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Key Infor­ma­tion:

  • The Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia, Uni­ver­si­ty of Delaware, Uni­ver­si­ty of Flori­da, Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa, and Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land-Col­lege Park are high­light­ed for their excel­lent crim­i­nal jus­tice programs.
  • A degree in crim­i­nal jus­tice opens var­i­ous career paths, includ­ing law enforce­ment, foren­sic sci­ence, pro­ba­tion offi­cer, and crim­i­nal psy­chol­o­gist roles.
  • These pro­grams often include course­work in law enforce­ment, crim­i­nol­o­gy, soci­ol­o­gy, psy­chol­o­gy, and legal process­es, pro­vid­ing a com­pre­hen­sive edu­ca­tion in crim­i­nal justice.

Is crim­i­nal jus­tice a good major for your career goals? A true cost/benefit analy­sis depends on your plans and con­cerns. The degree opens oppor­tu­ni­ties with­in the crim­i­nal jus­tice field, includ­ing work in police depart­ments, parole, and the court sys­tem. It offers a sta­ble career that focus­es on help­ing oth­ers in your local and state com­mu­ni­ties. On the oth­er hand, is a crim­i­nol­o­gy degree use­ful for your goals? It ulti­mate­ly depends on what you plan to accom­plish in your career.

For stu­dents who want to work in the jus­tice sys­tem — whether as law enforce­ment offi­cers, admin­is­tra­tors, or even attor­neys — a bachelor’s in crim­i­nal jus­tice is the place to start. On the oth­er hand, for those who want to work in the fields as inves­ti­ga­tors, detec­tives, foren­sics experts, and crim­i­nal psy­chol­o­gists, a bachelor’s in crim­i­nol­o­gy is the right move. Many pro­grams include both choic­es, while oth­ers focus on one. In either case, a tra­di­tion­al, on-cam­pus bachelor’s, offer­ing men­tor­ship, net­work­ing, and con­nec­tions to employ­ment, is a good choice for those at the begin­ning of their career.

Relat­ed:

Methodology: Ranking the Best Undergraduate Criminal Justice Programs

To rank the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice and crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams, Bachelor’s Degree Cen­ter edi­tors set their sights on accred­it­ed, rep­utable insti­tu­tions offer­ing a sol­id edu­ca­tion and real oppor­tu­ni­ty. Pro­grams are ranked accord­ing to five key fac­tors: Cost, Grad­u­a­tion Rate, Job Place­ment, Rep­u­ta­tion, and Salary Expec­ta­tions. With those cri­te­ria in mind, stu­dents can feel secure that their invest­ment will pay off on the job mar­ket and in their salary.

1. University of Pennsylvania

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia offers one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams. This par­tic­u­lar pro­gram edu­cates stu­dents about law and jus­tice. Pupils learn about crime vic­tims as well as the role of every indi­vid­ual in the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem. Dur­ing one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, stu­dents eval­u­ate crime sta­tis­tics and have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to draw fea­si­ble con­clu­sions regard­ing less­en­ing crime. This degree pro­gram can pre­pare stu­dents for careers like foren­sic sci­ence tech­ni­cian, pro­ba­tion offi­cer, or loss pre­ven­tion spe­cial­ist. A crim­i­nol­o­gy degree from the Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia has a proven job mar­ket rep­u­ta­tion, con­sid­er­ing the school is tough in terms of their accep­tance process.

Stu­dents who attend the Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia live by the mot­to, “Ver­i­tas et Vir­tus,” which trans­lates to, “Truth and Virtue.” The ori­gin of this edu­ca­tion­al insti­tute dates back to the 18th cen­tu­ry. Stu­dents who attend this school earn the oppor­tu­ni­ty to become a red and blue quak­er and attend a school that’s one of the orig­i­nal nine colo­nial schools.

What We Like: U.S. News Report & World Report ranks the Uni­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­va­nia num­ber six in the cat­e­go­ry of nation­al universities.

Degree: Major in Criminology

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

2. University of Delaware

Stu­dents who attend the Uni­ver­si­ty of Delaware in Newark’s BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice receive a qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion in one of the best crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams, in par­tic­u­lar, one that focus­es on crim­i­nal jus­tice. The pro­gram edu­cates teach­ers about top­ics like law enforce­ment, his­to­ry, and soci­ol­o­gy. Stu­dents take polit­i­cal sci­ence and psy­chol­o­gy cours­es as well. A pupil in one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams takes cours­es relat­ed to civ­il lib­er­ties and con­sti­tu­tion­al rights, too.

In addi­tion to offer­ing one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Delaware pro­vides stu­dents with a high-qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion from the largest edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion in Delaware. The school has a long his­to­ry dat­ing back to 1833. The school encour­ages stu­dents who become blue hens to live by the mot­to, “Sci­en­tia Sol Men­tis Est,” which means, “Knowl­edge is the light of the mind.”

What We Like: Stu­dents who enroll in the Uni­ver­si­ty of Delaware’s crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­gram ben­e­fit from low tuition.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

3. University of Florida

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Flori­da’s BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy offers stu­dents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to earn a degree in one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams. This pro­gram is a bach­e­lor’s degree in crim­i­nol­o­gy and edu­cates stu­dents about crim­i­nal jus­tice, laws, and pro­ce­dures. One of the cours­es focus­es on juve­nile law. A pupil in this course learns about the crim­i­nal jus­tice process as well as oth­er legal process­es, anthro­pol­o­gy, and psychology.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Flori­da is known as a research uni­ver­si­ty. It has an ori­gin that dates back to 1853. The school stress­es the impor­tance of morals and their impact on the community.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Flori­da’s bach­e­lor of sci­ence in crim­i­nol­o­gy has a low tuition rate.

Degree: BA in Criminology

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

4. University of Iowa

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa’s BA and BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Jus­tice offers stu­dents the option to com­plete one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams since it gives pupils the option to earn either a bach­e­lor of sci­ence or a bach­e­lor of the arts. Either pro­gram focus­es on crim­i­nol­o­gy, law, and jus­tice. While com­plet­ing the cours­es, stu­dents learn about top­ics like soci­ol­o­gy and crim­i­nol­o­gy. Stu­dents also learn about law and soci­ety. When a stu­dent choos­es one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams from this school, he or she receives the ben­e­fit of a low tuition rate for in-state students.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Iowa was found­ed in 1847 and is the sec­ond-largest uni­ver­si­ty in the state. This par­tic­u­lar edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion was the first to open a co-edu­ca­tion­al med­ical school. More­over, it’s among one of the first co-edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tions in gen­er­al. Addi­tion­al­ly, this school has a high accep­tance rate of over 80 percent.

What We Like: Those who attend this school ben­e­fit from a low­er teacher-to-stu­dent ratio than most nation­al research uni­ver­si­ties, mean­ing pupils may receive more indi­vid­u­al­ized attention.

Degree: BA or BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

5. University of Maryland-College Park

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land’s BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice pro­vides stu­dents with an oppor­tu­ni­ty to earn a bach­e­lor’s degree in crim­i­nol­o­gy and crim­i­nal jus­tice. It ranks as one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams because it allows stu­dents to ana­lyze crime sta­tis­tics. As one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams, pupils in this course get to learn about vio­lence and for­mu­late an opin­ion about reduc­ing it. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents learn about oth­er issues that plague the country.

Dat­ing back to 1856, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land has a long his­to­ry of turn­ing ter­rap­ins into suc­cess­ful pro­fes­sion­als. Pupils who rep­re­sent red, white, black, gold are encour­aged to live by the mot­to, “Fat­ti maschii, parole fem­ine,” which means, “Strong deeds, gen­tle words.” This col­lege ranks in the top 40 col­leges for veterans.

What We Like: Stu­dents at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Mary­land ben­e­fit from a low tuition rate and a high ROI as a result, espe­cial­ly with its prox­im­i­ty to jobs in the DC metro area.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

6. Michigan State University

Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty’s crim­i­nal jus­tice divi­sion offers one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams. In one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, stu­dents learn how crim­i­nal jus­tice affects soci­ety. Pupils are giv­en knowl­edge to help them for­mu­late opin­ions about cor­rect­ing prob­lems in soci­ety. Stu­dents learn about civ­il lib­er­ties and even have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to receive infor­ma­tion about cyber­crimes and home­land secu­ri­ty. Once a stu­dent has a degree in crim­i­nal jus­tice, he or she can ben­e­fit from a field that’s in-demand and a degree from a respect­ed edu­ca­tion­al institution.

Back in 1855, Michi­gan State Uni­ver­si­ty opened its doors as a pub­lic research col­lege. Over 70 per­cent of stu­dents who apply gain an oppor­tu­ni­ty to rep­re­sent the green and white Spar­tans. In the school’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams and oth­er major pro­grams, stu­dents advance their knowl­edge and trans­form their lives, as indi­cat­ed by the school’s motto.

What We Like: Michi­gan State is home to the old­est crim­i­nal jus­tice and crim­i­nol­o­gy schools in the US.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

7. Northeastern University

Stu­dents who choose North­east­ern Uni­ver­si­ty have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to com­plete one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams. In this school, stu­dents earn a bach­e­lor’s of sci­ence in crim­i­nal jus­tice, which pre­pares them for a career as a police offi­cer, pro­ba­tion offi­cer, or anoth­er crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­fes­sion­al. Stu­dents gain ade­quate knowl­edge about the crim­i­nal jus­tice process and crimes that plague the country.

North­east­ern Uni­ver­si­ty is a rather pricey insti­tu­tion that opened its doors in 1898. They have strin­gent require­ments for admis­sion, but once a stu­dent receives accep­tance, he or she earns a degree from a well-respect­ed insti­tu­tion. The school’s slo­gan is “Light, Truth, Courage,” pos­si­bly because they believe in instill­ing more than just knowl­edge in their students.

What We Like: North­east­ern is one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, offer­ing stu­dents edu­ca­tion from a rep­utable col­lege with a proven job mar­ket reputation.

Degree: BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

8. Indiana University Bloomington

Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty’s BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers stu­dents the option to com­plete one of the nation’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams. As one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, stu­dents learn about a vari­ety of sub­jects that help them to become well-round­ed crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­fes­sion­als. Some cours­es in this pro­gram include psy­chol­o­gy, soci­ol­o­gy, anthro­pol­o­gy, and his­to­ry. Stu­dents com­plete cours­es relat­ed to juve­nile crim­i­nol­o­gy and cyber­crimes as well. Pupils in this pro­gram ben­e­fit from a school that has a proven job mar­ket reputation.

Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty’s col­ors are cream and crim­son and have been that way since the school opened in 1820. While the school does­n’t have a mas­cot, stu­dents who attend this school are known as “Hoosiers.” The school encour­ages stu­dents to live by the mot­to, “Light and truth.”

What We Like: Indi­ana Uni­ver­si­ty ranks among the top 50 schools for veterans.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

9. Pennsylvania State University

At Penn­syl­va­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty stu­dents may earn either a BA or BS in crim­i­nol­o­gy. This pro­gram ranks as one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams for two rea­sons; it’s a high­ly rep­utable school, and the pro­gram is com­pre­hen­sive. Stu­dents are ade­quate­ly pre­pared for a job in crim­i­nal jus­tice or a law school degree pro­gram. Just like in pro­grams from oth­er schools that offer the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, pupils learn about crimes and cor­rec­tions. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents in this pro­gram learn about gen­der and eth­nic­i­ty and its impact on crime statistics.

Penn­syl­va­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty was found­ed in 1855 and has become a promi­nent pub­lic edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion. The school’s mot­to is “Mak­ing Life Bet­ter,” and they tru­ly do, con­sid­er­ing most grad­u­ates earn over $50,000 per year. This is a school ide­al for vet­er­ans. Addi­tion­al­ly, stu­dents who become “Nit­tany Lions” ben­e­fit from a low stu­dent-to-teacher ratio.

What We Like: Penn State grad­u­ates ben­e­fit from an edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tion with a sol­id job mar­ket reputation.

Degree: BA or BS in Criminology

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

10. University of California, Irvine

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Cal­i­for­nia, Irvine’s BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Soci­ety rates as one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams because it takes a com­pre­hen­sive approach to crim­i­nal jus­tice edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents learn to look into the soci­o­log­i­cal and psy­cho­log­i­cal fac­tors that attribute to crime. Pupils who com­plete one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams learn about var­i­ous aspects of law. More­over, at UC Irvine, stu­dents who live in the state receive a low tuition rate.

In addi­tion to hav­ing one of the best crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams, UC Irvine itself has ben­e­fits to stu­dents. For instance, stu­dents who rep­re­sent the blue and gold are part of school that dates back to the mid-1800s.

What We Like: UC Irvine is ranked one of the top 10 col­leges in Cal­i­for­nia — a state known for not one, but two of the nation’s strongest pub­lic uni­ver­si­ties systems.

Degree: BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Society

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

11. Rutgers University

Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty sup­plies one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams. Specif­i­cal­ly, this bach­e­lor of the arts in crim­i­nal jus­tice takes a look at police, crime, and law. Stu­dents even have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to com­plete a course in foren­sic sci­ence, which is a unique course that’s not in all the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams. The pro­gram also gives stu­dents an oppor­tu­ni­ty to eval­u­ate the cur­rent crim­i­nal jus­tice system.

Rut­gers Uni­ver­si­ty is the largest of all the edu­ca­tion­al insti­tu­tions in New Jer­sey. It’s the eighth old­est school in the nation and was among the first nine colo­nial col­leges. Although it was orig­i­nal­ly a pri­vate school, it’s now a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty. It’s ben­e­fi­cial for vet­er­ans to con­sid­er becom­ing a “Scar­let Knight” because this school ranks as one of the top 40 schools for veterans.

What We Like: Stu­dents at Rut­gers ben­e­fit from a rel­a­tive­ly low tuition rate and an accep­tance rate of more than 50 percent.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

12. University of South Carolina

When a per­son search­es for the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams, the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na comes up. The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na’s BA in crim­i­nol­o­gy and crim­i­nal jus­tice ranks among the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams because it’s a com­pre­hen­sive pro­gram. In addi­tion to gain­ing a thor­ough under­stand­ing of the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem, stu­dents learn about fac­tors that affect crime sta­tis­tics. Pupils get to eval­u­ate the police sys­tem and crim­i­nal pro­ce­dures. Stu­dents ben­e­fit from enter­ing this pro­gram because the tuition rate is rel­a­tive­ly low.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na was dis­cov­ered in 1801. Stu­dents who become “Game­cocks” ben­e­fit from edu­ca­tion at this research col­lege since it stress­es the impor­tance of edu­ca­tion and build­ing char­ac­ter, as not­ed by its mot­to, “Learn­ing human­izes char­ac­ter and does not per­mit it to be cru­el.” The admis­sion process isn’t rig­or­ous as indi­cat­ed by the 63-per­cent accep­tance rate for stu­dents to have an oppor­tu­ni­ty to rep­re­sent the gar­net and black.

What We Like: USC is known for some of the nation’s most pio­neer­ing research in criminology.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

13. California State University, Long Beach

The Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty, Long Beach BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy and Crim­i­nal Jus­tice ranks as one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams. Stu­dents learn about the judi­cial sys­tem as well as polic­ing. Part of the pro­gram con­sists of learn­ing about crime sta­tis­tics and devel­op­ing an under­stand­ing of what affects crime. One rea­son why this rates as one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams is because of the pow­er stu­dents have to choose elec­tives that inter­est them. Some exam­ples include home­land secu­ri­ty, the war on drugs, and foren­sic psy­chol­o­gy, among others.

Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty is a pub­lic high­er edu­ca­tion insti­tute that was start­ed in 1857. It was­n’t until 1949 that the Long Beach cam­pus was added. This uni­ver­si­ty owns sev­er­al lab­o­ra­to­ries and obser­va­to­ries through­out Cal­i­for­nia, such as the T.S. Gold­en Bear. As part of the red and white, stu­dents attend a school that ranks as num­ber 20 in the west.

What We Like: Stu­dents at CSU Long Beach in a crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­gram ben­e­fit from a low tuition rate as well.

Degree: BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy & Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

14. University of Texas at Dallas

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Dal­las offers a BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy. Stu­dents study­ing for UT Dal­las’ best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams must com­plete 120 cred­it units and a cul­mi­nat­ing research project to grad­u­ate. The course­work offered for these best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams includes Com­par­a­tive Jus­tice, Crim­i­nal research, and The­o­ries of Crim­i­nol­o­gy, to name a few. UT Dal­las pro­vides degree can­di­dates the option of fast-track­ing their edu­ca­tion by comb­ing grad­u­ate-lev­el pro­grams in the Crim­i­nal Jus­tice bac­calau­re­ate program.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Dal­las was estab­lished in 1961. The school became a mem­ber of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas Sys­tem eight years lat­er, in 1969. UT Dal­las’ urban cam­pus­es cov­er more than 440 acres and is home to near­ly 30,000 stu­dents. The school is orga­nized into eight colleges/schools.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of Texas at Dal­las is rec­og­nized by US News among the top pub­lic insti­tu­tions of learn­ing and Times High­er Edu­ca­tion as a top uni­ver­si­ty that is not yet fifty years old.

Degree: BA in Criminology

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

15. University of South Florida

The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Florida’sCollege of Behav­ioral and Com­mu­ni­ty Sci­ences offers a BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy that is avail­able on cam­pus, online, or a hybrid of both deliv­ery meth­ods. USF’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams pre­pare stu­dents to enter the crim­i­nal jus­tice fields of pro­ba­tion, cor­rec­tions, parole, deten­tion, law enforce­ment, and the judi­cia­ry. Degree can­di­dates in any of USF’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams must com­plete 36 hours of crim­i­nol­o­gy course­work to meet the major’s require­ments. Course­work includes Crim­i­nal Behav­ior The­o­ries, Research Meth­ods, Crim­i­nal Jus­tice sys­tems, and a senior seminar.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Flori­da was estab­lished in 1956 and is a mem­ber school of the State Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem of Flori­da. USF’s three urban loca­tions (Tam­pa, Sara­so­ta-Man­a­tee, St. Peters­burg) serve more near­ly 51,000 stu­dents study­ing from four­teen schools/schools.

What We Like: The Uni­ver­si­ty of South Flori­da is con­sid­ered the 4th largest insti­tu­tion of high­er learn­ing in the Sun­shine State of Florida.

Degree: BA in Criminology

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

16. American University

Amer­i­can University’s Depart­ment of Jus­tice, Law & Crim­i­nol­o­gy, and the School of Pub­lic Affairs offers a Bach­e­lor of Arts (BA) degree pro­gram in Jus­tice & Law. AU’s crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams are con­sid­ered among the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams avail­able. American’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams require the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate, of which 36 cred­it units must be relat­ed to the major. Class­es include Jus­tice Research, Polic­ing Amer­i­ca, Jus­tice Work­shop, and an intern­ship in a relat­ed field.

Amer­i­can Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate uni­ver­si­ty that was estab­lished in 1893. Amer­i­can Uni­ver­si­ty holds a reli­gious affil­i­a­tion with the Unit­ed Methodist Church; how­ev­er, admis­sion deci­sions are not faith-based. The school’s stu­dent body of more than 14,000 stud­ies on the cam­pus’ sub­ur­ban neigh­bor­hood vying to earn an aca­d­e­m­ic degree from the university’s eight colleges/schools.

What We Like: Amer­i­can Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished by a char­tered act of the Unit­ed States Congress.

Degree: BA in Jus­tice and Law

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17. Washington State University

The Depart­ment of Crim­i­nal Jus­tice & Crim­i­nol­o­gy offers Wash­ing­ton State Uni­ver­si­ty’s BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. The best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams offered by Waz­zu pre­pare stu­dents to be effec­tive com­mu­ni­ca­tors and crit­i­cal thinkers in the many facets of the crim­i­nal jus­tice world. Degree can­di­dates study­ing for one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams avail­able must com­plete 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate. Wazzu’s under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice course­work includes class­es in Social Jus­tice, Com­mu­ni­ca­tion, Con­sti­tu­tion­al Pro­tec­tion, Crime The­o­ry, and Infor­ma­tion Lit­er­a­cy, to name a few.

Wash­ing­ton State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1890 under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act. This pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion oper­ates satel­lite cam­pus­es through­out the state of Wash­ing­ton. The main cam­pus in Pull­man sits atop a hill in the rur­al east­ern por­tion of the state. Wash­ing­ton State University’s rur­al col­lege-feel cov­ers 600+-acres and serves more than 30,000 students.

What We Like: Wazzu’s dis­tance learn­ing stu­dent enroll­ment is approx­i­mate­ly 10% of the school’s total enrollment.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

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18. George Mason University

George Mason Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Soci­ety degree pro­gram that focus­es on how to best use the jus­tice sys­tem to improve the moral and social prob­lems cre­at­ed by the jus­tice field. GMU’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams pre­pare stu­dents for careers in home­land secu­ri­ty, cor­rec­tions, social ser­vices, the courts, or inves­ti­ga­tions, among oth­ers. George Mason University’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams require crim­i­nal jus­tice stu­dents to com­plete 120 cred­it units to earn the bac­calau­re­ate degree.
George Mason Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1949 by George Mason by the author of Vir­gini­a’s Dec­la­ra­tion of Rights. The school oper­ates sev­er­al satel­lite cam­pus­es in Vir­ginia and an inter­na­tion­al facil­i­ty in Song­do, South Korea. The school’s stu­dent enroll­ment exceeds 35,000, includ­ing all colleges.

What We Like: George Mason Uni­ver­si­ty was ini­tial­ly char­tered as a branch cam­pus of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Virginia.

Degree: BS in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Society

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19. University at Albany (SUNY)

The Uni­ver­si­ty at Albany’s School of Crim­i­nal Jus­tice offers a BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. SUNY Albany’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams are rec­og­nized across the coun­try and the world. The best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams cur­ricu­lum requires the com­ple­tion of 36 cred­it units of major course­work – Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Intro to Law, a one-semes­ter under­grad­u­ate intern­ship pro­gram (with a min­i­mum of 135 project hours), and a senior cap­stone project.

The Uni­ver­si­ty at Albany (SUNY Albany) was estab­lished in 1844 as an NYS nor­mal school. SUNY Albany is orga­nized into ten colleges/schools pro­vid­ing edu­ca­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties to the school’s 13,000+ stu­dents. The Uni­ver­si­ty at Albany holds the dis­tinc­tion of being home to the New York State Writ­ers Institute.

What We Like: In 1948, the Uni­ver­si­ty at Albany became a mem­ber school of the new­ly formed State Uni­ver­si­ty of New York system.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

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20. North Dakota State University

North Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA and a BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. These best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams each require a min­i­mum of 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate; how­ev­er, the course­work varies slight­ly between each, based on the type of degree. NDSU’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams require degree can­di­dates to earn a min­i­mum of 60 cred­it units at the degree-grant­i­ng insti­tu­tion of high­er education.

North Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1890 as the North Dako­ta Agri­cul­tur­al Col­lege under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act. North Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty is a mem­ber school of the North Dako­ta Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem. The school’s 240+ acre sub­ur­ban cam­pus is home to more than 14,000 stu­dents study­ing from the university’s nine colleges/schools.

What We Like: North Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty is one of the state’s largest employers.

Degree: BA or BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

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21. San Diego State University

San Diego State Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BS in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that requires a stu­dent to com­plete 36 cred­it units of the crim­i­nal jus­tice major’s course­work require­ments. SDSU’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams pre­pare degree can­di­dates for crim­i­nal jus­tice careers in law enforce­ment, the court sys­tems, or the cor­rec­tion­al sys­tem. Class­es for SDSU’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams include Inves­ti­ga­tion & Report­ing, Law in Soci­ety, and Social Con­trol through Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. Stu­dents have the option to study abroad if they meet eli­gi­bil­i­ty requirements.

San Diego State Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1897 as a pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion with a space-grant des­ig­na­tion. SDSU’s 275+-acre urban cam­pus in sun­ny San Diego is home to near­ly 35,000 students.

What We Like: San Diego State Uni­ver­si­ty is a mem­ber school of the Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty Sys­tem and the 3rd old­est cam­pus in the system.

Degree: BS in Crim­i­nal Justice

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22. West Virginia University

West Vir­ginia Uni­ver­si­ty offers a Bach­e­lor of Applied Sci­ence (BAS) in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice. West Vir­ginia Uni­ver­si­ty offers one of the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams as an applied sci­ence degree. Course­work for WVU’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams includes Vic­ti­mol­o­gy, Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Research Meth­ods, Crim­i­nal Evi­dence, and a cul­mi­nat­ing senior cap­stone project. Appli­cants for the WVU’s bac­calau­re­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­gram must have already earned 60 cred­its (from an accred­it­ed school) or hold an Asso­ci­ate’s of Applied Sci­ence degree.

West Vir­ginia Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1867 under the Mor­rill Land Grant Act. WVU is also a pub­lic, flag­ship, and space-grant insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion. West Vir­ginia University’s stu­dent enroll­ment is about 30,000 (across all cam­pus­es) study­ing for aca­d­e­m­ic degrees from the university’s fif­teen colleges/schools.

What We Like: West Vir­ginia Uni­ver­si­ty main­tains the Core Arbore­tum that is open to the public.

Degree: BAS in Crim­i­nal Justice

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23. University of Illinois at Chicago

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Chica­go offers a BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law & Jus­tice. The best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams offered by UIC require the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it units (with 33 cred­it units from approved major cours­es) to grad­u­ate. Class­es for these best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams include Crim­i­nal Law, Youth & Crime, Foren­sic Sci­ence, Crim­i­nal Inves­ti­ga­tions, and Pun­ish­ment, Pris­ons and Cor­rec­tions, to name a few.

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois at Chica­go was estab­lished in 1982 and oper­ates two urban cam­pus­es in Chica­go – one cam­pus is locat­ed by the loop and the oth­er in Chicago’s West Side com­mu­ni­ty area. This pub­lic insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion is home to more than 33,000 stu­dents study­ing for degrees offered by the school’s six­teen colleges/schools.

What We Like: Times High­er Edu­ca­tion World Uni­ver­si­ty rec­og­nizes the Uni­ver­si­ty of Illi­nois, Chica­go, the 18th best uni­ver­si­ty that is less than a half-cen­tu­ry old.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nol­o­gy, Law, and Justice

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24. Temple University

The Col­lege of Lib­er­al Arts at Tem­ple Uni­ver­si­ty offers a BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is con­sid­ered among the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams in the Com­mon­wealth of Penn­syl­va­nia and the nation. Course­work for these best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams offered by Tem­ple Uni­ver­si­ty includes the Nature of Crime, Research Meth­ods, and a senior cap­stone project. Tem­ples’ crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­gram requires the com­ple­tion of 123 cred­it units to graduate.

Tem­ple Uni­ver­si­ty was estab­lished in 1884 as a pri­vate insti­tu­tion of high­er edu­ca­tion; how­ev­er, Tem­ple Uni­ver­si­ty is now a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty. The school’s main cam­pus is home to more than 40,000 stu­dents study­ing from the university’s 17 colleges/schools.

What We Like: Tem­ple Uni­ver­si­ty holds the dis­tinc­tion of being among the largest pro­fes­sion­al edu­ca­tion providers, and the top school for pro­fes­sion­al prac­ti­tion­ers in Pennsylvania.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Justice

Click here to learn more about this crim­i­nal jus­tice program!

25. California State University, Chico

The Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty, Chico offers an on-cam­pus BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice that is rec­og­nized among the best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nol­o­gy pro­grams offered in Cal­i­for­nia. The class­es required to com­plete CSU Chico’s best under­grad­u­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­grams include Foren­sic Sci­ence, the Phi­los­o­phy of Law, Admin­is­tra­tive Law, and Com­mu­ni­ty Cor­rec­tions, to name a few. CSU Chico’s bac­calau­re­ate crim­i­nal jus­tice pro­gram required the com­ple­tion of 120 cred­it units to grad­u­ate from the degree program.

The Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty (CSU Chico) was estab­lished as a pub­lic uni­ver­si­ty in 1887. CSU Chico is the sec­ond old­est mem­ber school in the Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem. The school’s small-town feel cam­pus serves more than 17,000 stu­dents vying for degrees offered by CSU Chico’s eleven colleges/schools.

What We Like: US News and World Report rec­og­nizes CSU Chico among the top pub­lic uni­ver­si­ties in the west­ern US.

Degree: BA in Crim­i­nal Jus­tice Campus

Should I Choose Criminal Justice or Criminology?

When you are com­par­ing a crim­i­nal jus­tice degree with a crim­i­nol­o­gy degree, you want to under­stand the dif­fer­ences between the two fields of study. A crim­i­nal jus­tice degree focus­es on crim­i­nal law. If you are plan­ning to work in the jus­tice sys­tem, then you may con­sid­er a crim­i­nal jus­tice degree worth it. When you are plan­ning to work in the FBI or a sim­i­lar pro­gram, crim­i­nal jus­tice degree ben­e­fits may not offer the same lev­el of oppor­tu­ni­ty as a crim­i­nol­o­gy degree.

A crim­i­nol­o­gy degree focus­es on the behav­ioral sci­ence behind crim­i­nal behav­ior. While it does have many sim­i­lar­i­ties to a crim­i­nal jus­tice degree, the focus of the degree is crim­i­nal behav­ior and iden­ti­fy­ing the caus­es of the actions. It strives to find solu­tions to reduce crime based on indi­vid­ual behavior.

You may won­der is crim­i­nal jus­tice a social sci­ence, and it does have many cours­es and class­es in com­mon with social sci­ence majors. The pri­ma­ry dif­fer­ence is the focus on law. Is crim­i­nal jus­tice a hard major? It depends on your inter­ests and per­son­al abil­i­ties. The degree does dis­cuss top­ics relat­ed to the legal indus­try and stu­dents may face some chal­lenges with the legal cours­es. The dif­fi­cul­ty lev­el may increase as you work on obtain­ing a high­er lev­el of education.

Your career goals may deter­mine which you choose. For instance, if you’re inter­est­ed in crime scene inves­ti­ga­tion, you may look into crim­i­nol­o­gy, but if you’re think­ing of becom­ing a cor­rec­tion­al offi­cer, con­sid­er crim­i­nal jus­tice degree pro­grams. A spe­cial­iza­tion like juve­nile jus­tice may also help you make up your mind. A per­son with crim­i­nol­o­gy exper­tise may find them­selves in pub­lic admin­is­tra­tion or pub­lic pol­i­cy, for instance, or go into pri­vate security.

You may begin your career with an asso­ciate degree, but lat­er a bach­e­lor of sci­ence in crim­i­nal jus­tice can increase your career options. An under­grad­u­ate degree can pre­pare you for grad­u­ate pro­grams, such as a master’s degree, and some of the best crim­i­nal jus­tice schools even offer doc­tor­al pro­grams. An online degree is a com­mon choice for work­ing adults who need the con­ve­nience of online programs.

What is the Difference Between Criminal Justice and Criminology?

When it comes to the dif­fer­ence between crim­i­nol­o­gy and crim­i­nal jus­tice, it is the goal of the degree and the career path that dif­fers. Col­leges that offer crim­i­nol­o­gy and foren­sics apply the skills to a spe­cif­ic area of crime.

When it comes to iden­ti­fy­ing what is the dif­fer­ence between crim­i­nal jus­tice and crim­i­nol­o­gy, the pri­ma­ry fac­tor to con­sid­er is the end goal. Crim­i­nol­o­gy degrees focus on ref­or­ma­tion and psy­chopathol­o­gy with the goal of improv­ing ref­or­ma­tion solu­tions and pre­vent­ing crime. It strives to address the cause of crim­i­nal behav­ior and take mea­sures to reduce the risk of crime in the future. It also rec­og­nizes the impor­tance of high eth­i­cal stan­dards when eval­u­at­ing poten­tial solu­tions, so it may empha­sis ethics as it applies to crim­i­nal reform.

Crim­i­nal jus­tice focus­es on the prac­ti­cal aspects of crime. It may focus on foren­sics and inves­ti­ga­tions, as well as police pro­ce­dures and vic­ti­mol­o­gy. Crim­i­nal jus­tice degrees focus on the vic­tims as well as the dif­fer­ent types of crimes that may arise. It also pro­vides a strong foun­da­tion in foren­sics for indi­vid­u­als who plan to work on the sci­en­tif­ic side of a police force or the jus­tice system.

Would a Criminology Degree Be Good for Pre-Law?

When it comes to the rela­tion­ship between crim­i­nol­o­gy and crim­i­nal law, you will find that it is a good com­bi­na­tion. A key rea­son crim­i­nol­o­gy is a good option for stu­dents who plan to move for­ward into a legal career is the focus on under­stand­ing crim­i­nal behav­ior. It strives to under­stand the rea­sons for crim­i­nal activ­i­ty and find solu­tions to pre­vent crime. A stu­dent who plans to work in the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem as a lawyer may find that the degree offers a strong foun­da­tion to build on when mov­ing for­ward with a law degree.

It is also help­ful when stu­dents want to take on the role of a judge after work­ing as a lawyer. Since the degree teach­es stu­dents about ethics as it applies to the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem, it allows those who plan to work as a judge to gain a strong foun­da­tion in eth­i­cal stan­dards and prop­er con­duct in crim­i­nal proceedings.

The degree pre­pares stu­dents for the rig­ors of work­ing in crim­i­nal law. It also teach­es stu­dents about dif­fer­ent types of crimes and how psy­chopathol­o­gy dif­fers based on the type of crime. That may assist stu­dents with the process of work­ing with their clients when get­ting into the crim­i­nal jus­tice system.

When stu­dents plan to work in the legal sys­tem with a focus on juve­nile crime, the degree also offers the foun­da­tion stu­dents need to build on for their law degree. It gives a broad overview of crime based on dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions. Stu­dents learn about white-col­lar crime, juve­nile crime, and com­mon crimes that may end up in the legal sys­tem. They also learn the rea­sons behind dif­fer­ent types of crime and the ways to address prob­lems with­in the sys­tem as it applies to dif­fer­ent groups or crimes.

Crim­i­nol­o­gy is a good option for pre-law because it gives stu­dents an overview of crimes and the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem. It also focus­es on crim­i­nal behav­ior, which may help when work­ing in crim­i­nal law as a lawyer.