2025 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Southwest Region
90Colleges in the Southwest Region
16,030Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$40,755Avg 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.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 90 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 16,030 degrees in criminal justice & corrections annually.
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
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Southwest 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.
Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Southwest 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 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
18 Top Southwest Region Schools in Criminal Justice
Arizona State University - Tempe is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the medium-sized city of Tempe, ASU - Tempe is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #108 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ASU - Tempe is a great university overall.
There were roughly 393 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Tempe in the most recent year we have data available. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Arizona State University - Tempe receive an earnings boost of about $7,881 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections majors.
Every student pursuing a degree in criminal justice & corrections has to take a look at Arizona State University - Skysong. ASU - Skysong is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Scottsdale. A Best Colleges rank of #403 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means ASU - Skysong is a great university overall.
There were approximately 410 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at ASU - Skysong in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from Arizona State University - Skysong receive $7,881 more than the standard criminal justice graduate.
It's difficult to beat Sam Houston State University if you wish to pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections. SHSU is a fairly large public university located in the town of Huntsville. A Best Colleges rank of #480 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means SHSU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 983 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at SHSU in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, criminal justice degree recipients usually make about $39,180 in the first five years of their career.
It's hard to beat University of Phoenix - Arizona if you wish to pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the large city of Phoenix, UOPX - Arizona is a private for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #83 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UOPX - Arizona is a great university overall.
There were roughly 1395 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UOPX - Arizona in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at University of Phoenix - Arizona earn $6,570 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Texas State is a very large public university located in the city of San Marcos. A Best Colleges rank of #396 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Texas State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 363 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Texas State in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program report average early career wages of $36,117.
Grand Canyon University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Phoenix. A Best Colleges rank of #144 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Grand Canyon University is a great university overall.
There were about 418 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Grand Canyon University in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at Grand Canyon University make $3,884 above the typical graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the midsize city of McAllen, South Texas College is a public college with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #485 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means South Texas College is a great college overall.
There were roughly 359 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at South Texas College in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make an average of $28,244 in their early career salary.
Rio Salado College is a large public college located in the city of Tempe. This college ranks 19th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were about 1171 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Rio Salado College in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at Rio Salado College earn $10,629 above the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
AIU Online is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Chandler. This university ranks 11th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were roughly 502 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated from this program at AIU Online in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make around $34,118 in their early career salary.
TCU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Fort Worth. A Best Colleges rank of #112 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means TCU is a great university overall.
There were roughly 93 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at TCU in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career wages of $34,556.
Glendale Community College is a large public college located in the suburb of Glendale. This college ranks 15th out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.
There were approximately 62 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Glendale Community College in the most recent data year.
UNT is a fairly large public university located in the city of Denton. A Best Colleges rank of #310 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UNT is a great university overall.
There were roughly 296 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UNT in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the criminal justice program report average early career wages of $39,267.
Located in the large suburb of Edmond, UCO is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 31 colleges for overall quality in the state of Oklahoma.
There were roughly 127 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UCO in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn around $39,609 in the first couple years of their career.
Blinn College is a fairly large public college located in the town of Brenham. This college ranks 62nd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 112 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Blinn 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 wages of $30,374.
UT Rio Grande Valley is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg. This university ranks 30th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 633 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UT Rio Grande Valley in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn about $32,899 in their early career salary.
Located in the town of Stephenville, Tarleton is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 48th out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were about 243 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Tarleton in the most recent year we have data available. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Tarleton State University get an earnings boost of about $4,909 over the typical earnings of criminal justice & corrections majors.
Located in the large city of Houston, UH Downtown is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 50th out of 115 schools for overall quality in the state of Texas.
There were approximately 322 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at UH Downtown in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from University of Houston - Downtown receive $3,738 more than the average criminal justice grad.
Located in the medium-sized city of Beaumont, Lamar Institute of Technology is a public school with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #613 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Lamar Institute of Technology is a great school overall.
There were roughly 64 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Lamar Institute of Technology in the most recent year we have data available. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Lamar Institute of Technology receive an earnings boost of approximately $30,978 above the average income of criminal justice & corrections graduates.
Rest of the Top Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Southwest Region
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students in the Southwest Region that almost earned our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Southwest 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).
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.
