Criminal Justice at Illinois State University

Normal, IL · Public · Bachelor's Degree · Criminal Justice and Corrections

DegreeOutlook Score (Base Case) — assumes in-state tuition

Optimistic

Base Case

Pessimistic

Earnings $37,584/yr (-2% vs median)

AI Risk Moderate (36% exposed)

Job Market Very Large (480,600 openings/yr)

ROI 8.6x earnings multiple (4.9x out-of-state)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Criminal Justice graduates.

	Optimistic No Disruption	Base Case Gradual AI	Pessimistic Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings	$554K	$549K	$505K
Earnings Multiple (In-State)	8.6x	8.6x	7.9x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State)	4.9x	4.9x	4.5x
Probability of Field Employment	34%	32%	26%
DegreeOutlook Score	55	54	44

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition, In-State (Sticker)

$64,084

Out-of-state: $112,344 (4.9x ROI)

4-Year Net Price (After Aid)

$75,984

-19% less than sticker · See by income

Median Debt at Graduation

$19,000

6.1 months of Year 1 earnings

Reported Earnings (5 Year)

$59,928

59% growth from Year 1

Illinois State University accepts 89% of applicants — an open-access institution by design, with a mid-sized student body of 18,414 in Normal, IL.

Managers, all other $136,550/yr

First-line supervisors of police and detectives $105,980/yr

Detectives and criminal investigators $93,580/yr

For students who prefer applied learning, trade programs can deliver strong earnings with significantly less debt and shorter time to employment.

How does Illinois State University's Criminal Justice program score?

This program scores 54/100, reflecting respectable but not exceptional financial outcomes for Criminal Justice graduates.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →