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

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

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

23 Colleges
$15,265 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. 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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master's Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 23 schools in the Plains States 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 Plains States 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

#1

Simpson College

Indianola, IA

Our analysis found Simpson College to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a master’s degree in the Plains States Region . Simpson College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Indianola.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Simpson College are $6,606 a year.

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Out of the 23 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the small city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public school with a large student population.

Minnesota State Mankato graduate students pay an average of $9,308 in tuition and fees each year.

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The excellent master’s degree programs at Concordia University, Saint Paul helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value criminal justice and corrections schools in the Plains States Region . Concordia University, Saint Paul is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Saint Paul.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Concordia University, Saint Paul are $8,550 a year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Concordia University, Saint Paul

Out of the 23 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, North Dakota State University - Main Campus landed the # 4 spot on the list. North Dakota State University is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Fargo.

North Dakota State University graduate students pay an average of $12,028 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at North Dakota State University - Main Campus

A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Missouri Southern State University is a great value for criminal justice and corrections students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Joplin, Missouri Southern is a public school with a small student population.

Missouri Southern graduate students pay an average of $6,300 in tuition and fees each year.

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#6

Southwestern College

Winfield, KS

Southwestern College landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree criminal justice and corrections programs. SC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the town of Winfield.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at SC are $12,768 per year.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southwestern College Report

#7

Bellevue University

Bellevue, NE

Bellevue University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value master’s degree criminal justice and corrections programs. Bellevue University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Bellevue.

Out-of-state tuition fees for graduate students at Bellevue University are $11,730 per year.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Bellevue University

#8

Columbia College

Columbia, MO

Columbia College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Located in the midsize city of Columbia, Columbia College Missouri is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Columbia College Missouri are $8,442 a year.

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#10

Mount Mercy University

Cedar Rapids, IA

Mount Mercy University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Master’s Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Mount Mercy is a small private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state graduate students at Mount Mercy are $11,176 a year.

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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 23 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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