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

16 Colleges in Missouri
737 Bachelor's Degrees
$38,301 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.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 16 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Missouri ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 737 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 Missouri 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 full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges 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 Missouri.

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 Missouri

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

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

1
89 Annual Graduates
$37,221 Median Starting Salary
$11,950 Median Student Debt

It is difficult to beat University of Central Missouri if you wish to pursue a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. UCM is a fairly large public university located in the town of Warrensburg.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually make an average of $37,221 in their early careers.

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

2
SLU crest
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis, MO

Every student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections has to take a look at Saint Louis University. SLU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Saint Louis.

Criminal Justice & Corrections bachelor's degree recipients from Saint Louis University earn a boost of approximately $7,408 above the average income of criminal justice & corrections majors.

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

3
Columbia College Missouri crest
Columbia College
Columbia, MO

Columbia College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections. Columbia College Missouri is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the medium-sized city of Columbia.

Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their bachelor's degree from Columbia College make $7,894 more than the standard criminal justice grad.

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

4

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in criminal justice & corrections needs to look into Missouri Southern State University. Located in the small city of Joplin, Missouri Southern is a public 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 $33,167.

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

5
Park University crest
Park University
Parkville, MO

Located in the large suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's recipients from the criminal justice & corrections major at Park University make $11,004 more than the average college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

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

6
Lindenwood University crest
Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO
74 Annual Graduates
$36,253 Median Starting Salary
$24,060 Median Student Debt

Lindenwood University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Saint Charles.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminal justice program report average early career income of $36,253.

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

7
63 Annual Graduates
$36,537 Median Starting Salary
$16,177 Median Student Debt

Located in the small city of Cape Girardeau, Southeast Missouri State University is a public university with a medium-sized student population.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program earn about $36,537 in the first couple years of working.

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

8
Truman State crest
Truman State University
Kirksville, MO

Located in the remote town of Kirksville, Truman State is a public university with a small student population.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients usually make around $32,176 in the first five years of their career.

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

9

Missouri Western is a small public university located in the city of Saint Joseph.

After graduation, criminal justice bachelor's recipients typically earn an average of $39,808 at the beginning of their careers.

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

10

Drury University - CCPS is a fairly small private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Springfield.

Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make about $38,014 for their early career.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminal justice & corrections from Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Plains States Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Minnesota 215 630
Iowa 197 387
Kansas 184 440
Nebraska 180 410
North Dakota 149 193
South Dakota 148 95

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 422
Criminal Justice Studies 226
Corrections 75
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General 8
Securities Services Administration/Management 6

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 46
Security Science and Technology 16

Notes and References

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