Criminology at California Lutheran University

California Lutheran's criminology program shows first-year earnings of $31,963—about $2,300 below California's median and $5,500 behind the national average. While graduates here fall in just the 16th percentile nationally, they land near the middle of the pack in California (40th percentile), where most in-state criminology programs underperform. The debt picture looks more favorable: at $17,250, it's nearly $8,000 below the national median and roughly matches what other California programs charge.

The real concern is the disconnect between what students pay (relatively modest debt) and what they earn compared to peers at other schools. Graduates from UMass Global and several Cal State campuses earn $3,000-$11,000 more in that crucial first year, which compounds significantly over time. That said, the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.54 is manageable—graduates typically owe about half their annual salary.

The small sample size here matters. With fewer than 30 graduates tracked, one or two outliers could skew these numbers substantially. If your child is drawn to CLU for reasons beyond just the criminology program—campus culture, location, or other opportunities—the reasonable debt load means this isn't a financial disaster. But purely from an earnings standpoint, several California alternatives deliver better initial outcomes without significantly higher debt.