2025 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
Criminal Justice & Corrections is of the hottest master's degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #30 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 48 schools in the Southeast Region to determine which ones were the best for criminal justice & corrections students pursuing a master's degree. Combined, these schools handed out 2,270 master's degrees in criminal justice & corrections to qualified students.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School for Your Master's Degree
Your choice of criminal justice & corrections for getting your master's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality criminal justice program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
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 for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to criminal justice & corrections students as compared to other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of criminal justice & corrections students who choose to seek a master's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How much debt criminal justice & corrections students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized criminal justice & corrections related body.
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 master's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in the Southeast Region
Explore the top ranked colleges and universities for criminal justice & corrections students seeking a a master's degree.
10 Top Southeast Region Schools for a Master's in Criminal Justice
American Public University System is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the town of Charles Town, American Military University is a private for-profit university with a very large student population.
Criminal Justice & Corrections master's degree recipients from American Public University System get an earnings boost of about $24,526 above the typical earnings of criminal justice & corrections graduates.
More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from American Public University System
Florida State University is a great choice for individuals pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Tallahassee, Florida State is a public university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at Florida State University get $7,628 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Florida State University
Any student who is interested in a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections needs to look into George Mason University. GMU is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Fairfax.
Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their master's degree from George Mason University receive $6,078 more than the typical criminal justice grad.
More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from George Mason University
Liberty University is a great choice for students interested in a master's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Master's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at Liberty University get $5,905 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.
More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Liberty University
Located in the fringe town of Saint Leo, St. Leo University is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Criminal Justice & Corrections master's degree recipients from Saint Leo University get an earnings boost of about $4,758 over the average earnings of criminal justice & corrections graduates.
More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Saint Leo University