Criminal Justice and Corrections at University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online

Criminal justice degrees in New Hampshire tend to produce modest starting salaries, and this online program appears to follow that pattern. Based on comparable programs across the state, first-year earnings of around $42,000 are typical—right at the state median but still below what top performers like Southern New Hampshire and New England College achieve. The $22,551 in debt sits notably below both the state average ($27,000) and national median ($26,130), which matters when early earnings are constrained.

The debt-to-earnings picture looks reasonable on paper: you're borrowing about half a year's salary, and earnings do climb to $52,000 by year four. But context matters here. Criminal justice is an oversaturated field nationally (955 schools offering this degree), and New Hampshire's law enforcement and corrections sectors are limited compared to larger states. That fourth-year number suggests steady career progression, but the starting point means your child would be managing debt on a relatively tight budget for those first few years.

The lower debt load is this program's strongest selling point, especially for a field where salaries don't typically spike dramatically. If your child is certain about a criminal justice career and values the online format's flexibility, the manageable debt makes this viable. Just understand you're looking at estimates based on peer programs—not this specific school's track record—and that even the better-performing New Hampshire programs in this field are only reaching the mid-$40,000s at graduation.