21 Best colleges for Criminology and Criminal Justice in Illinois

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Illinois ranked based on their research performance in Criminology and Criminal Justice. A graph of 294K citations received by 10.8K academic papers made by 21 universities in Illinois was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Chicago

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#4 in the United States

#5 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 5%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $27,979

2. University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#34 in the United States

#37 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 79%
Average SAT: 1230
Average ACT: 29
Receiving Aid: 80%

3. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

Champaign

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#42 in the United States

#47 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1390
Average ACT: 32
Receiving Aid: 61%

4. Northwestern University

Evanston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#44 in the United States

#49 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1525
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $23,341

5. Loyola University Chicago

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#61 in the United States

#70 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 81%
Average SAT: 1250
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $37,592

6. DePaul University

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#92 in the United States

#103 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 74%
Average SAT: 1235
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $32,129

7. Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Carbondale

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#135 in the United States

#153 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Average SAT: 1025
Average ACT: 24
Receiving Aid: 97%

8. Illinois State University

Normal

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#150 in the United States

#169 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1120
Average ACT: 25
Receiving Aid: 98%

9. Northern Illinois University

DeKalb

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#162 in the United States

#183 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Receiving Aid: 99%
Average Aid: $13,565
Enrollment: 15,504

10. Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#201 in the United States

#226 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Average SAT: 1295
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $25,001

11. Illinois College

Jacksonville

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#275 in the United States

#307 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Average SAT: 1081
Average ACT: 22
Net Price: $17,255

12. Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville

Edwardsville

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#314 in the United States

#348 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 97%
Average SAT: 1030
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 93%

13. Western Illinois University

Macomb

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#330 in the United States

#365 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Receiving Aid: 54%
Average Aid: $15,620
Enrollment: 7,073

14. Eastern Illinois University

Charleston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#354 in the United States

#390 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 68%
Average SAT: 1000
Receiving Aid: 97%
Average Aid: $11,122

15. Northeastern Illinois University

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#370 in the United States

#408 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Receiving Aid: 90%
Average Aid: $12,560
Enrollment: 5,504

16. Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#444 in the United States

#487 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Average SAT: 1235
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $31,310

17. John Marshall Law School

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#451 in the United States

#494 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Founded: 1899

18. Wheaton College - Illinois

Wheaton

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#475 in the United States

#521 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 90%
Average SAT: 1350
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $31,346

19. Governors State University

University Park

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#489 in the United States

#535 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Receiving Aid: 94%
Average Aid: $11,315
Enrollment: 4,337

20. Roosevelt University

Chicago

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#507 in the United States

#554 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Average SAT: 955
Average ACT: 25
Net Price: $21,503

21. University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#522 in the United States

#570 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Average SAT: 1110
Average ACT: 25
Receiving Aid: 98%

Closest to Illinois states to learn Criminology and Criminal Justice

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Indiana	11	41
Missouri	9	48
Iowa	4	50
Kentucky	7	47
Wisconsin	10	25
Tennessee	11	55
Ohio	18	15
Michigan	11	1
Arkansas	6	168
Minnesota	11	32
Mississippi	4	154
Kansas	6	91
Alabama	9	68
Virginia	14	26
Georgia	15	38
North Carolina	17	31
Oklahoma	4	100
Nebraska	5	69
South Carolina	6	58
Pennsylvania	28	7
District of Columbia	6	43
Louisiana	8	87
Maryland	11	13
New York	56	3
New Jersey	14	12
North Dakota	3	288
Connecticut	10	6
Texas	39	24
Vermont	3	193
Colorado	10	74
Massachusetts	29	5
Rhode Island	5	78
Florida	20	20
New Hampshire	3	85
Maine	5	273
Utah	4	86
Arizona	3	9
Idaho	3	184
Oregon	9	115
Washington	9	10
California	57	2