Criminal Justice and Corrections at Bellevue University

Bellevue's criminal justice program tracks right at the Nebraska median, with comparable programs across the state suggesting first-year earnings around $40,100. That's modestly above the national benchmark of $37,856 for criminal justice bachelor's degrees, and earnings hold relatively steady four years out at $40,531. For a field where salaries don't typically surge early in a career, this stability matters more than explosive growth.

The estimated debt load of $27,000 creates a manageable 0.67 debt-to-earnings ratio—lower than one year's salary and close to the national median debt for this major. In practical terms, your child would likely face monthly payments around $300 on a standard repayment plan, which is workable on a $40,000 salary but leaves limited financial flexibility. Criminal justice careers often require several years to advance into better-paying supervisory or specialized roles, so those first few years can feel tight financially.

The challenge here is that we're looking at estimates rather than Bellevue's actual graduate outcomes, since too few graduates reported data. Peer programs like UNL and Wayne State show slightly higher earnings, but the differences are modest. If your child is committed to law enforcement, corrections, or a related field, this debt level won't derail them—but they should enter knowing that substantial salary growth typically requires climbing the ranks or pivoting into federal positions or specialized units.