2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region

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 “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 10,182 people earned their degree in criminology, making the major the 82nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,583 and had an average of $24,397 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 1,346 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,341 and $24,710 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 73 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $57,039 and $42,488 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent criminology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Criminology Schools

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 Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region master’s degree criminology students.

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology in the Great Lakes Region

#1

Indiana State University

Terre Haute, Indiana

#2 in overall quality

$15,346 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$44,468 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Indiana State University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, this fairly large public school handed out 17 degrees to qualified masters’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Indiana State, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Indiana State University are $15,346, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full Indiana State Criminology Report

#2

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

Bowling Green, Ohio

#3 in overall quality

$15,823 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$39,729 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a fairly large school located in Bowling Green, Ohio that handed out 33 masters’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at BGSU, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus are $15,823, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminology at BGSU

#3

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$32,928 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Great Lakes Region list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 6 masters’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are $32,928.

Read more about Criminology at SIUC

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology

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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