Criminal Justice and Corrections at Indiana University-South Bend

IU-South Bend's Criminal Justice program costs substantially less than peers—graduates leave with roughly $17,000 in debt compared to a $25,000 state median—but delivers earnings below both state and national benchmarks. Starting at $35,462, graduates earn about $4,500 less than the typical Indiana criminal justice graduate and land in the 40th percentile statewide. That gap matters: top programs in the state like Calumet College of Saint Joseph ($55,587) and Vincennes University ($46,644) produce outcomes more than $10,000 higher annually.

The program's advantage is its exceptionally low debt burden, ranking in the 95th percentile nationally (meaning only 5% of programs leave students with less debt). The debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.49 means graduates owe less than half their first-year salary, making this financially manageable even with below-average earnings. Four-year earnings grow to $40,174, a solid 13% increase that closes some of the gap with state averages.

For families prioritizing affordability over earning potential, this program delivers low financial risk. But if your child wants to maximize their criminal justice career earnings within Indiana, several other state options offer significantly stronger outcomes without dramatically more debt.