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Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

20 Colleges
$23,458 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$34,809 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree School for You

With 2,483 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, criminal justice and corrections is the #12 most popular major in Illinois.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. This report analyzed 20 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for criminal justice students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for criminal justice majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.

Top 10 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools

Our analysis found Western Illinois University to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Illinois. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WIU are $13,297 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice graduates from WIU carry an average student debtload of $25,672. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $218.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Western Illinois University Report

Out of the 20 schools in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SIUE are $11,496 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice majors at SIUE accumulate an average of around $24,548 in student debt. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $179.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public college with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUC are $15,240 per year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

#4

Governors State University

University Park, IL

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Governors State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at GSU are $10,108 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice majors at GSU accumulate an average of around $27,694 in student debt.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Governors State University Report

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Illinois State University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value criminal justice and corrections schools in Illinois. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Illinois State are $13,968 a year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Illinois State take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $21,231. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $239, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Illinois State also made our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list, coming in at #5.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Illinois State University

University of Illinois at Springfield ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois list. Located in the medium-sized city of Springfield, UIS is a public college with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIS are $12,053 per year. On average, criminal justice graduates from UIS take out $23,393 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Illinois at Springfield Report

University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the city of Chicago, UIC is a public college with a very large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UIC are $15,603 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice graduates from UIC carry an average student debtload of $18,447. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $178, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at University of Illinois at Chicago

DeVry University - Illinois did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for criminal justice and corrections students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Chicago, DeVry University - Illinois is a private for-profit college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at DeVry University - Illinois are $15,032 a year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice majors at DeVry University - Illinois accumulate an average of around $47,093 in student debt.

Read More…

Northeastern Illinois University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the large city of Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeastern Illinois University are $12,064 per year. Criminal Justice majors at Northeastern Illinois University take out an average of $18,165 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read More…

#10

Chicago State University

Chicago, IL

Chicago State University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree criminal justice and corrections programs. CSU is a small public school located in the city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at CSU are $11,204 a year. On average, criminal justice graduates from CSU take out $38,054 in student loans while working on their Bachelor's Degree.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Chicago State University

Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 2,094
Ohio 2,805
Indiana 2,249
Wisconsin 1,134

Criminal Justice & Corrections is one of 4 different types of programs to choose from.

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 20 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.

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