Point Park University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Private nonprofit university
- Pittsburgh, PA
- About 22 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Point Park University criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $33,542 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,037 in federal loans, more than at 82% of criminal justice programs in the country. Several Pennsylvania programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Pennsylvania and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Point Park University graduates earn about the national figure but about $5,169 less than the Pennsylvania median. Several Pennsylvania programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Pennsylvania criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Pennsylvania 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 54% 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 $308 a month, or 11.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
100% of graduates (21 of 21) were working in Pennsylvania one year after graduating. Prices in the Pittsburgh area are about 5% below the national average, so a $33,542 salary here buys what about $35,430 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
$37,050Median pay in Pennsylvania. 43,610 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$85,470Median pay in Pennsylvania. 26,510 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$85,580Median pay in Pennsylvania. 19,810 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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
$50,820Median pay in Pennsylvania. 16,200 people work in this job in Pennsylvania. 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 Point Park University
Criminal Justice ranks 5th of 10 bachelor's programs at Point Park University by first-year earnings. The top three are Business Administration ($41,910), Other Protective Services ($37,887), and Teacher Education ($35,540).
Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Pittsburgh
Common questions
The median graduate earns $33,542 one year after graduating and $51,722 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania is $37,562.
The median federal loan balance is $29,037, which ranks 24th lowest of 30 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Pennsylvania. That works out to about $308 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 87% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Pennsylvania programs before deciding.
Most do. 100% (21 of 21) were working in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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