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2025 Best Criminology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California

8 Colleges in California
1,310 Bachelor's Degrees
$34,074 Avg Early-Career Salary
a bachelor's degree in criminology is more popular than many other degrees. In fact, it ranks #53 out of 363 on popularity of all such degrees in the nation. This means you won't have too much trouble finding schools that offer the degree.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 8 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Criminology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,310 bachelor's degrees in criminology during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Criminology School for Your Bachelor's Degree

Best Criminology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California Your choice of criminology for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a good education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To account for this we include a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their bachelor's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their bachelor's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Criminology Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminology Bachelor's Degree Schools in California 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Criminology in California

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in criminology.

Top California Schools for a Bachelor's in Criminology

1
465 Annual Graduates
$34,522 Median Starting Salary
$18,574 Median Student Debt

University of California - Irvine is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in criminology. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population.

After graduation, criminology bachelor's recipients typically earn about $34,522 in their early careers.

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

2

Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in criminology has to look into California State University - San Marcos. Located in the suburb of San Marcos, CSUSM is a public university with a fairly large student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminology program report average early career earnings of $34,694.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from California State University - San Marcos

3

Any student pursuing a degree in a bachelor's degree in criminology has to check out California State University - Fresno. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno State is a public university with a fairly large student population.

After graduating, criminology bachelor's recipients generally make around $31,224 in their early careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from California State University - Fresno

4

California Lutheran University is a wonderful choice for individuals interested in a bachelor's degree in criminology. CLU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Thousand Oaks.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminology program report average early career income of $31,963.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from California Lutheran University

5
92 Annual Graduates

Located in the large suburb of Pomona, Cal Poly Pomona is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

6

Located in the town of Arcata, Humboldt State University is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.

Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the criminology program state that they receive average early career wages of $29,123.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from Humboldt State University

7
12 Annual Graduates

MSMU is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Los Angeles.More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from Mount Saint Mary’s University

8
35 Annual Graduates
$34,292 Median Starting Salary
$48,123 Median Student Debt

ULV is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of La Verne.

Soon after graduation, criminology bachelor's recipients generally make an average of $34,292 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a bachelor’s in criminology from University of La Verne

Best Criminology Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Criminology Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 226 282
Oregon 185 12
Nevada 129 171

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Criminology Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Criminology 1,310

Notes and References

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