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

10 Colleges in Tennessee
825 Bachelor's Degrees
$37,860 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 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Tennessee ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 825 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 Tennessee 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 schools 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee

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

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

1
Bethel crest
Bethel University
McKenzie, TN

Bethel University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Bethel is a small private not-for-profit university located in the town of McKenzie.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Bethel University receive $16,347 more than the standard criminal justice student.

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

2
103 Annual Graduates
$37,403 Median Starting Salary
$14,898 Median Student Debt

The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Chattanooga, UT Chattanooga is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn an average of $37,403 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

3
126 Annual Graduates
$37,952 Median Starting Salary
$9,370 Median Student Debt

Middle Tennessee State University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Middle Tennessee State University is a fairly large public university located in the city of Murfreesboro.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn about $37,952 in their early careers.

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

4
105 Annual Graduates
$35,900 Median Starting Salary
$11,164 Median Student Debt

University of Memphis is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. UofM is a very large public university located in the large city of Memphis.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn around $35,900 in the first couple years of their career.

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

5
68 Annual Graduates
$30,097 Median Starting Salary
$17,336 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Johnson City, ETSU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $30,097 in their early careers.

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

6

Austin Peay State University is a medium-sized public university located in the midsize city of Clarksville.

Soon after graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn around $36,749 in the first five years of their career.

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

7
42 Annual Graduates
$32,555 Median Starting Salary
$15,000 Median Student Debt

Tennessee State University is a moderately-sized public university located in the city of Nashville.

After graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients generally make about $32,555 at the beginning of their careers.

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

8

UT Martin is a medium-sized public university located in the town of Martin.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $32,167.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Tennessee - Martin

9
King crest
King University
Bristol, TN

King is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bristol.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn an average of $33,580 in the first couple years of their career.

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

10
Lane College crest
Lane College
Jackson, TN

Located in the city of Jackson, Lane College is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career income of $35,917.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Lane College

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Southeast Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Florida 225 3,420
Georgia 224 1,380
North Carolina 213 1,831
Virginia 213 1,745
South Carolina 195 654
Kentucky 187 601
Alabama 184 924
Louisiana 171 511
Mississippi 169 370
Arkansas 167 423
West Virginia 147 904

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 692
Criminal Justice Studies 131
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 2

Majors Similar to Criminal Justice

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 70
Security Science and Technology 47

Notes and References

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