2024 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region
79Colleges in the Plains States Region
5,408Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$39,382Avg Early-Career Salary
Criminal Justice & Corrections is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #7 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
College Factual reviewed 79 schools in the Plains States Region to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of criminal justice & corrections. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,408 degrees in criminal justice & corrections during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School
The criminal justice program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections rankings. We derive our Best Overall Criminal Justice & Corrections School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
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.
Criminal Justice & Corrections Rankings by Degree Level
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 Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list to help you make the college decision.
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.
Gain a solid foundation in the American justice system, criminal law and social science when you earn your associate degree in criminal justice online from Southern New Hampshire University.
Navigating today's complex criminal justice system takes a great communicator with real–world perspective. The goal of SNHU's Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice is to get you there. You'll learn from professionals across all disciplines who bring their experience to the classroom.
Gain the management, leadership, data analysis and budgeting skills you need to advance in the criminal justice field with this online master's from Southern New Hampshire University.
Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Plains States Region
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the criminal justice degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
13 Top Plains States Region Schools in Criminal Justice
It is difficult to beat Minnesota State University - Mankato if you wish to pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Minnesota State Mankato is a large public university located in the small city of Mankato. A Best Colleges rank of #351 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Minnesota State Mankato is a great university overall.
There were roughly 99 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Minnesota State Mankato in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from Minnesota State University - Mankato earn $2,162 more than the average criminal justice student.
Century College is a good decision for students interested in a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Century College is a medium-sized public college located in the suburb of White Bear Lake. A Best Colleges rank of #460 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Century College is a great college overall.
There were roughly 96 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Century College in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $37,538.
University of Nebraska at Omaha is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice & corrections. UNOMAHA is a large public university located in the large city of Omaha. A Best Colleges rank of #468 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UNOMAHA is a great university overall.
There were roughly 254 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UNOMAHA in the most recent data year. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from University of Nebraska at Omaha earn a boost of around $4,376 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections majors.
North Dakota State University - Main Campus is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the midsize city of Fargo, North Dakota State University is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #242 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means North Dakota State University is a great university overall.
There were about 48 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at North Dakota State University in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at North Dakota State University - Main Campus get $2,606 more than the average college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
ATCC is a small public college located in the remote town of Alexandria. This college ranks 43rd out of 52 colleges for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were about 148 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at ATCC in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from Alexandria Technical & Community College receive $6,269 more than the standard criminal justice grad.
UST MN is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Paul. A Best Colleges rank of #143 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UST MN is a great university overall.
There were approximately 5 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UST MN in the most recent year we have data available. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from University of St Thomas Minnesota get an earnings boost of around $44,713 over the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.
Located in the town of Indianola, Simpson College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 14th out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.
There were roughly 29 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Simpson College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make about $40,370 in their early career salary.
Metro State is a medium-sized public university located in the city of Saint Paul. This university ranks 22nd out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.
There were about 95 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Metro State in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at Metropolitan State University make $2,674 above the typical graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Iowa State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ames. A Best Colleges rank of #75 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Iowa State is a great university overall.
There were approximately 132 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career income of $36,457.
Park University is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Parkville. A Best Colleges rank of #327 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Park University is a great university overall.
There were approximately 167 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Park University in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career wages of $39,411.
Located in the distant town of Winfield, SC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 10th out of 47 schools for overall quality in the state of Kansas.
There were roughly 27 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SC in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at Southwestern College make $10,901 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Saint Louis, SLU is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #244 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SLU is a great university overall.
There were approximately 30 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SLU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program report average early career earnings of $33,806.
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).