East Central University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Public university
- Ada, OK
- About 11 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
East Central University criminal justice graduates earn about what criminal justice graduates earn nationally, $41,437 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,553 in federal loans, less than at 82% of criminal justice programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying criminal justice degrees in Oklahoma.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Oklahoma and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, East Central University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $5,067 less than the Oklahoma median. Several Oklahoma programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Oklahoma criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Oklahoma medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 12% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $228 a month, or 6.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
92% of graduates (22 of 24) were working in Oklahoma one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Oklahoma outside metro areas are about 16% below the national average, so a $41,437 salary here buys what about $49,580 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
$36,270Median pay in Oklahoma. 12,210 people work in this job in Oklahoma. 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
$59,700Median pay in Oklahoma. 9,660 people work in this job in Oklahoma. 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
$63,000Median pay in Oklahoma. 4,230 people work in this job in Oklahoma. 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
$43,950Median pay in Oklahoma. 6,500 people work in this job in Oklahoma. 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 East Central University
Criminal Justice ranks 4th of 14 bachelor's programs at East Central University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($71,297), Accounting ($46,419), and Computer and Information Science ($45,779).
Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Ada
Common questions
The median graduate earns $41,437 one year after graduating and $46,515 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Oklahoma is $39,609.
The median federal loan balance is $21,553, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Oklahoma. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 52% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%.
Most do. 92% (22 of 24) were working in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma 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