Best Criminal Justice Colleges in North Carolina2026 Rankings
With 35 Criminal Justice programs spread across North Carolina, narrowing your list takes real data. Our algorithm ranks each school on six factors — admission rate, graduation rate, net price, median graduate earnings, student-faculty ratio, and major breadth — so you can compare apples to apples before you apply.
North Carolina offers 9 public and 21 private Criminal Justice programs in this ranking. Public universities average $23,850 for in-state students, making them a strong value option. The most competitive school on the list — Shaw University — accepts 30% of applicants. Early-career earnings for Criminal Justice graduates average $33,609, with a state-wide graduation rate of 47% for ranked programs.
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| # | College | Value Score | Admit Rate | Grad Rate | Net Price | Median Earnings | Student:Faculty | Majors Offered | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catawba CollegePrivate | Strong· 35 | 78% | 52% | $14,971 | $34,621 | 12:1 | 35 | 1,127 |
| 2 | Appalachian State UniversityPublic | Strong· 35 | 89% | 73% | $15,766 | $35,796 | 16:1 | 67 | 19,304 |
| 3 | Shaw UniversityPrivate | Strong· 35 | 30% | 20% | $16,310 | $25,649 | 11:1 | 26 | 839 |
| 4 | Saint Augustine's UniversityPrivate | Strong· 35 | 59% | 33% | $17,866 | $23,500 | 11:1 | 27 | 766 |
| 5 | Elizabeth City State UniversityPublic | Strong· 35 | 70% | 48% | $8,929 | $29,778 | 17:1 | 32 | 1,863 |
| 6 | Methodist UniversityPrivate | Strong· 34 | 75% | 40% | $23,113 | $31,027 | 9:1 | 47 | 1,425 |
| 7 | University of North Carolina at CharlottePublic | Strong· 34 | 80% | 68% | $14,014 | $36,155 | 21:1 | 69 | 23,567 |
| 8 | Fayetteville State UniversityPublic | Strong· 34 | 80% | 35% | $8,806 | $29,016 | 19:1 | 33 | 5,493 |
| 9 | Salem CollegePrivate | Good· 33 | 87% | 56% | $18,561 | $34,178 | 7:1 | 35 | 390 |
| 10 | University of North Carolina at PembrokePublic | Good· 33 | 92% | 45% | $10,905 | $35,553 | 14:1 | 33 | 5,386 |
| 11 | North Carolina Wesleyan UniversityPrivate | Good· 33 | 78% | 40% | $17,786 | $33,735 | 13:1 | 28 | 1,169 |
| 12 | North Carolina A & T State UniversityPublic | Good· 33 | 46% | 55% | $13,024 | $32,152 | 20:1 | 58 | 11,925 |
| 13 | Winston-Salem State UniversityPublic | Good· 33 | 69% | 49% | $15,668 | $31,564 | 16:1 | 36 | 4,244 |
| 14 | Mars Hill UniversityPrivate | Good· 33 | 78% | 42% | $20,703 | $34,519 | 10:1 | 34 | 995 |
| 15 | Gardner-Webb UniversityPrivate | Good· 32 | 87% | 62% | $19,334 | $35,433 | 11:1 | 42 | 1,836 |
| 16 | Lees-McRae CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 81% | 44% | $20,899 | $39,811 | 10:1 | 24 | 817 |
| 17 | Montreat CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 66% | 41% | $26,184 | $31,744 | 12:1 | 31 | 750 |
| 18 | Brevard CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 40% | 39% | $21,716 | $39,000 | 11:1 | 24 | 760 |
| 19 | Chowan UniversityPrivate | Good· 32 | 72% | 29% | $18,449 | $29,109 | 15:1 | 27 | 638 |
| 20 | Livingstone CollegePrivate | Good· 32 | 74% | 27% | $16,327 | $27,405 | 13:1 | 19 | 798 |
| 21 | Western Carolina UniversityPublic | Good· 31 | 87% | 59% | $13,085 | $38,682 | 16:1 | 55 | 9,867 |
| 22 | Wingate UniversityPrivate | Good· 31 | 85% | 47% | $20,089 | $39,498 | 15:1 | 33 | 2,462 |
| 23 | East Carolina UniversityPublic | Good· 31 | 90% | 62% | $16,785 | $36,374 | 17:1 | 68 | 19,857 |
| 24 | Greensboro CollegePrivate | Good· 31 | 92% | 41% | $17,363 | $34,112 | 10:1 | 27 | 656 |
| 25 | Lenoir-Rhyne UniversityPrivate | Good· 31 | 81% | 51% | $20,065 | $40,155 | 15:1 | 42 | 1,348 |
| 26 | Guilford CollegePrivate | Good· 31 | 84% | 48% | $25,205 | $31,799 | 12:1 | 40 | 1,011 |
| 27 | Campbell UniversityPrivate | Good· 30 | 94% | 56% | $19,451 | $40,590 | 13:1 | 56 | 2,790 |
| 28 | University of Mount OlivePrivate | Good· 30 | 78% | 47% | $18,062 | $40,639 | 19:1 | 40 | 1,754 |
| 29 | High Point UniversityPrivate | Average· 29 | 77% | 70% | $37,597 | $47,613 | 17:1 | 52 | 4,970 |
| 30 | Pfeiffer UniversityPrivate | Average· 28 | 95% | 43% | $21,842 | $40,053 | 14:1 | 30 | 654 |