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2025 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region

48 Colleges in the Southeast Region
2,270 Master's Degrees
$49,940 Avg Early-Career Salary
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

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region 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:

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

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 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

1

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

2
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL

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

3

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

4
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA

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

5
St. Leo University crest
Saint Leo University
Saint Leo, FL

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

6
15 Annual Graduates

UofSC is a very large public university located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of South Carolina - Columbia

7

Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Fort Lauderdale.

Students who graduate with their master's from the criminal justice program report average early career wages of $39,520.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Keiser University - Ft Lauderdale

8

Located in the fringe town of Orange Beach, Columbia Southern University is a private for-profit university with a large student population.

Criminal Justice & Corrections master's degree recipients from Columbia Southern University receive an earnings boost of about $12,053 above the typical income of criminal justice & corrections graduates.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from Columbia Southern University

9

Located in the city of Louisville, UofL is a public university with a very large student population.

Master's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at University of Louisville get $31,662 more than the average college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Louisville

10

UCF is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Orlando.

Master's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make around $45,983 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a master’s in criminal justice & corrections from University of Central Florida

Additional Noteworthy Schools

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 & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.

Rank College Location
11 Florida International University Miami, FL
12 Columbus State University Columbus, GA
13 Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, KY
14 University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY
15 Radford University Radford, VA
16 Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice & corrections colleges for a specific state in the Southeast Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 208 577
Georgia 190 127
Virginia 182 568
North Carolina 178 81
Tennessee 166 109
Alabama 151 211
Kentucky 147 110
Louisiana 147 201
South Carolina 146 61
Mississippi 145 41
Arkansas 121 18
West Virginia 112 176

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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 1,435
Criminal Justice 762
Securities Services Administration/Management 38
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 18
Criminal Justice & Police Science 17

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 703
Security Science and Technology 547
Other Homeland Security 128
Fire Protection 23

Notes and References

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