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Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

62 Colleges
$12,270 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$34,809 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's 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.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 62 schools in the Plains States Region to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best value experiences for criminal justice students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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

#1

Wayne State College

Wayne, NE

Our 2023 rankings named Wayne State College the best value school in the Plains States Region for criminal justice and corrections students working on their bachelor’s degree. WSC is a small public school located in the distant town of Wayne.

WSC undergraduate students pay an average of $7,458 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Wayne State College

#2

Chadron State College

Chadron, NE

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Chadron State College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value criminal justice and corrections schools in the Plains States Region . Chadron State College is a small public school located in the remote town of Chadron.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Chadron State College are $7,206 a year.

Read More…

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Fayette, CMU CGES is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

CMU CGES undergraduate students pay an average of $6,720 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Bemidji State University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the remote town of Bemidji, Bemidji State University is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Bemidji State University are $9,806 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice graduates from Bemidji State University carry an average student debtload of $23,682.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Bemidji State University also is in the top 20% of our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking.

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

#5

Park University

Parkville, MO

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Park University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best value criminal justice and corrections schools in the Plains States Region . Located in the large suburb of Parkville, Park University is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Park University undergraduate students pay an average of $8,853 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Park University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $22,792.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Park University Report

Herzing University - Minneapolis landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree criminal justice and corrections programs. Herzing University - Minneapolis is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Minneapolis.

Herzing University - Minneapolis undergraduate students pay an average of $14,200 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Herzing University - Minneapolis take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $28,365.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Herzing University - Minneapolis

Minot State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the town of Minot, MSU is a public college with a small student population.

MSU undergraduate students pay an average of $8,163 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice majors at MSU accumulate an average of around $22,416 in student debt.

Read More…

Metropolitan State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Metro State is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Metro State undergraduate students pay an average of $9,394 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice majors at Metro State accumulate an average of around $32,863 in student debt.

Read More…

#9

Grantham University

Lenexa, KS

Grantham University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the city of Lenexa, Grantham University is a private for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Grantham University are $8,280 a year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Grantham University take out while working on their Bachelor's Degree is $35,510.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Grantham University

#10

Peru State College

Peru, NE

Peru State College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the rural area of Peru, Peru State is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Peru State are $7,800 per year. After completing their Bachelor's Degree, criminal justice graduates from Peru State carry an average student debtload of $30,558.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Peru State College

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region award.

Rank College Location
11 National American University - Ellsworth AFB Extension Ellsworth Air Force Base, SD
12 University of South Dakota Vermillion, SD

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice and corrections schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 1,273
Minnesota 1,525
Kansas 586
Iowa 627
Nebraska 608
North Dakota 225
South Dakota 154

One of 4 majors within the area of study, criminal justice and corrections has other similar majors worth exploring.

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.

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