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

52 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
4,103 Bachelor's Degrees
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #12 most popular program in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 52 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 4,103 bachelor's degrees in criminal justice studies to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

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

Best Criminal Justice Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

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 consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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 studies students working on their bachelor's degree.

More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice Studies Schools

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

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 Studies Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for 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 Bachelor’s Students to Study Criminal Justice Studies in the Great Lakes Region

Below you'll see a list of 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.

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

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
197 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat University of Cincinnati - Main Campus if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. Located in the 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

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
120 Annual Graduates

It's hard to beat Indiana University - Bloomington if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Indiana University - Bloomington

3
Purdue University Global crest
Purdue University Global
West Lafayette, IN
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
387 Annual Graduates

It is hard to beat Purdue University Global if you want to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies. Purdue University Global is a fairly large public university located in the city of West Lafayette.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Purdue University Global

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
215 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice studies has to take a look at University of Illinois at Chicago. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from University of Illinois at Chicago

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
176 Annual Graduates

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

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
64 Annual Graduates

Northern Michigan University is a medium-sized public university located in the remote town of Marquette.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Northern Michigan University

7
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
42 Annual Graduates

Located in the distant town of Adrian, Siena Heights University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Siena Heights University

8
Graduate Certificate Highest Degree Type
104 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Muncie, Ball State is a public university with a very large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Ball State University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
89 Annual Graduates

Located in the distant town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public university with a medium-sized student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from University of Wisconsin - Platteville

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
155 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Kent, Kent State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies from Kent State University at Kent

Honorable Mentions

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

Rank College Location
11 Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN
12 University of Toledo Toledo, OH
13 University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI
14 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL
15 Aurora University Aurora, IL
16 Madonna University Livonia, MI
17 Lewis University Romeoville, IL

Best Criminal Justice Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice studies schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 629 489
Ohio 612 964
Illinois 558 1,000
Indiana 535 1,261
Wisconsin 435 447

View All Rankings >

Criminal Justice Studies is one of 21 different types of Criminal Justice & Corrections programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
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

Notes and References

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