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

15 Colleges in Virginia
1,705 Bachelor's Degrees
$40,262 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.

College Factual reviewed 15 schools in Virginia 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 1,705 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 Virginia 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

The criminal justice school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Virginia.

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 Virginia

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

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

1
362 Annual Graduates
$43,612 Median Starting Salary
$45,292 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat George Mason University if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. GMU is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Fairfax.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from George Mason University earn $3,350 more than the standard criminal justice grad.

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

2
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA
572 Annual Graduates
$48,855 Median Starting Salary
$38,000 Median Student Debt

Liberty University is a good choice for students pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the small city of Lynchburg, Liberty University is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from Liberty University get an earnings boost of approximately $8,593 over the typical income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

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

3
236 Annual Graduates
$38,495 Median Starting Salary
$26,789 Median Student Debt

Virginia Commonwealth University is a great choice for individuals pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the medium-sized city of Richmond, VCU is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually make around $38,495 at the beginning of their careers.

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

4
Radford crest
Radford University
Radford, VA
116 Annual Graduates
$35,935 Median Starting Salary
$19,202 Median Student Debt

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections needs to look into Radford University. Radford is a moderately-sized public university located in the fringe town of Radford.

Soon after graduating, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually earn around $35,935 at the beginning of their careers.

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

5
Marymount crest
Marymount University
Arlington, VA
31 Annual Graduates
$35,642 Median Starting Salary
$58,957 Median Student Debt

Located in the midsize city of Arlington, Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career earnings of $35,642.

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

6
AU crest
Averett University
Danville, VA

AU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Danville.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from Averett University earn a boost of about $3,232 above the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

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

7
ECPI University crest
ECPI University
Virginia Beach, VA

ECPI University is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the city of Virginia Beach.

Bachelor's students who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn an average of $36,287 in their early career salary.

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

8
Shenandoah crest
Shenandoah University
Winchester, VA

Shenandoah is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Winchester.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from Shenandoah University get an earnings boost of about $6,554 over the average earnings of criminal justice & corrections majors.

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

9
68 Annual Graduates
$34,604 Median Starting Salary
$29,225 Median Student Debt

Located in the suburb of Petersburg, Virginia State is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Soon after graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically make an average of $34,604 at the beginning of their careers.

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

10
VWU crest
Virginia Wesleyan University
Virginia Beach, VA

Located in the city of Virginia Beach, VWU is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program state that they receive average early career wages of $39,404.

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

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
Tennessee 220 893
North Carolina 213 1,831
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 Studies 936
Criminal Justice 403
Criminal Justice & Police Science 366

Majors Similar to Criminal Justice

Related Major Annual Graduates
Security Science and Technology 185
Homeland Security 141
Other Homeland Security 91
Fire Protection 23

Notes and References

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