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Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois

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2023 Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois

79 Colleges
$37,966 Avg Salary
$27,282 Avg Student Debt

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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 79 schools in Illinois to see which programs were the most popular for students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Criminal Justice & Corrections program at each school on the list.

The following schools top our list of the Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges.

Our 2023 rankings named Western Illinois University the most popular school in Illinois for criminal justice and corrections students. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

Criminal Justice majors at WIU take out an average of $25,000 in student loans while working on their egree. 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

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southwestern Illinois College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois list. SWIC is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Belleville.

Criminal Justice majors at SWIC take out an average of $9,500 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southwestern Illinois College

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from UIC carry an average student debt load of $17,750. 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

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Illinois State University is a great place for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a very large student population.

On average, criminal justice graduates from Illinois State take out $20,712 in student loans while working on their degree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $239, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Illinois State University Report

#5

Lewis University

Romeoville, IL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Lewis University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Lewis take out is $21,500.

Read More…

Loyola University Chicago came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois ranking. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.

While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at Loyola Chicago accumulate an average of around $25,000 in student debt. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $499.

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

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public school with a fairly large student population.

After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from SIUE carry an average student debt load of $25,000. 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 More…

Kankakee Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois list. Kankakee Community College is a small public school located in the city of Kankakee.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Kankakee Community College

#9

Aurora University

Aurora, IL

Aurora University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the suburb of Aurora, Aurora is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from Aurora carry an average student debt load of $23,250. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $312, based on a 10-year repayment plan.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Aurora University Report

#10

Governors State University

University Park, IL

Governors State University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois ranking. GSU is a small public school located in the rural area of University Park.

On average, criminal justice graduates from GSU take out $26,000 in student loans while working on their degree.

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

#10

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL

College of Lake County ranked #10 on this year’s Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois list. Located in the large suburb of Grayslake, College of Lake County is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at College of Lake County

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students in the state of Illinois that almost earned our Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in Illinois award.

Rank College Location
12 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills, IL
13 William Rainey Harper College Palatine, IL
14 Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL
15 College of DuPage Glen Ellyn, IL

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Most Popular Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges 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 27 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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