2025 Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region

Criminal Justice is of the hottest associate degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #10 most popular major in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

College Factual reviewed 4 schools in the Southwest Region to determine which ones were the best for associate degree seekers in the field of criminal justice. Combined, these schools handed out 225 associate degrees in criminal justice to qualified students.

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. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:

Overall Quality Is a Must

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 consider a college's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of various 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 colleges for criminal justice students working on their associate degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The criminal justice school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Criminal Justice Associate Degree Schools in the Southwest Region.

Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Criminal Justice in the Southwest Region

Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in criminal justice.

Top Southwest Region Schools for an Associate in Criminal Justice

1

Amarillo College
Amarillo, TX

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

33 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in an associate degree in criminal justice needs to check out Amarillo College. Located in the midsize city of Amarillo, Amarillo College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Amarillo College

2

South Plains College
Levelland, TX

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

44 Annual Graduates

South Plains College is a good choice for individuals pursuing an associate degree in criminal justice. Located in the distant town of Levelland, South Plains College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from South Plains College

3

Central New Mexico Community College
Albuquerque, NM

Associate Degree Highest Degree Type

28 Annual Graduates

Every student who is interested in an associate degree in criminal justice has to take a look at Central New Mexico Community College. CNM is a large public college located in the large city of Albuquerque.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Central New Mexico Community College

4

Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

11 Annual Graduates

Wayland Baptist University is a wonderful decision for individuals interested in an associate degree in criminal justice. Located in the remote town of Plainview, Wayland Baptist University is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.More information about a associate in criminal justice from Wayland Baptist University

Best Criminal Justice Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice schools for a specific state in the Southwest Region .

State	Colleges	Degrees Awarded
Texas	420	181
Arizona	349	89
New Mexico	255	33
Oklahoma	222	42

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.

Most Popular Majors Related to Criminal Justice

Related Major	Annual Graduates
Criminal Justice Studies	1,778
Other Corrections & Criminal Justice	525
Criminal Justice and Corrections, General	498
Criminal Justice & Police Science	488
Corrections	69

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.