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2023 Most Popular Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology

16 Ranked Colleges
56 Degrees Awarded
$31,800 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 11,039 people earned their degree in criminology, making the major the 80th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,568 and had an average of $24,453 in loans still to pay off.

At the doctor’s degree level specifically, there were 56 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $75,260 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate” ranking, we looked at 16 colleges that offer a degree in criminology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular criminology programs in the United States.

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 “Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate”.

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 9 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full University of California - Irvine Criminology Report

2

Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Texas at Dallas landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Richardson, Texas, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Full UT Dallas Criminology Report

3
Wazzu crest
Washington State University
Pullman, Washington

Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, Washington State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Wazzu is a public institution located in Pullman, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at Wazzu

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Tempe. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate. Arizona State University - Tempe is a public institution located in Tempe, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 ASU - Tempe

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Maryland - College Park. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate list. University of Maryland - College Park is a large public school situated in College Park, Maryland. It awarded 4 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Criminology at UMCP

5

Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of South Carolina - Columbia landed the #5 spot on the list. This large school is located in Columbia, South Carolina, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Criminology at UofSC

5
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Out of the 16 schools in the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the #5 spot on the list. University of Florida is located in Gainesville, Florida and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4 doctorate’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Criminology at UF

8

Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking. Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus is a medium-sized school located in Indiana, Pennsylvania that handed out 3 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Criminology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus

8

University of Missouri - St Louis landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking. UMSL is a fairly large school located in Saint Louis, Missouri that handed out 3 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminology at University of Missouri - St Louis

8

University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Tampa, Florida, this large public school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified doctorate’s criminology students in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Criminology at University of South Florida - Main Campus

11
UD crest
University of Delaware
Newark, Delaware

University of Delaware came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking. University of Delaware is a large school located in Newark, Delaware that handed out 2 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Criminology at UD

11
Old Dominion crest
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia

Old Dominion University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking. Norfolk, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminology degrees to 2 students in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Criminology at Old Dominion

11

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Read full report on Criminology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

14
GSU crest
Grambling State University
Grambling, Louisiana

Grambling State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #14. Grambling, Louisiana is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s criminology degrees to 0 students in 2020-2021.

Full GSU Criminology Report

14
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #14. UPenn is a large school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 46 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read full report on Criminology at UPenn

14
Mississippi State crest
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, Mississippi

Mississippi State University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major for a Doctorate ranking. Mississippi State University is a large school located in Mississippi State, Mississippi that handed out 70 doctorate’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Criminology at Mississippi State University

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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