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University Park, PA · Criminal justice

Criminal justice at Penn State

Penn State graduates about 204 criminal justice majors a year, 2% of its graduating class. That puts it 30th of 472 schools we score for criminal justice, a standout program at 87 out of 100. Graduates in the major earn a median $57,000 four years out, about the national figure for the same major.

87/100Standout#30 of 472 for criminal justice →
Graduates a year2042% of the class
Median pay 4 years out$57,0001.00× the same major nationally
Admit rate61%whole school
SAT middle 50%1280–1410whole school

Around Penn State

A view of part of the Penn State University's University Park campus, seen from
Penn State HUB Lawn and Mt Nittany Seen From HUBPhoto: JohnDziak · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
University Park, PA, USA
University Park, PA, USA - panoramio (8)Photo: thomasrive · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
The Thomas Building at Penn State University Park. It contains classrooms, the s
Thomas Building Penn State University ParkPhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source
Hetzel Union Building-Robeson Center at Penn State University
HUB Robeson Center, west side entrancePhoto: JohnDziak · CC0 · source

Where criminal justice happens

Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 279 · Dorm 62 · Student housing 45 · Athletics 13 · Arts 13 · Dining 8.

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Nearby in the criminal justice ranking

  1. Pace University 88
  2. Salve Regina University 87
  3. Quinnipiac University 87
  4. Seattle University 87
  5. The College of New Jersey 87
  6. California State University, Long Beach 86
  7. Indiana University–Bloomington 86
  8. Monmouth University 86

Other strong majors at Penn State

How the score works

The score is out of 100 and compares Penn State with every school we score in criminal justice. It weighs what graduates earn four years out against the same major nationally (25%), research spending in the field (20%, NSF), how many undergraduate courses the department lists (20%), the student body's test scores (20%) and the size of the program (15%, capped so size alone can't win). 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.

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