Best Criminal Justice Schools – Top Criminal Justice Colleges
If you are looking for the best criminal justice schools – top criminal justice colleges, universities, and institutes then you are at the right place. This page is dedicated to the best criminal justice degree programs online and on campus, as well as information on the best community colleges, state schools, and private schools offering courses towards a criminal justice degree.
Best Criminal Justice Schools in America
Check out the Best Criminal Justice Schools in US for 2011 & 2012. You’ll be surprised which schools made the list.
Best criminal justice schools by state:
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in Alaska
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in Arizona
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in California
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in Massachusetts
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in New York
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in Pennsylvania
- Best Criminal Justice Schools in Texas
Best PhD Criminal Justice Schools
What makes a criminal justice school “BEST” is:
- its accreditation
- its brand power (school name)
- its departmental and programmatic ranking & strength
- its potential for career placement right after graduation
- its ranking in U.S. News and The Princeton Review, amongst others
- my experience and opinion will play a role in picking out the best from the rest
- and last, but not least, your expert input
I need your help. To make this resource the best for every state in the Union I would like your input. If you live in any of the states not mentioned below and know of great criminal justice schools please feel free to leave a comment with your list, and if you can, the reasons these schools would be best. I am hoping that I can get around to researching and writing the blog posts about all the states, but I can’t do it all by myself. Thanks.
- Radek
P.S. if you have ideas for CJ colleges and universities for the states that have been listed, please follow the link and leave your comments there. Any constructive input is much appreciated and it will benefit the many users of this site.
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
i would like to know if you know the Best schools for North Carolina. I am a 10th grader in high school and i would like to be a special or undercover agent in the FBI. Any suggestions would be nice. Thank You
~Maggie
I am working with some professors around the U.S. in helping me supplement this list. I hope to have this list up in several months (it’s very hard to get in touch with some of them). As for NC, I can only tell you to try usnews.com and princetonreview.com . Hope this will hold you off for now. I’ll keep on working to get this list up.
Hello,
Found your blog and am working as a Training Manager who handles Education Tuition Assistance for our agency that is primarily law enforcement. Would like to get more input about online law enforcement programs that accept law enforcement training as credit hours – do you know some good ones???? Thanks!
I know that there are some schools that offer credit in place of training, however these schools are very rare and for a good reason. Schools that mainly existed few years ago, and some that exist now, don’t/will not exist anymore. That is mainly due to the practice of taking world experience and generating a 4-year degree with months of study time. The states said ENOUGH! and decommissioned their money generating scams. Don’t get me started on accreditation, either. Most schools that offer life experience credit are not properly accredited. If they are either Nationally accredited (okay) or Regionally accredited (best) they are very scrutinized by any academic institutions accepting their credit or through farther academic advancement.
In short, there aren’t any good ones I would stand behind. My reasoning is that when taking a criminal justice course it encompasses more than the student may have experienced in the scope of their current or past career. New techniques, theories, and applications are constantly evolving and are taught with newer, better, more applicable means in mind. You don’t see average schools, state universities, and top colleges using this model mainly in part due to this reasoning. Although I personally wanted my life experience / training to count for my credits, I am happy I didn’t attend a school that accepted such modes of life education. I wouldn’t have learned as much if I have skipped courses that would “qualify” as life experience. Sorry to disappoint, but I hope it helps.
Hey,
I would like to know some good colleges though that I could have come for an education fair that would give the officers the best education. Can you provide me some names in that area! Thanks for being honest also – a rarity these days!
I am 100% behind you. I got no life experience for my bachelors, masters, or doctoral degrees and I also learned a lot from all classes – the good ones and bad ones!
Some of the best colleges out there are Michigan State University, University of Cincinnati, Northeastern University, Penn State University, I also enjoyed Boston Unviersity’s program. The reason I list these is because they are available online (some with 12 month degree options), they’re regionally accredited (A MUST), and coincidentally they are really some of the BEST Criminal Justice universities. I still would not recommend sending anyone to a life experience based criminal justice degree program as graduating from one may hinder chances of promotion, change of career, or start of a new career. I just wouldn’t feel comfortable listing a college or university that facilitates faster graduation through life experience, at least not yet.
Online diplomas and transcripts are not worth the paper that they are written on. They will never help you get rank, and will get you passed up for promotion because you are being fake and trying to represent yourself as having something that you dont.
If you are a line officer my best advice is to talk to your cont ed officer about what real universities are in your area. You might have to switch shifts but you will be very glad that you earned a real degree (it might also help you move toward your goals eventually.)
I highly disagree with your assertion. I would state it perhaps a little differently:
“Online diplomas and transcripts are not worth the paper that they are written on IF you attended less than reputable college or university”
Going to schools that are degree mills, or schools that are perceived to be as such (despite their proper accreditation), can hinder your rank advancement and promotions. So, I can partially agree with that statement. Recruiters DO look what school you went to (ie. would you feel more comfortable saying: “I went to Kaplan University” or “I went to Boston University / Michigan State University / Northeastern University / John J College of Criminal Justice / University of Cincinnati / Pennsylvania State University / University of Texas / Washington State University / and on and on and on… There’s something to think about here.
There are many Tier 1 Universities that provide both online and on-campus Criminal Justice / Criminology degree options that are highly respected in academia (ie. in case you want to go to grad school) and the work force.
For the most part, online degrees and transcripts do not differ from those from the campus location. I am both for online and on-campus learning. It’s just a matter of preference, ability to attend, and maybe venturing into the unknowns (ie. campus life or asynchronous online learning).
BadVegan, I’ve read your comments on this and other posts and I thank you for presenting this side to the readers of the blog. Thanks for stopping by and contributing.
I am a Junior in high school and want to become a special agent for the FBI. I would like to know if Harding University would be a good school to attend for this career. I also would like to know if there are any things that I could do to improve my chances in being accepted into the FBI.
Harding University in Arkansas is a Tier 1 academic institution – that’s very good! Is it a good school to attend for this specific career (FBI Special Agent)? That depends more than on the school itself. Check out some articles on that by typing “FBI” and “Federal” (both without quotes / two separate searches) in the search tool. Make sure to read some of the comments, as they may hold many of the answers you seek.
Good Evening Radek,
I have come across your blog site as I am wanting to further my education as well. I have my Associates in Criminal Justice through University of Phoenix (online) and I don’t want to go back again for my Bachelors or Masters. I have two choices that I would like to run past you and I would definitely appreciate your honest opinion. I am in the Atlanta, Georgia area I have have a choice to go to Argosy University (online & campus) or CTU (online). As of now I really love the program CTU has to offer more than Argosy Univ. I have been brain wacked with locating a good school I will enjoy. Do you have any other choices I may look into that are in my area? What do you think is a good choice. I am in the Forensic Science field with a Major in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Psychology.
Thanks,
Darubio
Darubio,
If money is an object, then going locally can save you money, but it won’t be with Argosy or CTU. Find out if Georgia State University or University of Georgia have online programs and save your self a lot of moolah while obtaining a good education. If Criminal Justice is truly your calling I would consider applying to online universities that will give you a great education for a decent tuition rate.
If I knew what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have attended CTU – even though I liked it – I would have attended schools like Washington State University, Northeastern University, Penn State University, University of Cincinnati, or Michigan State University – all ranked as THE BEST Criminal Justice Schools in the Nation, and coincidentally (more like on purpose), they have ONLINE programs.
Argosy and CTU are expensive and are viewed as for profit universities
Your local State University and University of Georgia don’t rank too high in Criminal Justice, but they may do so in the region, plus you have in-state tuition
The way I would do it, well… you already know.
Hope this helps you out.
Radek,
May I ask why you would not have chosen CTU? Other than money being the biggest issue of course. I agree I am tight on money myself and it is a very big decision for me to make. The thing I liked about CTU is the courses they have to offer everything I want to learn about. I’m not sure what the going rate should be as far as tuition but for their program now is about $31K per 90 credit hours. Not sure what it was back when you attended.
I have contacted many colleges, universities on line just to get information and CTU was the only one that had core classes as they do. I will definitely look into GA State, Univ. of GA to see what types of core classes they have to offer and if the price is different.
Now, if you have any online alternatives please I’m willing to look into those as well.
Thank you for your help. I’m glad there are bloggers like yourself that can give insight before people like me take such drastic measures to change.
I’ll use an example… I would rather attend Penn State over Colorado Technical University because:
- Penn State, and schools like it — listed in my previous reply — have a world wide audience both in academia and in the job market. Graduates from Penn State, and it’s prestigious CJ program, can count on having less hassle being accepted into Master’s level and PhD studies, careers, etc. You can’t do that so easily with a CTU degree.
- CTU, as I mentioned before, has a negative connotation as a for-profit college (especially in academia / not so much in the job market). At $31,000 for 90 quarter credits (equivalent of an Associates Degree) you can complete a 4-year degree at one of the Georgia schools I’ve mentioned – probably including a dorm and a meal pass. For the same $31k I can say that you will most likely be able to finish your Bachelor’s at the great online institutions I mentioned before (Penn State, Northeastern, Michigan State…) AND the prestige associated with obtaining a Criminal Justice degree from one of the best CJ schools in the nation should be enough of a reason to go to a better school.
- Remember, I went to CTU for my undergrad and tuition hasn’t changed much, 180 credits = a Bachelor’s degree, so approximately $60k later you DO have a regionally accredited degree from a GOOD school — for up to half less you have a Bachelor’s degree from a VERY GOOD to an EXCELLENT school (please read my article on the best criminal justice schools in America – posted recently – for more info) – both examples include estimated tuition for a 4-year degree.
- Yes, I think CTU has pretty cool courses, but if you search hard enough I know you’ll find the right school for you. And even if it is CTU, you at least know that there were other options.
- Having “been there and done that” – saying it without cynicism – I can wholeheartedly say that if I knew what I know now I would have gone a different route, which I mentioned before.
Save money and don’t just get an education, but get a great education… and yes, ONLINE.
Does this answer most of your questions?
Feel free to stop by and let us know on what you have decided. Or, if you have more questions, post them here.
Radek,
Thanks for the excellent advice and I will definitely keep you posted on my ultimate decision on which school I choose.
You are right there are alot of options and I could definitely use A GREAT EDUCATION AND SAVE MONEY!!!
Hi i am senior in high school and i am interested in Criminal Justice mainly for forensic science and I just want to know do you know any good programs that I can apply for? Please and Thanks
I am looking for the best crimanal justice schools. I plan to be a undercover C.I.A agent but I dont know what school I should go to. i would like to go to one near ohio but i want the best. My friend is also interested and we would both like to know some information.
1. What school is the best?
2. How much experience would we need with guns, weapons, etc?
3. Would it be better if we had military experience before college or after college?
4. Would we need to speak foreign languages and if so how many?
Mack,
1. They’re listed in: Top Criminal Justice Schools in America
2. No
3. In many cases military experience is not required
4. A foreign language or a few can come to be very useful
Would getting a degree in criminal justice and then going to law school be a smart idea?
hey Radek im ali im attending itt technical institute for my associates degree my goal is to work for the fbi one day which i know its a while and i need to do some policing on the street so im wondering what kind of education do i need to become an undercover narcotic ? thank you
For the most part, the FBI hires college graduates with a Bachelor’s degree from properly accredited colleges and universities. Check out their site for more info.
To become a narcotic officer, especially in most medium to larger police departments, you must be a police officer first — usually few to several years. Education required for most police departments is an Associate’s degree, and at many departments you can be hired on before you complete college education, thus allowing you to complete it while on the force.
I don’t know if this question was asked, but I’m a senior in high school, and plan to work for the Behavioral Science unit in the FBI when I get a degree from a university. I’m planning on attending temple U. if i get in, but are there other good schools in the mid atlantic to help me get into the FBI?
I understand that I’ll have to go to the academy in virginia after i graduate from college.
i will also need a school that offers psychology.
Please visit the “Careers” section at the top and click on “FBI Special Agent”. Once there, you’ll see tons of useful info about many of the issues you’re asking about.
As far as schools go, there can only be so many best schools, luckily for you New England States like Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York have great criminal justice universities: Penn State University, University of Pennsylvania, Northeastern University, Rutgers (in New Jersey), John Jay College of Criminal Justice – part of CUNY – and University of Albany – part of SUNY. I don’t specialize in Psychology all that much, but I know that the Princeton Review and US News are great sites to gauge which Psychology colleges and universities are great.
Hello
I am currently attending ITT Technical Institute for a Associate in CJ. I am worried that I will not be taken seriously because of where I earned my degree. Do you have any suggestion on universities I could attend after I finish my AS at ITT, I live Louisiana.
A regionally accredited university just about covers it, but I highly recommend a school that has a great reputation, too (not advertising reach, like ITT).
Hi,
I’m currently obtaining my BS in Criminal Justice. I would like to continue on to get my Masters with focus more on economic crimes. Do you know of any universities that have both online and campus classes that support this??
Thanks for giving me information i appreciate it.
I earned my associates at Hudson county community college in jersey city and my bachelors in new jersey city university. I want a career in law enforcement not sure what maybe a police officer with port authority I’m considering graduate school , @ John jay in new York or new jersey city university.. Going further away is not an option.
Well, I think I have decided to go for Sam Houston State University.
http://www.shsu.edu/~dl_www/BS_CriminalJustice.html
Hey guys I am from Michigan, and I am currently going to school in Michigan for CJ. I am attending a cc right now, I think I am going to complete my MACRO, and either go to Ferris State University, or Saginaw Valley State University. Both being located in MI. I have heard awesome things about both schools, I know they are very credible for in state jobs. But does anyone know how they would rank for out of state jobs? Would an employer even have any knowledge about the schools or am I wasting my time going to one of the schools and should I consider a different school? Thanks for all the help any info would be greatly appreciated!
I’ve heard of Ferris State, but not of the other one. However, that should not deter you from going to a great in-state school… just do make sure the school is great for you.
I know Michigan State University is a Nationwide leader in CJ / Criminology and University of Michigan is an academic powerhouse. So, I know these schools should get anyone some name recognition at least a few states over. However, when looking for work outside of the state, do consider that law enforcement agencies may look into “their” in-state schools first AND some may not. I think anyone and many entities will have some sort of initial bias if you presented them with Ferris State vs Harvard — a total no brainer right — but the truth is that a properly accredited college or university does get you in the application pool and even a Harvard grad may not be the right fit for a particular position at an even more particular agency.
Also, some law enforcement agencies do not require schooling before getting hired and may ask you to complete an equivalent of an associates degree within a certain number of years after getting hired. In my opinion, I would get the schooling out of the way if you plan to be working at a larger, more competitive department.
Thank you for replying! I know Msu is a very good school for Cj, and every report and statistic says that Ferris is not far behind it. During your last semester at ferris, your school work becomes the academy and you go through it right there it is all Mcoles certified. Another great thing about ferris, is it is a sister college, meaning for a semester, you can attend any other school in or out of the country and study cj and pay ferris’ tuition. So maybe if I was looking to go out of state…hmm. I also know that the Michigan police academy is one of the better instructed academies (many online , and credible sources told me) I also noticed that there are a little bit tougher requirements to become a police officer here then in other states. You mentioned I might not need education or a full degree, but in Michigan I think you need at least an associates…I could be wrong though! I think Ferris is for me, I was just wondering how it looked outside of the state! Thank you so much!
I forgot to mention I have a 3.7 college GPA so I will be looking into U-M shortly
Kudos! You seem to know what you’re doing. Let us know how things turn out.
Monroe College, best school for criminal justice in new york city
I live in Norfolk, Virginia and i am trying to find out which university in Norfolk offers the best Criminal Justice Degree Program and is highly accredited through out the U.S. ?
Hello, I am a high school student trying to find a good criminal justice degree to further my education in the F.B.I. I am planing on joining the army reserves but i still want a bachelors in criminal justice and i just want a school that will allow me to go to school but still be active in the army. any suggestions
Hi, I have just recently graduated from high school and i’m attending a community college for my core classes to raise my GPA. I’m in search of the best school in or around the state of Georgia for Criminal Justice. I’m not exactly sure what i want to do in this field, but your blogs have helped
I also am interested in forensics but i’m not to great at chemistry and such. Any suggestions for schools? (I have thought about Jacksonville State University in Alabama)
I haven’t done my research on Georgia & Alabama, but I’ll try to get all the states in here by early next year. As for Jacksonville State University, I heard it’s a good school in Alabama, but I haven’t heard anything out of the ordinary. Thanks for visiting Kayla.
I am surprised to see that Western Illinois University is not on your list. It has an amazing Law Enforcement program!
Illinois is coming soon…
I’m a 6th grader in Middle school and I’m wondering if there are any good highschools/college’s for Criminal Justice because I want to be with the FBI but the schools have to be in Massachusetts!
At the end of 2012, I’ll be done with my BA in criminal justice, and am looking at pursuing a Master’s through Distance Learning. I’ve had University of Cincinnati recommended to me. I note in your list of top on-line schools (Michigan State University, University of Cincinnati, Northeastern University, Penn State University, I also enjoyed Boston Unviersity’s program) you’ve included Univ. of Cincinnati. Of the first four colleges you mention, can you tell me which is your preference, and why? Could you rank them? Can you tell me what distinguishes each from the other (for example, I know the University of Cincinnati is considered a “research university.” but I’m not quite clear on what exactly that means)? Are there any other on-line universities for a CJ Master’s that you now recommend more (since that post is a year-and-a-half old) or along with? Thanks for whatever insight you can provide.
There’s no “real” preference when it comes to the first four schools. They ARE THE BEST and very-good-to-excellent academic institutions. You can consider the region these schools hail from as one determinant, the price of tuition as another, overall brand factor and academic / research achievements. I don’t have a ranked preference and if I had to do it again, I would apply to all of them.
Research universities are a great factor to consider when picking schools.. In general, it means that the university is capable of performing research. Also, most research universities have graduate schools. If you see a school that’s considered to be a research university, it’s usually a very good thing.
I just have one major question, that i have asked over and over again. Is penn foster online school, a good school for criminal justice? I really dont want to waste my time.
I highly recommend utilizing sources like the US News, The Princeton Review, and Fiske Guide to Colleges — among others — as a start at finding your college. Saying that, I feel Penn Foster would not be a good school and putting it in the “good school” category for criminal justice would fall under that same feeling. If you can achieve decent or high marks, aim higher. Your educational achievements will follow you for the rest of your life. Always choose wisely.
I was wondering about not particularly selective colleges that had decent Criminal Justice/Psychology programs. Is there any way to search specifically for that combo? nothing I’ve checked has been very reliable.
Only corporations, like US News and the Princeton Review have the capital to create a search engine or a listing of over 1,500 schools that offer Criminal Justice, Criminology and related programs. They have the money and the staff that will create graphs, comparisons and publications that we all like. I WANT to get to the point where I can tell you about ALL the schools and their stats, but till then, US News, The Princeton Review, and publications like these should be of some help. With a shoe-string budget and a one-man show it’s a little tough to appeal to everyone. But, I’ll work on it.
Also, the first place I would look is into your State University System.
For anyone else reading this comment, it takes me quite a lot of time to research each state’s top schools. This includes reaching out to schools, scouring the Web, and calling police departments and other agencies.
Just wanted to say this helped a lot when I had to write a Criminal Justice as a profession paper. But if it is not too much to ask do you know what is the top CSI schools? I keep getting mixed answers, and I don’t have much time to visit colleges. If you can’t it is fine, but thanks so very much for this blog.
You want to look into academic institutions that offer Forensic Science programs, but not excluding Chemistry, Physics, Engineering, Biology, and other science programs that can provide a strong scholastic background in the CSI field. Saying that, I’m working on a section on Forensics, but don’t have anything concrete just yet. Hope the paper went well.
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