Drury University Criminal Justice (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Private nonprofit university
- Springfield, MO
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Drury University criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $41,277 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $8,265 in federal loans, less than at 84% of criminal justice programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Missouri median of $43,252.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice certificate programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Missouri criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Missouri medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $88 a month, or 2.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
94% of graduates (74 of 79) were working in Missouri one year after graduating. Prices in the Springfield area are about 11% below the national average, so a $41,277 salary here buys what about $46,596 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to criminal justice, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Security Guards
$40,390Median pay in Missouri. 18,630 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 156,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
$59,460Median pay in Missouri. 13,570 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 51,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Compliance Officers
$67,270Median pay in Missouri. 7,000 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
$48,520Median pay in Missouri. 9,620 people work in this job in Missouri. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Drury University
Criminal Justice is the only certificate program at Drury University that reports first-year earnings.
Common questions
The median graduate earns $41,277 one year after graduating. The median across criminal justice certificate programs in Missouri is $43,252.
The median federal loan balance is $8,265, which ranks 3rd lowest of 5 criminal justice certificate programs in Missouri. That works out to about $88 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 20% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 26%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Missouri programs report higher pay.
Most do. 94% (74 of 79) were working in Missouri one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Missouri comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the criminal justice program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024