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2024 Best Criminology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

23 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,493 Criminology Degrees Awarded
$34,842 Avg Early-Career Salary
A degree in criminology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #80 out of 395 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 23 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,493 degrees in criminology during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Criminology School

Best Criminology Schools in the Great Lakes Region The criminology program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Criminology rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for criminology schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Criminology Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Criminology
Bachelor's Degrees in Criminology
Master's Degrees in Criminology
Doctor's Degrees in Criminology

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Criminology in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of criminology degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Criminology

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
147 Criminology Degrees Awarded
2.7% Growth in Graduates

Ohio State University - Main Campus is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in criminology. Located in the city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #69 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 147 criminology students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. After graduation, criminology degree recipients typically make about $33,830 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in criminology from Ohio State University - Main Campus

2
Marquette crest
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
78 Criminology Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

Marquette University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in criminology. Marquette is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Milwaukee. A Best Colleges rank of #130 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Marquette is a great university overall.

There were roughly 78 criminology students who graduated with this degree at Marquette in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminology program state that they receive average early career earnings of $35,632.

More information about a degree in criminology from Marquette University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
92 Criminology Degrees Awarded
6.5% Growth in Graduates

It's hard to beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale if you want to pursue a degree in criminology. SIUC is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Carbondale. A Best Colleges rank of #545 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means SIUC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 92 criminology students who graduated with this degree at SIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the criminology program earn around $31,490 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in criminology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
74 Criminology Degrees Awarded
10.8% Growth in Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in criminology has to check out University of Wisconsin - Whitewater. Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #359 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - Whitewater is a great university overall.

There were approximately 74 criminology students who graduated with this degree at UW - Whitewater in the most recent year we have data available. Those criminology students who get their degree from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater earn $2,827 more than the average criminology student.

More information about a degree in criminology from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

5
Purdue University Global crest
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN

Purdue University Global is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #417 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Purdue University Global is a great university overall.More information about a degree in criminology from Purdue University Global

6
Indiana State crest
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
136 Criminology Degrees Awarded
$41,135 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Terre Haute, Indiana State is a public university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 42 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were about 136 criminology students who graduated with this degree at Indiana State in the most recent data year. Criminology degree recipients from Indiana State University get an earnings boost of around $6,293 over the typical earnings of criminology graduates.

More information about a degree in criminology from Indiana State University

7
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In WI
41 Criminology Degrees Awarded

UW - River Falls is a medium-sized public university located in the distant town of River Falls. A Best Colleges rank of #467 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UW - River Falls is a great university overall.

There were about 41 criminology students who graduated with this degree at UW - River Falls in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in criminology from University of Wisconsin - River Falls

8
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
97 Criminology Degrees Awarded
$35,159 Median Starting Salary

Located in the suburb of Ypsilanti, Eastern Michigan is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #605 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Eastern Michigan is a great university overall.

There were roughly 97 criminology students who graduated with this degree at Eastern Michigan in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the criminology program make an average of $35,159 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in criminology from Eastern Michigan University

9
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9
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
97 Criminology Degrees Awarded
21.6% Growth in Graduates

Cleveland State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Cleveland. This university ranks 34th out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 97 criminology students who graduated with this degree at Cleveland State University in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminology program state that they receive average early career income of $34,543.

More information about a degree in criminology from Cleveland State University

Best Criminology Colleges by State

Explore the best criminology schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 150
Ohio 314 425
Illinois 304 237
Indiana 294 275
Wisconsin 273 225

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Criminology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Criminology 1,493

View All Criminology Concentrations >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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