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Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

28 Colleges
$19,721 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$37,966 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections 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.

The Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 28 schools in Illinois to see which ones offered the best value 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 Schools in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges.

Top 10 Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

$6,390 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Southwestern Illinois College to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. SWIC is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Belleville.

SWIC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,390 in in-state tuition and fees each year. On average, criminal justice graduates from SWIC take out $9,500 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southwestern Illinois College Report

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Western Illinois University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best criminal justice and corrections schools 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. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at WIU take out is $25,000. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $218.

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$11,496 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best criminal justice and corrections schools in Illinois. Located in the large 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. On average, criminal justice graduates from SIUE take out $25,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $179.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

$15,240 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Southern Illinois University Carbondale helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best criminal justice and corrections schools in Illinois. Located in the city of Carbondale, SIUC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SIUC are $15,240 a year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Report

$8,118 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at Moraine Valley Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best criminal justice and corrections schools in Illinois. MVCC is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Palos Hills.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at MVCC are $8,118 a year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Moraine Valley Community College

$9,552 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #6, Lewis and Clark Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. Lewis and Clark Community College is a small public school located in the suburb of Godfrey.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Lewis and Clark Community College are $9,552 per year. On average, criminal justice graduates from Lewis and Clark Community College take out $9,783 in student loans while working on their degree.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lewis and Clark Community College Report

#7

Governors State University

University Park, IL
$10,108 Average Tuition & Fees

Governors State University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value criminal justice and corrections programs. 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. Criminal Justice majors at GSU take out an average of $26,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

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#8

Morton College

Cicero, IL
$9,476 Average Tuition & Fees

Morton College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #8 on the list. Morton College is a small public school located in the large suburb of Cicero.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Morton College are $9,476 a year.

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$13,968 Average Tuition & Fees

Illinois State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the midsize suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Illinois State are $13,968 a year. While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at Illinois State accumulate an average of around $20,712 in student debt. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $239, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

On top of its placing in our value ranking, Illinois State also did well on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.

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#10

Oakton Community College

Des Plaines, IL
$10,446 Average Tuition & Fees

Oakton Community College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the small city of Des Plaines, Oakton Community College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Oakton Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $10,446 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

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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 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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