2025 Best Criminology Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region

Criminology is above average in terms of popularity with it being the #130 most popular master's degree program in the country. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

College Factual reviewed 2 schools in the Far Western US Region to determine which ones were the best for master's degree seekers in the field of criminology. Combined, these schools handed out 101 master's degrees in criminology to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

• Best Master’s Degree Schools List

Average Early-Career Salaries

Average early-career salary of those graduating with their master's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your master'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:

• Major Focus - How much a school focuses on criminology students vs. other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other criminology students want to attend this school to pursue a master's degree.
• Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
• Student Debt - How much debt criminology students go into to obtain their master's degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized criminology related body.

Our full ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for criminology students working on their master's degree.

More Ways to Rank Criminology Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we've developed the Best Criminology Master's Degree Schools in the Far Western US Region ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Criminology in the Far Western US Region

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in criminology.

Top Far Western US Region Schools for a Master's in Criminology

1

University of California - Irvine
Irvine, CA

49 Annual Graduates

$61,062 Median Starting Salary

University of California - Irvine is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in criminology. UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the city of Irvine.

Soon after graduating, criminology master's recipients generally make an average of $61,062 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in criminology from University of California - Irvine

2

San Diego State University
San Diego, CA

16 Annual Graduates

San Diego State University is a great choice for students interested in a master's degree in criminology. SDSU is a very large public university located in the city of San Diego.More information about a master’s in criminology from San Diego State University

Best Criminology Colleges by State

Explore the best criminology schools for a specific state in the Far Western US Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
California	253	72
Washington	183	2
Nevada	105	4

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Rankings in Majors Related to Criminology

One of 0 majors within the <nil> area of study, Criminology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Criminology Focus Areas

Major	Annual Graduates
Criminology	101

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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 the rest 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). More about our data sources and methodologies.