2023 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
9
Ranked Colleges
178
Degrees Awarded
$72,289
Avg Salary
Veterans have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2020-2021, 113,121 criminal justice and corrections students received their degree, making the major the 7th most popular in the country. 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.
Across Illinois, there were 3,037 criminal justice and corrections graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,966 and $27,282 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in criminal justice and corrections. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminal justice and corrections programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminal justice and corrections program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois master’s degree vets studying criminal justice.
Top 9 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 23 diplomas to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 241 of the 17,834 students enrolled at UChicago were GI Bill® students, of which 113 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $18,948. To help with additional expenses, 58 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 UChicago Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lewis University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s. Lewis is located in Romeoville, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 48 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.
Lewis did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list.According to our most recent data, Lewis supports 6,437 students, and 23 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 16 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,559. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 11 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 33,518 students enrolled at UIC were GI Bill® students, of which 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $23,878. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UIC does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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 UIC Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 9 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Illinois State University is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 14 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Illinois State also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5.Of the 20,720 students enrolled at Illinois State, 530 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 163 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,997. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Loyola University Chicago. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s. Loyola University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 9 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Loyola Chicago also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6.Among the 16,893 students enrolled at Loyola University Chicago, 261 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 165 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $17,263. To help with additional expenses, 78 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, 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 85%.
Read More…
Western Illinois University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #6. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 43 diplomas to qualified masters’s criminal justice students in 2020-2021.
WIU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 330 of the 7,490 students enrolled at WIU were GI Bill® students, of which 62 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,652. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. WIU offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Read More…
Aurora University landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s ranking. Aurora University is located in Aurora, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 masters’s criminal justice degrees to qualified students.
Aurora also made our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7.According to our most recent data, Aurora supports 6,265 students, and 3 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,999. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read More…
Governors State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s ranking. University Park, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s criminal justice degrees to 10 students in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at GSU, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.According to our most recent data, Governors State University supports 4,650 students, and 146 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 80 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,291. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Governors State University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Full Governors State University Veteran Student Life Report
Chicago State University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Criminal Justice for a Master’s ranking. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 5 masters’s criminal justice degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at CSU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 94 of the 2,644 students enrolled at CSU were GI Bill® students, of which 48 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,489. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
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.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Chicago State University]](/colleges/chicago-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
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