Criminology at Hastings College

A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.69 puts this program in workable territory—students borrowing the typical $26,000 (based on similar private colleges nationally) to earn around $37,500 their first year face a manageable but not trivial burden. That's roughly 70 cents of debt for every dollar earned, which suggests graduates can handle loan payments without crushing financial stress, though budgets will be tight early on.

The challenge is context: with only one program in Nebraska and no reported data from peer schools in the state, it's harder to know whether Hastings offers a particularly strong version of this degree or simply the only option nearby. Nationally, criminology bachelor's programs cluster tightly around $37,500 in first-year earnings, with even top-performing programs reaching only $40,500—meaning this field doesn't reward prestige or selectivity with dramatically higher pay. The work itself, whether in corrections, law enforcement, or victim services, tends to follow public sector pay scales that compress differences between schools.

For families weighing this investment, the key question is career commitment. Criminology leads to specific, often service-oriented careers that don't suddenly unlock higher earnings five years out. If your child is genuinely drawn to criminal justice work, the debt load is reasonable enough to manage. If they're exploring broadly or treating this as a generic liberal arts degree, other majors might offer more financial flexibility down the road.