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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Police Science (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

5 Ranked Colleges
155 Degrees Awarded
$14,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor's in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 23,232 people earned their degree in criminal justice and police science, making the major the 44th most popular in the United States.

Across the Plains States region, there were 1,665 criminal justice and police science graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 155 criminal justice and police science graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,786 and $25,576 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in criminal justice and police science. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent criminal justice and police science programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminal justice and police science program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Police Science Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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.

Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region bachelor’s degree police science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice & Police Science (Income $0-$30k) in the Plains States Region

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Mankato, Minnesota, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s police science degrees in 2019-2020.

Minnesota State Mankato did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $11,057 for plains states region bachelor’s degree police science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Minnesota State University - Mankato.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Police Science at Minnesota State University - Mankato

#2

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, Minnesota
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Metropolitan State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and it awarded 51 bachelors’s police science degrees in 2019-2020.

Metro State also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $14,388 for plains states region bachelor’s degree police science students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Metro State.

Read more about Criminal Justice & Police Science at Metro State

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. SMU MN is located in Winona, Minnesota and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s police science degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our plains states region bachelor’s degree police science students whose families make $0-$30k list, SMU MN has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota is $15,036 for plains states region bachelor’s degree police science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full SMU MN Criminal Justice & Police Science Report

#4

Midland University

Fremont, Nebraska
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Midland University landed the #4 spot on the list. Midland U is a small school located in Fremont, Nebraska that handed out 20 bachelors’s police science degrees in 2019-2020.

Midland U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Midland University is $18,257 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Police Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Midland U Criminal Justice & Police Science Report

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Police Science Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Plains States Region For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Springfield, Missouri, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s police science degrees in 2019-2020.

Drury University - CCPS also took the #5 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Police Science Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies is $12,351 for Plains States Region Bachelor’s Degree Police Science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies Criminal Justice & Police Science Report

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Notes and References

References

  • 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 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).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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