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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k) in California

9 Ranked Colleges
1,342 Degrees Awarded
$15,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Criminology is the 82nd most popular major in the country with 10,182 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,583 and had an average of $24,397 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,416 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,967 and $21,881 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,342 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the criminology program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Criminology Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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.

Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k) in California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Irvine, California, this large public school awarded 429 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $9,558 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Criminology at UC Irvine

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #2 spot on the list. Fresno State is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 430 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $3,264 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Criminology at Fresno State

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - San Marcos. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in San Marcos, California, and it awarded 278 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUSM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Marcos is $9,517 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Criminology at California State University - San Marcos

#4

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Humboldt State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Humboldt State University is a public institution located in Arcata, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University also made our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $11,263 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Humboldt State University.

Read full report on Criminology at Humboldt State University

#5

Holy Names University

Oakland, California

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Holy Names University landed the #5 spot on the list. Holy Names University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oakland, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, HNU has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Holy Names University is $18,048 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.5% 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about Criminology at Holy Names University

#6

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#5 in overall quality

California Lutheran University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. California Lutheran University is a small school located in Thousand Oaks, California that handed out 53 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CLU is $18,173 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at CLU

#7

Azusa Pacific University

Azusa, California
#7 in overall quality

Azusa Pacific University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Azusa Pacific is located in Azusa, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

Azusa Pacific not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Azusa Pacific University is $21,179 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Criminology at Azusa Pacific University

#8

University of La Verne

La Verne, California

University of La Verne came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of La Verne is a medium-sized school located in La Verne, California that handed out 55 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

ULV also made our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend University of La Verne is $21,297 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at University of La Verne

#9

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

Mount Saint Mary’s University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. MSMU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 16 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

MSMU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University is $27,107 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 2.2% 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%.

Read full report on Criminology at MSMU

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).
  • 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

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • 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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