Criminal Justice at West Virginia State University

Institute, WV · Public · Bachelor's Degree · Criminal Justice and Corrections

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

Optimistic

Base Case

Pessimistic

Earnings $39,056/yr (1% vs median)

AI Risk Moderate (36% exposed)

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

ROI 13.2x earnings multiple (8.2x 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	$477K	$479K	$448K
Earnings Multiple (In-State)	13.2x	13.2x	12.4x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State)	8.2x	8.2x	7.7x
Probability of Field Employment	34%	32%	26%
DegreeOutlook Score	49	48	38

4-Year Tuition, In-State (Sticker)

$36,196

Out-of-state: $58,492 (8.2x ROI)

4-Year Net Price (After Aid)

$40,764

-13% less than sticker · See by income

Median Debt at Graduation

$22,532

6.9 months of Year 1 earnings

Reported Earnings (5 Year)

$37,109

Small cohort — data may not reflect typical outcomes

With 96% of applicants admitted, West Virginia State University prioritizes broad access, a compact campus enrolling 1,328 students in Institute, WV.

Managers, all other $136,550/yr

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

Detectives and criminal investigators $93,580/yr

Trade programs often mean less time in school, lower student debt, and hands-on career paths that tend to be more resilient to AI disruption.

How does West Virginia State University's Criminal Justice program score?

This program scores 48/100 — on the lower end for Criminal Justice. Prospective students should carefully weigh costs against likely earnings.

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