by our College Data Analytics TeamIn 2025, College Factual analyzed 325 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 29,542 bachelor's degrees in criminal justice studies to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
The criminal justice studies 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.
The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a school'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.
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 schools for criminal justice studies students working on their bachelor's degree.
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 Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools 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.
Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.
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The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
George Washington University is a good decision for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from George Washington University
Every student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies needs to look into Northeastern University. Located in the large city of Boston, Northeastern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Northeastern University
Florida State University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. Florida State is a fairly large public university located in the medium-sized city of Tallahassee.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Florida State University
American Public University System is a wonderful option for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. American Military University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the fringe town of Charles Town.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from American Public University System
SHSU is a very large public university located in the town of Huntsville.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Sam Houston State University
Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Mankato.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Minnesota State University - Mankato
Liberty University is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Lynchburg.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Liberty University
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Indiana University - Bloomington
Texas State is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Marcos.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Texas State University
Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from American University
Purdue University Global is a fairly large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Purdue University Global
Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from University of Illinois at Chicago
St. Leo University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the fringe town of Saint Leo.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Saint Leo University
Temple is a fairly large public university located in the city of Philadelphia.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Temple University
Westfield is a small public university located in the large suburb of Westfield.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Westfield State University
Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from San Diego State University
Located in the large suburb of Miami, FIU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Florida International University
Rutgers Newark is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Newark.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Rutgers University - Newark
Located in the city of Ogden, WSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Weber State University
Located in the suburb of Adelphi, UMGC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from University of Maryland Global Campus
Metro State is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Saint Paul.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Metropolitan State University
Located in the suburb of Bridgewater, Bridgewater State is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Bridgewater State University
Sac State is a very large public university located in the large city of Sacramento.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from California State University - Sacramento
Illinois State is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Normal.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Illinois State University
This section shows the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best Criminal Justice Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 325 different United States criminal justice studies schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Saint Cloud State University | Saint Cloud, MN |
| 52 | Florida Atlantic University | Boca Raton, FL |
| 53 | SUNY Oneonta | Oneonta, NY |
| 54 | California State University - Long Beach | Long Beach, CA |
| 55 | Rutgers University - Camden | Camden, NJ |
| 56 | University of Central Oklahoma | Edmond, OK |
| 57 | Portland State University | Portland, OR |
| 58 | Seattle University | Seattle, WA |
| 59 | Tarleton State University | Stephenville, TX |
| 60 | Boise State University | Boise, ID |
| 61 | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania | Shippensburg, PA |
| 62 | Radford University | Radford, VA |
| 63 | Endicott College | Beverly, MA |
| 64 | University of Toledo | Toledo, OH |
| 65 | California State University - Chico | Chico, CA |
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 Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Criminal Justice Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Criminal Justice Studies is one of 21 different types of Criminal Justice & Corrections programs to choose from.
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Criminal Justice | 13,153 |
| Criminal Justice & Police Science | 2,270 |
| Other Corrections & Criminal Justice | 1,855 |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections, General | 768 |
| Securities Services Administration/Management | 319 |
| Corrections | 257 |
| Corrections Administration | 68 |
| Law Enforcement Investigation & Interviewing | 40 |
| Security & Loss Prevention Services | 35 |
| Juvenile Corrections | 5 |
