Criminal Justice and Corrections at Dillard University

The numbers here are troubling, even accounting for the small sample size. Dillard graduates earn $26,744 their first year—$7,000 below Louisiana's median for criminal justice programs and nearly $11,000 below the national figure. That $32,000 in debt means new graduates face more than a full year's salary in loans, a burden that's particularly harsh given that most criminal justice careers follow structured pay scales with limited starting flexibility.

Context matters: Dillard serves a predominantly lower-income student population (68% receive Pell grants), and criminal justice programs at HBCUs often face different resource constraints than larger state schools. Still, Louisiana offers significantly better options. LSU-Alexandria graduates earn $39,917—50% more than Dillard's figure—while UL Monroe and UL Lafayette both produce graduates earning in the mid-$30,000s. Even Southeastern Louisiana, a more accessible state option, shows $8,000 higher first-year earnings.

For a parent weighing this investment, the calculus is difficult. If Dillard's community and support systems are essential for your child's success, that value exists beyond these numbers. But purely from a financial standpoint, Louisiana's public universities offer criminal justice degrees that lead to substantially better early-career outcomes with comparable or lower debt loads. The small sample size means one cohort could shift these figures, but prospective students should request graduation and placement data directly from the department before committing.