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2025 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

77 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,948 Bachelor's Degrees
$41,275 Avg Early-Career Salary
Criminal Justice & Corrections is of the hottest bachelor's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #7 most popular major in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 77 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for criminal justice & corrections students pursuing a bachelor's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 5,948 bachelor's degrees in criminal justice & corrections to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region The criminal justice bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. To make it into this list, a school must excel in the following areas.

A Great Overall School

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Early-Career Earnings

One measure we use to determine the quality of a school is to look at the average salary of bachelor's graduates during the early years of their career. That is, everyone wants their bachelor's degree to be worth something, and salaries are one measure of determining that.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for criminal justice & corrections students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Criminal Justice Rankings Other Ranking Categories

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 Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Great Lakes Region

Learn about the top ranked colleges and universities for criminal justice & corrections students seeking a a bachelor's degree. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

15 Top Great Lakes Region Schools for a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice

1

It's difficult to beat Union Institute & University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Union is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Cincinnati.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections degree program at Union Institute & University earn $82,961 more than the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Union Institute & University

2
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
232 Annual Graduates
$40,390 Median Starting Salary
$37,900 Median Student Debt

Michigan State University is a great option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Michigan State is a fairly large public university located in the city of East Lansing.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career earnings of $40,390.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Michigan State University

3
197 Annual Graduates
$40,557 Median Starting Salary
$34,513 Median Student Debt

University of Cincinnati - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career earnings of $40,557.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

4
120 Annual Graduates
$35,572 Median Starting Salary
$22,618 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections has to look into Indiana University - Bloomington. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $35,572 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Indiana University - Bloomington

5
197 Annual Graduates
$40,898 Median Starting Salary
$25,394 Median Student Debt

Located in the remote town of Macomb, WIU is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $40,898 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Western Illinois University

6
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.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Purdue University Global make $4,709 more than the standard criminal justice student.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Purdue University Global

7
215 Annual Graduates
$34,551 Median Starting Salary
$18,299 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career income of $34,551.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Illinois at Chicago

8
93 Annual Graduates
$38,953 Median Starting Salary
$59,723 Median Student Debt

Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually make about $38,953 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Loyola University Chicago

9
176 Annual Graduates
$37,584 Median Starting Salary
$23,539 Median Student Debt

Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Normal.

Soon after graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients generally make around $37,584 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Illinois State University

10
67 Annual Graduates
$38,518 Median Starting Salary
$9,500 Median Student Debt

Northern Michigan University is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Marquette.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make an average of $38,518 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Northern Michigan University

11
121 Annual Graduates
$39,857 Median Starting Salary
$24,102 Median Student Debt

GVSU is a fairly large public university located in the town of Allendale.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career wages of $39,857.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Grand Valley State University

12

Located in the distant town of Adrian, Siena Heights University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at Siena Heights University get $25,734 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Siena Heights University

13
104 Annual Graduates
$39,991 Median Starting Salary
$19,205 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career income of $39,991.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Ball State University

14
Ferris crest
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI
164 Annual Graduates
$44,897 Median Starting Salary
$18,046 Median Student Debt

Ferris is a moderately-sized public university located in the town of Big Rapids.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from Ferris State University get an earnings boost of approximately $3,622 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections graduates.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Ferris State University

15
89 Annual Graduates
$41,636 Median Starting Salary
$16,900 Median Student Debt

Located in the town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Soon after graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically make about $41,636 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Wisconsin - Platteville

Rest of the Top Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
16 Kent State University at Kent Kent, OH
17 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
18 Lake Superior State University Sault Ste Marie, MI
19 University of Toledo Toledo, OH
20 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
21 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL
22 Aurora University Aurora, IL
23 Madonna University Livonia, MI
24 Tiffin University Tiffin, OH
25 Lewis University Romeoville, IL

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice & corrections colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 261 1,345
Ohio 252 1,426
Illinois 241 1,658
Indiana 235 1,444
Wisconsin 213 502

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting area of study, Criminal Justice & Corrections has other similar majors worth exploring.

Criminal Justice Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 4,103
Criminal Justice 1,255
Criminal Justice & Police Science 282
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 155
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 89
Securities Services Administration/Management 48
Corrections 13
Security & Loss Prevention Services 3

Related Major Annual Graduates
Security Science and Technology 279
Fire Protection 235
Homeland Security 120
Other Homeland Security 51

Notes and References

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