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2025 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in District of Columbia

4 Colleges in District of Columbia
294 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$40,755 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #7 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools in District of Columbia to determine which ones were the best for criminal justice & corrections students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 294 degrees in criminal justice & corrections annually.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice & Corrections School

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in District of Columbia Your choice of criminal justice & corrections school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for criminal justice & corrections schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Criminal Justice & Corrections Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Criminal Justice
Master's Degrees in Criminal Justice
Doctor's Degrees in Criminal Justice

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in District of Columbia ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

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.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.

Best Schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections in District of Columbia

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the criminal justice degrees they offer, see the list below.

Top District of Columbia Schools in Criminal Justice

1
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
86 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
8.1% Growth in Graduates

George Washington University is one of the finest schools in the country for getting a degree in criminal justice & corrections. GWU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #25 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means GWU is a great university overall.

There were about 86 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at GWU in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the criminal justice & corrections program at George Washington University earn $10,501 more than the typical college graduate in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from George Washington University

2
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
104 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
$43,377 Median Starting Salary

It is hard to beat American University if you wish to pursue a degree in criminal justice & corrections. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means The American University is a great university overall.

There were approximately 104 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at The American University in the most recent data year. Those criminal justice & corrections students who get their degree from American University receive $2,622 more than the standard criminal justice student.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from American University

3
Howard crest
Howard University
Washington, DC
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
34 Criminal Justice Degrees Awarded
2.9% Growth in Graduates

Howard University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the city of Washington, Howard is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 7 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were about 34 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Howard in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the criminal justice program make an average of $27,801 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Howard University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$47,385 Median Starting Salary

Trinity Washington University is a wonderful choice for students pursuing a degree in criminal justice & corrections. Located in the large city of Washington, Trinity College is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population. This university ranks 6th out of 7 schools for overall quality in the state of District of Columbia.

There were approximately 15 criminal justice & corrections students who graduated with this degree at Trinity College in the most recent data year. Criminal Justice & Corrections degree recipients from Trinity Washington University get an earnings boost of around $6,630 over the typical earnings of criminal justice & corrections graduates.

More information about a degree in criminal justice & corrections from Trinity Washington University

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

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

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 334 3,222
New York 333 8,021
Maryland 279 944
New Jersey 273 2,955
Delaware 175 280

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 210
Criminal Justice 63
Criminal Justice & Police Science 7
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice 7
Securities Services Administration/Management 4
Corrections Administration 3

View All Criminal Justice Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security 215
Security Science and Technology 27
Fire Protection 2

View All Criminal Justice Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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