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2025 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Texas

35 Colleges in Texas
4,620 Bachelor's Degrees
$37,140 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #7 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 35 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Texas ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,620 bachelor's degrees in criminal justice & corrections during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

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

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Texas Your choice of criminal justice & corrections for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality criminal justice program can vary widely even among the top schools. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Texas ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 Bachelor’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in Texas

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections.

10 Top Texas Schools for a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice

1
888 Annual Graduates
$37,792 Median Starting Salary
$16,734 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Sam Houston State University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the distant town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn around $37,792 for their early career.

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

2
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX
344 Annual Graduates
$36,117 Median Starting Salary
$21,159 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat Texas State University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of San Marcos, Texas State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn about $36,117 at the beginning of their careers.

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

3

It's difficult to beat Texas Christian University if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $34,556.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Texas Christian University

4
266 Annual Graduates
$39,267 Median Starting Salary
$25,822 Median Student Debt

It's hard to beat University of North Texas if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the midsize city of Denton, UNT is a public university with a very large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections degree program at University of North Texas get $2,127 above the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of North Texas

5

Located in the midsize city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career wages of $32,899.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

6
Tarleton crest
Tarleton State University
Stephenville, TX
184 Annual Graduates
$43,186 Median Starting Salary
$14,177 Median Student Debt

Tarleton is a fairly large public university located in the remote town of Stephenville.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Tarleton State University receive $6,046 more than the average criminal justice student.

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

7
202 Annual Graduates
$35,740 Median Starting Salary
$12,885 Median Student Debt

Located in the large city of San Antonio, UTSA is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $35,740 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Texas at San Antonio

8

UH Downtown is a fairly large public university located in the city of Houston.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at University of Houston - Downtown make $4,982 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

9

Located in the city of El Paso, UTEP is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $33,304 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Texas at El Paso

10
104 Annual Graduates
$31,823 Median Starting Salary
$11,800 Median Student Debt

PVAMU is a moderately-sized public university located in the rural area of Prairie View.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make around $31,823 in their early career salary.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Prairie View A & M University

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Southwest Region

Explore all the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Southwest Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Arizona 200 1,914
Oklahoma 190 421
New Mexico 133 358

View All Rankings >

Criminal Justice & Corrections is one of 4 different types of Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting programs to choose from.

Criminal Justice Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies 3,455
Criminal Justice 876
Criminal Justice & Police Science 188
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 84
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 12
Juvenile Corrections 5

Majors Similar to Criminal Justice

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 125
Security Science and Technology 107
Other Homeland Security 1

Notes and References

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