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2023 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice in the Southwest Region

15 Ranked Colleges
580 Degrees Awarded
$23,700 Avg Cost*
Schools for a Master's Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Criminal Justice is the 27th most popular major in the country with 31,754 degrees awarded in 2021-2022.

Across the Southwest region, there were 3,292 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 580 criminal justice graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,505 and $37,295 respectively.

This year’s “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region” ranking analyzed 15 colleges that offered a degree in criminal justice. That schools that top this list have a program in criminal justice in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.

For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 “Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region” 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.

Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region master’s degree criminal justice students.

Top 15 Most Focused Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminal Justice in the Southwest Region

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas A&M International University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Located in Laredo, Texas, this medium-sized public school handed out 67 degrees to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Texas A&M International University

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Skysong. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. ASU - Skysong is a large public school situated in Scottsdale, Arizona. It awarded 142 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at ASU - Skysong

3

Out of the 15 schools in the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern State University landed the #3 spot on the list. NSU is located in Tahlequah, Oklahoma and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 28 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at NSU

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Texas Southern University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Houston, Texas is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 18 students in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at Texas Southern University

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wayland Baptist University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Wayland Baptist University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Plainview, Texas. It awarded 12 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Wayland Baptist University

6

University of Phoenix - Arizona did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, this large private for-profit school handed out 183 degrees to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at UOPX - Arizona

7

With a ranking of #7, Sam Houston State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. SHSU is a large public school situated in Huntsville, Texas. It awarded 40 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full Sam Houston State University Criminal Justice Report

8

Texas A & M University - Central Texas ranked #8 on this year’s Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas A & M University - Central Texas is a small school located in Killeen, Texas that handed out 1 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Texas A & M University - Central Texas

9

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #9. UT Rio Grande Valley is located in Edinburg, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 52 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

10
Texas State crest
Texas State University
San Marcos, Texas

With a ranking of #10, Texas State University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. Texas State University is located in San Marcos, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 18 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at Texas State University

11

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #11. This medium-sized school is located in Odessa, Texas, and it awarded 6 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UT Permian Basin Criminal Justice Report

12

University of Central Oklahoma came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. University of Central Oklahoma is located in Edmond, Oklahoma and, has a fairly large student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 1 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at UCO

13

The University of Texas at Dallas came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking. UT Dallas is a large school located in Richardson, Texas that handed out 0 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Criminal Justice at UT Dallas

13

East Central University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region ranking, coming in at #13. ECU is a public institution located in Ada, Oklahoma. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 masters’s degrees in 2021-2022.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Criminal Justice at East Central University

13
South University, Austin crest
South University, Austin
Round Rock, Texas

With a ranking of #13, South University, Austin did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Master’s Highly Focused on Criminal Justice Major in the Southwest Region list. South University, Austin is a small school located in Round Rock, Texas that handed out 3 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2021-2022.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminal Justice at South University, Austin

Notes and References

References

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Footnotes

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