2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $75-$110k) in California

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 “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 10,182 people earned their degree in criminology, making the major the 82nd most popular in the United States. 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 master’s degree level specifically, there were 71 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in criminology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. 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 Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 4 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $75-$110k) in California

#1

University of California - Irvine

Irvine, California

#1 in overall quality

$28,456 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$60,325 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. University of California - Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 32 masters’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

UC Irvine not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at UC Irvine are $28,456, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Criminology at University of California - Irvine

#2

California State University - Fresno

Fresno, California

#3 in overall quality

$17,581 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k. Fresno State is located in Fresno, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 masters’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

Fresno State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at Fresno State are $17,581, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full Fresno State Criminology Report

#3

San Diego State University

San Diego, California

#2 in overall quality

$18,658 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

$39,009 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, San Diego State University landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in San Diego, California, and it awarded 13 masters’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SDSU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full SDSU Criminology Report

#4

San Jose State University

San Jose, California

#4 in overall quality

$18,790 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Master’s in California For Those Making $75-$110k list. San Jose State is a public institution located in San Jose, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

San Jose State also made our “Best Criminology Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State University are $18,790, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full San Jose State University Criminology Report

• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $75-$110k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $75-$110k)

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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