2023 Best Value Colleges for Criminology in California (With Aid)
9
Ranked Colleges
1,459
Degrees Awarded
$18,600
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Criminology is the 80th most popular major in the country with 11,039 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,568 and had an average of $24,453 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 1,459 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,821 and $20,932 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” 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.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Criminology in California (With Aid)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 404 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
Fresno State also made our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Fresno State is $6,230 for California Criminology students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminology at Fresno State
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 498 students in 2020-2021.
UC Irvine also made our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for University of California - Irvine is $12,209 for California Criminology students with aid.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 University of California - Irvine
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 in California For Those Getting Aid. CSUSM is a fairly large public school situated in San Marcos, California. It awarded 266 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
CSUSM also made our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend CSUSM is $13,218 for California Criminology students with aid.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at CSUSM
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school handed out 48 diplomas to qualified ’s criminology students in 2020-2021.
Cal Poly Pomona also made our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $14,304 for california criminology students with aid per year to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.6% 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 Cal Poly Pomona
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Jose State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid. Located in San Jose, California, this large public school handed out 12 diplomas to qualified ’s criminology students in 2020-2021.
San Jose State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $16,542 for california criminology students with aid.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full San Jose State Criminology Report
Humboldt State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized school located in Arcata, California that handed out 49 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california criminology students with aid list, Humboldt State University has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $14,956 for california criminology students with aid per year to attend Humboldt State University.
Full Humboldt State University Criminology Report
With a ranking of #7, University of La Verne did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid list. ULV is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in La Verne, California. It awarded 57 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california criminology students with aid list, ULV has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend ULV is $28,260 for California Criminology students with aid.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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 more about Criminology at University of La Verne
Azusa Pacific University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Azusa Pacific University is located in Azusa, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s criminology degrees to qualified students.
Azusa Pacific did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list. It costs about $30,744 for california criminology students with aid per year to attend Azusa Pacific University.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminology at Azusa Pacific
Mount Saint Mary’s University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Getting Aid ranking. Mount Saint Mary’s University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 21 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
MSMU also made our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $30,938 for California Criminology students with aid per year to attend Mount Saint Mary’s University.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminology at MSMU
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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).
- 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
- *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.
