2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree School for You
In 2020-2021, 113,121 criminal justice and corrections students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #7 most popular in the country.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.
The Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 105 schools in the Southeast Region to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for criminal justice students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 15% Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools
Our analysis found Columbia Southern University to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Southeast Region . Columbia Southern University is a fairly large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Orange Beach.
Columbia Southern University undergraduate students pay an average of $5,775 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Columbia Southern University take out while working on their Associate Degree is $20,619.
Columbia Southern University not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend American Public University System. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. American Military University is a very large private for-profit school located in the fringe town of Charles Town.
American Military University undergraduate students pay an average of $7,360 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at American Military University take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,673.
American Military University not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Delgado Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Delgado Community College is a large public school located in the city of New Orleans.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Delgado Community College are $4,079 per year. After completing their Associate Degree, criminal justice graduates from Delgado Community College carry an average student debtload of $30,473.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Itawamba Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. ICC is a small public school located in the remote town of Fulton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ICC are $5,360 per year. Criminal Justice majors at ICC take out an average of $10,086 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southern Crescent Technical College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Southern Crescent Technical College is a small public school located in the large suburb of Griffin.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Southern Crescent Technical College are $5,526 a year.
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Georgia Military College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Georgia Military College is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Milledgeville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Georgia Military College are $6,390 per year. On average, criminal justice graduates from Georgia Military College take out $17,045 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Gwinnett Technical College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree criminal justice and corrections programs. GTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Lawrenceville.
GTC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,636 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, criminal justice graduates from GTC carry an average student debtload of $17,736.
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North Georgia Technical College landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the rural area of Clarkesville, North Georgia Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at North Georgia Technical College are $5,422 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, criminal justice majors at North Georgia Technical College accumulate an average of around $8,358 in student debt.
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Baton Rouge Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree criminal justice and corrections programs. BRCC is a moderately-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Baton Rouge.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at BRCC are $4,221 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, criminal justice majors at BRCC accumulate an average of around $19,296 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #10, SOWELA Technical Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Lake Charles, SOWELA is a public school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SOWELA are $4,265 a year.
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With a ranking of #11, South Georgia Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students working on their associate degree. Located in the rural area of Americus, South Georgia Technical College is a public college with a small student population.
South Georgia Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,692 in tuition and fees each year. On average, criminal justice graduates from South Georgia Technical College take out $9,870 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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With a ranking of #12, Albany Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students working on their associate degree. Albany Technical College is a small public school located in the city of Albany.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Albany Technical College are $5,396 a year. Criminal Justice majors at Albany Technical College take out an average of $19,082 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.
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Guilford Technical Community College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the suburb of Jamestown, Guilford Technical Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Guilford Technical Community College are $7,665 per year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Guilford Technical Community College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $25,376.
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Bossier Parish Community College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Bossier Parish Community College is a medium-sized public school located in the city of Bossier City.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bossier Parish Community College are $4,284 per year. While working on their Associate Degree, criminal justice majors at Bossier Parish Community College accumulate an average of around $25,029 in student debt.
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Herzing University - Birmingham ranked #15 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region list. Located in the suburb of Birmingham, Herzing University - Birmingham is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.
Herzing University - Birmingham undergraduate students pay an average of $14,200 in tuition and fees each year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Herzing University - Birmingham also is in the top 5% of our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region ranking.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students in the Southeast Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Associate Degree Schools in the Southeast Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Herzing University - Kenner | Kenner, LA |
| 17 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | Valdosta, GA |
| 18 | Forsyth Technical Community College | Winston-Salem, NC |
| 19 | Pitt Community College | Winterville, NC |
| 20 | Georgia Northwestern Technical College | Rome, GA |
| 21 | Savannah Technical College | Savannah, GA |
Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State
Explore the best criminal justice and corrections schools for a specific state in the Southeast region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 2,158 |
| Virginia | 2,948 |
| North Carolina | 2,702 |
| Florida | 4,869 |
| Tennessee | 1,212 |
| Kentucky | 1,015 |
| South Carolina | 993 |
| Louisiana | 972 |
| Arkansas | 665 |
| Alabama | 1,413 |
| Mississippi | 581 |
| West Virginia | 1,320 |
More Criminal Justice & Corrections Rankings in the Southeast Region
Criminal Justice & Corrections Related Majors for Criminal Justice
One of 4 majors within the area of study, criminal justice and corrections has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Criminal Justice
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Fire Protection | 13,766 |
| Homeland Security | 7,140 |
| Security Science and Technology | 6,888 |
| Other Homeland Security | 1,695 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- 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 the rest 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.