2025 Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in California

Ranked #10 in popularity, criminal justice is one of the most sought-after associate degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 18 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of criminal justice. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 5,303 associate degrees in criminal justice during the 2022-2023 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

• Best Associate Degree Schools List

Choosing a Great Criminal Justice School for Your Associate Degree

The criminal justice associate degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To account for this we include a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a collection of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

• Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to criminal justice students as compared to other majors.
• Major Demand - How many other criminal justice students want to attend this school to pursue a associate degree.
• Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
• Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized criminal justice related body.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for criminal justice students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Criminal Justice in California

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in criminal justice.

10 Top California Schools for an Associate in Criminal Justice

1

Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

51 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in criminal justice has to take a look at Santa Rosa Junior College. Located in the city of Santa Rosa, SRJC is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Santa Rosa Junior College

2

Butte College
Oroville, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

57 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat Butte College if you want to pursue an associate degree in criminal justice. Butte College is a large public college located in the rural area of Oroville.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Butte College

3

Southwestern College
Chula Vista, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

148 Annual Graduates

Southwestern College is a wonderful option for students pursuing an associate degree in criminal justice. SWC Chula Vista is a fairly large public college located in the city of Chula Vista.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Southwestern College

4

Moreno Valley College
Moreno Valley, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

37 Annual Graduates

Moreno Valley College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in criminal justice. Moreno Valley College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Moreno Valley.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Moreno Valley College

5

Modesto Junior College
Modesto, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

86 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Modesto, MJC is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Modesto Junior College

6

College of the Desert
Palm Desert, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

65 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Palm Desert, College of the Desert is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from College of the Desert

7

Yuba College
Marysville, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

80 Annual Graduates

Located in the medium-sized suburb of Marysville, Yuba College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Yuba College

8

East Los Angeles College
Monterey Park, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

228 Annual Graduates

East Los Angeles College is a fairly large public college located in the large suburb of Monterey Park.More information about a associate in criminal justice from East Los Angeles College

9

Fresno City College
Fresno, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

125 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Fresno City College

10

Sacramento City College
Sacramento, CA

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

125 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Sacramento, Sacramento City is a public college with a large student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Sacramento City College

Best Criminal Justice Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Criminal Justice Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Washington	288	113
Oregon	260	0
Nevada	185	16
Hawaii	79	1

View All Rankings >

Rankings in Majors Related to Criminal Justice

One of 21 majors within the Criminal Justice & Corrections area of study, Criminal Justice has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Criminal Justice

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice & Police Science	508
Corrections	178
Criminal Justice Studies	25

Notes and References

• The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
• 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.