Criminal Justice and Corrections at University of Wisconsin-Parkside

UW-Parkside's criminal justice program outperforms both national and state benchmarks while keeping debt remarkably low—a combination that's hard to find in this field. Graduates earn $42,342 in their first year, placing them in the 76th percentile nationally and beating the Wisconsin median by nearly $1,000. More importantly, they carry just $20,745 in debt, roughly $6,000 less than typical Wisconsin programs and $5,400 below the national figure. That 0.49 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates owe less than half their first-year salary, making loan repayment manageable even on entry-level criminal justice salaries.

The earnings trajectory is solid too, with graduates seeing 10% growth to $46,689 by year four. While the Herzing campuses report significantly higher earnings (around $67,000), those figures likely reflect different career paths or specialized programs rather than typical criminal justice outcomes. Among traditional public universities in Wisconsin, UW-Parkside sits right in the competitive range with UW-Superior and UW-Platteville.

For families weighing the cost-benefit of a criminal justice degree, this program delivers value where it matters most: reasonable debt paired with above-average earning potential. The admissions profile suggests it's accessible for most Wisconsin students, and the financial outcomes justify the investment far better than many alternatives in this field.