by our College Data Analytics Team
Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Criminal Justice & Corrections is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 7th of all the majors we analyze. In 2020-2021, 113,121 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2019-2020, criminal justice and corrections graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $35,465 and had an average of $25,425 in loans still to pay off.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major” ranking looked at 1,814 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminal justice and corrections. This ranking identifies schools that graduate the most students in criminal justice and corrections.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major”.
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 by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
The colleges and universities below are the best for criminal justice students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend John Jay College of Criminal Justice. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. This fairly large school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 1,933 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at John Jay
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Phoenix - Arizona. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. Tempe, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s criminal justice degrees to 1,554 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at UOPX - Arizona
Out of the 1,814 schools in the Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern New Hampshire University landed the #3 spot on the list. Southern New Hampshire University is located in Manchester, New Hampshire and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,227 ’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. Liberty University is a large school located in Lynchburg, Virginia that handed out 1,235 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Liberty University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Sam Houston State University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major. Located in Huntsville, Texas, this large public school handed out 1,031 degrees to qualified ’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
American Public University System ranked #6 on this year’s Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. This large school is located in Charles Town, West Virginia, and it awarded 912 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full American Public University System Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
Purdue University Global ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. Purdue University Global is a large school located in Indianapolis, Indiana that handed out 876 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Purdue University Global Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
Florida State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Located in Tallahassee, Florida, this large public school handed out 646 diplomas to qualified ’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 Florida State University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
With a ranking of #9, Florida International University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. Miami, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminal justice degrees to 643 students in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Florida International University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
University of Central Florida ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. UCF is a large school located in Orlando, Florida that handed out 646 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.7% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Central Florida
Eastern Gateway Community College landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Steubenville, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminal justice degrees to 572 students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Eastern Gateway Community College
Saint Leo University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking, coming in at #13. Saint Leo University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Leo, Florida. It awarded 571 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at St. Leo University
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ranked #14 on this year’s Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. This large school is located in Edinburg, Texas, and it awarded 544 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking, coming in at #15. Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs is a large private for-profit school situated in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It awarded 534 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Colorado Technical University - Colorado Springs
Columbia Southern University landed the #16 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Columbia Southern University is a fairly large school located in Orange Beach, Alabama that handed out 494 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Columbia Southern University
With a ranking of #17, California State University - Sacramento did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. Sac State is located in Sacramento, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 493 ’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Sac State
Monroe College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Located in Bronx, New York, this medium-sized private for-profit school handed out 469 degrees to qualified ’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at Monroe College
With a ranking of #19, Borough of Manhattan Community College did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. New York, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminal justice degrees to 459 students in 2020-2021.
Full Borough of Manhattan Community College Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
Arizona State University - Skysong landed the #20 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 444 ’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.
Grand Canyon University landed the #21 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, this large private for-profit school handed out 419 diplomas to qualified ’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full Grand Canyon University Criminal Justice & Corrections Report
University of New Haven landed the #22 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. West Haven, Connecticut is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s criminal justice degrees to 410 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of New Haven
George Mason University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking, coming in at #23. GMU is located in Fairfax, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 399 ’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%.
American InterContinental University - Online came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major ranking. Schaumburg, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s criminal justice degrees to 391 students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at AIU Online
With a ranking of #24, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminal Justice Major list. Located in San Diego, California, this large public school handed out 392 degrees to qualified ’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Read more about Criminal Justice & Corrections at San Diego State University
Not only did these schools make the top 51 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
While not in the ’top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | Queensborough Community College | Bayside, NY |
| 53 | The University of Texas at El Paso | El Paso, TX |
| 54 | Walden University | Minneapolis, MN |
| 55 | University of Houston - Downtown | Houston, TX |
| 56 | Rutgers University - Newark | Newark, NJ |
| 57 | California State University - East Bay | Hayward, CA |
| 58 | East Carolina University | Greenville, NC |
| 59 | San Jose State University | San Jose, CA |
| 60 | LaGuardia Community College | Long Island City, NY |
| 61 | San Francisco State University | San Francisco, CA |
| 62 | Troy University | Troy, AL |
| 63 | Texas A&M International University | Laredo, TX |
| 63 | Imperial Valley College | Imperial, CA |
| 65 | University of South Carolina - Columbia | Columbia, SC |
| 66 | Tarleton State University | Stephenville, TX |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 242 | Moorpark College | Moorpark, CA |
| 242 | County College of Morris | Randolph, NJ |
| 244 | Valencia College | Orlando, FL |
| 244 | Austin Peay State University | Clarksville, TN |
| 246 | Butte College | Oroville, CA |
| 246 | University of Puerto Rico - Carolina | Carolina, PR |
| 248 | Bowie State University | Bowie, MD |
| 248 | Mercy College | Dobbs Ferry, NY |
| 250 | Worcester State University | Worcester, MA |
| 250 | Polk State College | Winter Haven, FL |
| 250 | SUNY Canton | Canton, NY |
| 253 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI |
| 253 | College of the Desert | Palm Desert, CA |
| 255 | Brookdale Community College | Lincroft, NJ |
| 255 | North Carolina Wesleyan College | Rocky Mount, NC |
| 255 | Arkansas Tech University | Russellville, AR |
| 258 | University of Georgia | Athens, GA |
| 258 | The University of West Florida | Pensacola, FL |
| 258 | SUNY Delhi | Delhi, NY |
| 261 | Saint Cloud State University | Saint Cloud, MN |
| 262 | SUNY Plattsburgh | Plattsburgh, NY |
| 262 | Wichita State University | Wichita, KS |
| 262 | Rowan College of South Jersey Gloucester Campus | Sewell, NJ |
| 265 | University of Akron Main Campus | Akron, OH |
| 265 | Union County College | Cranford, NJ |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 265 | Fitchburg State University | Fitchburg, MA |
| 268 | ECPI University | Virginia Beach, VA |
| 268 | Central Texas College | Killeen, TX |
| 268 | Northern Michigan University | Marquette, MI |
| 268 | Century College | White Bear Lake, MN |
| 272 | Arizona Western College | Yuma, AZ |
| 272 | Santa Ana College | Santa Ana, CA |
| 272 | New England College | Henniker, NH |
Read more about our data sources and methodologies