39 Best colleges for Criminology and Criminal Justice in Texas

Updated: March 02, 2025

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in Texas ranked based on their research performance in Criminology and Criminal Justice. A graph of 280K citations received by 12.3K academic papers made by 39 universities in Texas 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 Texas at Austin

Austin

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#24 in the United States

#26 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Average SAT: 1360
Average ACT: 30
Receiving Aid: 69%

2. Sam Houston State University

Huntsville

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#54 in the United States

#61 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 85%
Average SAT: 1040
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 84%

3. Texas A&M University - College Station

College Station

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#101 in the United States

#113 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Average SAT: 1260
Average ACT: 28
Receiving Aid: 77%

4. University of North Texas

Denton

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#126 in the United States

#141 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 72%
Average SAT: 1105
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 91%

5. University of Houston

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#128 in the United States

#143 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Average SAT: 1240
Average ACT: 26
Receiving Aid: 83%

6. University of Texas at Dallas

Richardson

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#136 in the United States

#154 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Average SAT: 1290
Average ACT: 29
Receiving Aid: 72%

7. University of Texas at San Antonio

San Antonio

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#144 in the United States

#162 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 88%
Average SAT: 1100
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 86%

8. Texas Christian University

Fort Worth

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#151 in the United States

#171 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 43%
Average SAT: 1263
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $39,005

9. Texas State University

San Marcos

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#152 in the United States

#172 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1085
Average ACT: 23
Receiving Aid: 82%

10. University of Texas at Arlington

Arlington

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#159 in the United States

#180 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 81%
Average SAT: 1110
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 91%

11. University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#167 in the United States

#189 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 100%
Average SAT: 980
Average ACT: 20
Receiving Aid: 88%

12. Baylor University

Waco

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#175 in the United States

#198 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 51%
Average SAT: 1305
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $49,727

13. University of Texas Medical Branch

Galveston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#179 in the United States

#202 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 20%
Enrollment: 3,315
Male:Female: 29:71
Founded: 1891

14. Texas Tech University

Lubbock

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#180 in the United States

#203 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1180
Average ACT: 25
Receiving Aid: 86%

15. Southern Methodist University

Dallas

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#182 in the United States

#206 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 61%
Average SAT: 1400
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $45,792

16. Rice University

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#213 in the United States

#240 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Average SAT: 1535
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $20,587

17. Prairie View A&M University

Prairie View

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#224 in the United States

#251 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Average SAT: 940
Average ACT: 18
Receiving Aid: 97%

18. Baylor College of Medicine

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#227 in the United States

#254 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Enrollment: 1,699
Male:Female: 41:59
Founded: 1900

19. University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#267 in the United States

#299 in North America

Enrollment: 5,048
Male:Female: 30:70
Founded: 1972

20. Texas A&M International University

Laredo

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#278 in the United States

#310 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Average SAT: 1025
Average ACT: 18
Receiving Aid: 99%

21. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Dallas

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#301 in the United States

#334 in North America

Enrollment: 2,501
Male:Female: 44:56
Founded: 1943

22. University of Houston - Downtown

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#317 in the United States

#351 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Average SAT: 1035
Average ACT: 20
Receiving Aid: 86%

23. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

San Antonio

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#323 in the United States

#357 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 8%
Enrollment: 3,640
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1959

24. Texas Woman's University

Denton

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#369 in the United States

#407 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 94%
Average Aid: $9,678
Enrollment: 15,664

25. University of Texas of the Permian Basin

Odessa

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#390 in the United States

#428 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 84%
Average SAT: 1010
Average ACT: 18
Receiving Aid: 96%

26. Texas Southern University

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#394 in the United States

#432 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 900
Average ACT: 17
Receiving Aid: 98%

27. University of Houston - Clear Lake

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#395 in the United States

#433 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Average SAT: 1080
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 76%

28. Texas A&M University - Commerce

Commerce

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#408 in the United States

#448 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1055
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 97%

29. Trinity University

San Antonio

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#411 in the United States

#452 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 28%
Average SAT: 1393
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $32,264

30. Lamar University

Beaumont

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#413 in the United States

#455 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 86%
Average SAT: 1020
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 92%

31. University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Edinburg

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#445 in the United States

#488 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 85%
Average SAT: 1010
Average ACT: 19
Receiving Aid: 94%

32. Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#479 in the United States

#525 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 89%
Average SAT: 1075
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 84%

33. Southwestern University

Georgetown

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#486 in the United States

#532 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Average SAT: 1255
Average ACT: 27
Net Price: $30,687

34. Angelo State University

San Angelo

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#494 in the United States

#540 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 79%
Average SAT: 1030
Average ACT: 21
Receiving Aid: 96%

35. Stephen F Austin State University

Nacogdoches

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#517 in the United States

#565 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 88%
Average SAT: 1070
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 90%

36. Tarleton State University

Stephenville

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#531 in the United States

#579 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Average SAT: 1055
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 96%

37. University of Texas at Tyler

Tyler

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#533 in the United States

#581 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 92%
Average SAT: 1115
Average ACT: 22
Receiving Aid: 91%

38. South Texas College of Law Houston

Houston

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#534 in the United States

#582 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 60%
Enrollment: 1,036
Male:Female: 43:57
Founded: 1923

39. University of North Texas Health Science Center

Fort Worth

For Criminology and Criminal Justice

#538 in the United States

#586 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 70%
Enrollment: 2,344
Male:Female: 33:67
Founded: 1970

Closest to Texas states to learn Criminology and Criminal Justice

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oklahoma	4	100
Louisiana	8	87
Arkansas	6	168
Kansas	6	91
Mississippi	4	154
Colorado	10	74
Missouri	9	48
Arizona	3	9
Nebraska	5	69
Alabama	9	68
Iowa	4	50
Utah	4	86
Illinois	21	4
Tennessee	11	55
Kentucky	7	47
Georgia	15	38
Indiana	11	41
Minnesota	11	32
Wisconsin	10	25
Florida	20	20
South Carolina	6	58
North Dakota	3	288
Ohio	18	15
North Carolina	17	31
Michigan	11	1
California	57	2
Idaho	3	184
Virginia	14	26
District of Columbia	6	43
Maryland	11	13
Pennsylvania	28	7
Oregon	9	115
New Jersey	14	12
Washington	9	10
New York	56	3
Connecticut	10	6
Vermont	3	193
Massachusetts	29	5
Rhode Island	5	78
New Hampshire	3	85
Maine	5	273