2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology in the Plains States Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States 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 Plains States region, there were 843 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,200 and $24,586 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 56 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $53,438 and $39,783 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The criminology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region”.

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 Plains States Region

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

Top 3 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology in the Plains States Region

#1

Lindenwood University

Saint Charles, Missouri

#1 in overall quality

$9,550 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$42,682 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Lindenwood University landed the #1 spot on the list. Lindenwood University is located in Saint Charles, Missouri and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 33 masters’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

Lindenwood University also made our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. Average graduate tuition and fees at Lindenwood University are $9,550, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminology at Lindenwood University

#2

Missouri State University - Springfield

Springfield, Missouri

#2 in overall quality

$12,042 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Missouri State University - Springfield. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region list. Missouri State is a large public school situated in Springfield, Missouri. It awarded 11 masters’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

Missouri State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Missouri State University - Springfield are $12,042, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Criminology at Missouri State

#3

University of Missouri - St Louis

Saint Louis, Missouri

#3 in overall quality

$30,154 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$33,993 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Missouri - St Louis. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in the Plains States Region list. University of Missouri - St Louis is a fairly large public school situated in Saint Louis, Missouri. It awarded 12 masters’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

UMSL not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UMSL are $30,154, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read more about Criminology at UMSL

• 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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