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

22 Colleges in California
4,780 Bachelor's Degrees
$39,154 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #7 in popularity, criminal justice & corrections is one of the most sought-after bachelor's degree programs in the nation. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 22 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for bachelor's degree seekers in the field of criminal justice & corrections. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,780 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 California 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. 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 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 bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor'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 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 the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Criminal Justice & Corrections in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections.

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

1
415 Annual Graduates
$33,261 Median Starting Salary
$32,279 Median Student Debt

San Diego State University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Diego.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career wages of $33,261.

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

2
539 Annual Graduates
$38,606 Median Starting Salary
$15,932 Median Student Debt

California State University - Sacramento is a great option for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Sacramento, Sac State is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually earn about $38,606 in the first five years of their career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from California State University - Sacramento

3

The University of Arizona Global Campus is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. UAGC is a very large private for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from The University of Arizona Global Campus receive an earnings boost of approximately $8,715 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from The University of Arizona Global Campus

4

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections needs to look into California State University - San Bernardino. Located in the medium-sized city of San Bernardino, CSUSB 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 $35,029 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from California State University - San Bernardino

5
204 Annual Graduates
$42,211 Median Starting Salary
$18,950 Median Student Debt

SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from San Francisco State University make $3,057 more than the typical criminal justice student.

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

6

Located in the suburb of Fullerton, Cal State Fullerton is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically make about $34,570 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from California State University - Fullerton

7

CSULB is a fairly large public university located in the city of Long Beach.

After graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually earn about $34,247 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from California State University - Long Beach

8

Located in the city of Chico, Chico State is a public university with a large student population.

Soon after graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $36,045 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from California State University - Chico

9

Located in the large suburb of Hayward, Cal State East Bay is a public university with a large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections degree program at California State University - East Bay get $6,233 more than the average college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

10
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA

Located in the city of San Diego, National University is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at National University get $24,989 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

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

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 345
Oregon 185 275
Nevada 129 393
Hawaii 112 112
Alaska 75 65

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 Studies 4,390
Criminal Justice 390

Related Major Annual Graduates
Security Science and Technology 127
Homeland Security 54
Fire Protection 52

Notes and References

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