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Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

26 Colleges
$15,755 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$48,557 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master'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. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. This report analyzed 26 schools in the Southwest Region to see which ones offered the best value master'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. 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 Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

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

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

Our analysis found West Texas A&M University to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Southwest Region . Located in the town of Canyon, West Texas A&M University is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at West Texas A&M University are $8,574 a year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at West Texas A&M University Report

Out of the 26 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Skysong landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public college with a very large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at ASU - Skysong are $9,982 per year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Arizona State University - Skysong Report

#3

Wayland Baptist University

Plainview, TX

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Wayland Baptist University is a great value for criminal justice and corrections students working on their master’s degree. Located in the remote town of Plainview, Wayland Baptist University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Wayland Baptist University are $15,232 per year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Wayland Baptist University

#4

MSU Texas

Wichita Falls, TX

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend MSU Texas. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Wichita Falls, MSU Texas is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at MSU Texas are $8,056 per year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at MSU Texas Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Texas A & M University - Central Texas. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the rural area of Killeen, Texas A & M University - Central Texas is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Texas A & M University - Central Texas are $13,604 a year.

Read More…

Northeastern State University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. NSU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Tahlequah.

NSU graduate students pay an average of $10,911 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#7

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, AZ

Grand Canyon University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Grand Canyon University are $11,538 a year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Grand Canyon University Report

#8

Tarleton State University

Stephenville, TX

Tarleton State University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the remote town of Stephenville, Tarleton is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Tarleton are $15,031 a year.

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

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a very large student population.

UT Rio Grande Valley graduate students pay an average of $15,677 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UT Rio Grande Valley also is in the top 20% of our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

#10

Sam Houston State University

Huntsville, TX

Sam Houston State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Huntsville, SHSU is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SHSU are $16,009 per year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Sam Houston State University

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

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

State Degrees Awarded
Texas 7,644
Arizona 3,363
Oklahoma 655
New Mexico 571

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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