Criminal Justice and Corrections at Hood College

Hood College's criminal justice program generates first-year earnings of $41,764—nearly $4,000 above the national median and landing in the 73rd percentile nationally. That's solid performance for a field where many graduates struggle to break $40,000. However, the small graduating cohort (under 30 students) means these numbers could swing significantly year to year, and they place the program squarely in the middle of Maryland's criminal justice offerings, well behind state leaders like University of Maryland Global Campus ($55,479) and University of Baltimore ($48,991).

The debt picture is manageable at $25,500, slightly below both state and national medians. A debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.61 means graduates typically owe less than eight months' salary—reasonable by any standard. With Hood's 78% admission rate and over a third of students receiving Pell grants, this program appears to be delivering accessible education without excessive debt burdens.

The small sample size is the critical caveat here. These numbers could represent a particularly successful cohort rather than a consistent pattern. If you're seriously considering Hood for criminal justice, dig into the specific career pathways their graduates follow—are they entering federal law enforcement, local corrections, or private security? The answer matters more than year-to-year earnings fluctuations in a small program.