2023 Most Popular Colleges for Criminology in California
14
Ranked Colleges
1,459
Degrees Awarded
$31,800
Avg Cost*
With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California” 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 “Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular criminology programs in the United States.
See our ranking methodology to learn more.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The criminology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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.
Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California”.
Top 14 Most Popular Colleges for Criminology in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California list. UC Irvine is a large public school situated in Irvine, California. It awarded 498 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full UC Irvine Criminology Report
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 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California. Fresno, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 404 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 more about Criminology at Fresno State
Out of the 14 schools in the Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - San Marcos landed the #3 spot on the list. CSUSM is a fairly large public school situated in San Marcos, California. It awarded 266 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%.
Full California State University - San Marcos Criminology Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of La Verne. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California list. ULV is located in La Verne, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 57 ’s criminology degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full ULV Criminology Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Lutheran University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California list. CLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 53 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full California Lutheran University Criminology Report
Humboldt State University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking. Located in Arcata, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 49 degrees to qualified ’s criminology students in 2020-2021.
Read more about Criminology at Humboldt State University
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking, coming in at #7. Located in Pomona, California, this large public school handed out 48 degrees to qualified ’s criminology students in 2020-2021.
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 undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at Cal Poly Pomona
Azusa Pacific University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking. Azusa Pacific University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Azusa, California. It awarded 21 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Azusa Pacific Criminology Report
Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking. Mount Saint Mary’s University is a small school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 21 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.3% 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%. 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.
Read more about Criminology at Mount Saint Mary’s University
San Jose State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking, coming in at #10. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at San Jose State University
Fresno Pacific University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking, coming in at #11. Fresno Pacific University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminology at Fresno Pacific
Holy Names University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking. Oakland, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 8 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Full Holy Names University Criminology Report
San Diego State University landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking. San Diego State University is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.
Read more about Criminology at SDSU
Alliant International University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Criminology Major in California ranking, coming in at #14. Alliant International University is a small private for-profit school situated in San Diego, California. It awarded 5 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Full Alliant Criminology Report
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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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate 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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