Best Criminology Schools Near Louisville, KY (2026)

Louisville, Kentucky has 17 accredited schools offering criminology programs, with tuition ranging from $8,424 to $41,891 per year for indexed programs. Louisville has a population of about 1,003,412. In Kentucky, the top-earning criminology-related role is Sociologist at a median $136,870 annually (BLS, May 2025).


Closest Criminology Schools to Louisville

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer criminology programs near Louisville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Louisville city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Louisville. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

Sullivan University

Louisville, KY 3.4 miles from Louisville BOC Score 43.9
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 36%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $38,008
Avg net price $25,532/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 40

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Spalding University

Louisville, KY 7.8 miles from Louisville BOC Score 39.5
  • 4 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 54%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $49,438
Avg net price $25,491/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 67%
  • Programs offered: 17

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Kentucky schools on the Kentucky criminology page.


Criminology Wages Near Louisville

Louisville is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area (BLS area code 31140). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Kentucky statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Sociologist$136,870KY statewide$147,014
Detective and Criminal Investigator$83,620Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN$89,817
Probation Officer and Correctional Treatment Specialist$58,380Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN$62,707
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer$63,220Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN$67,905

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


Louisville at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Regional Price Parity (US=100)93.1 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Louisville-Area Cities With Criminology Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminology schools are near Louisville, KY?

Our directory has 17 accredited schools offering criminology programs near Louisville. The closest is Sullivan University in Louisville, KY (3.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Mount St. Joseph University (84.2 miles). 10 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying criminology roles near Louisville?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminology-related roles near Louisville are: Sociologist ($136,870), Detective and Criminal Investigator ($83,620), Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer ($63,220). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Kentucky statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Jeffersontown instead of Louisville?

Jeffersontown, KY is 5.1 miles from Louisville and has its own set of local criminology programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Learn More About Criminology Programs

Other Programs Available in Louisville

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Louisville:

Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024โ€“2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.