out 5 masters’s criminology degrees in 2021-2022.
The undergrad 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 Northern Arizona University
Arizona State University - Tempe came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminology Major in the Southwest Region ranking. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminology degrees to 17 students in 2021-2022.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read more about Criminology at Arizona State University - Tempe
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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.