Is a criminal justice degree from Trinity Washington University worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 71% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other District of Columbia programs before deciding.

Trinity Washington University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Q: How much debt do Trinity Washington University criminal justice graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $33,564, which ranks 4th lowest of 5 criminal justice bachelor's programs in District of Columbia. That works out to about $356 a month over 10 years.

Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
Private nonprofit university
Washington, DC
About 13 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Trinity Washington University criminal justice graduates earn more than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $47,385 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $33,564 in federal loans, more than at 90% of criminal justice programs in the country. One other District of Columbia program reports higher pay.

First-year earnings$47,38592nd percentile of 557 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$55,99418% more than year one

Median federal debt$33,5644th lowest of 5 District of Columbia programs

Debt-to-earnings71%District of Columbia median 71%, national 67%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The District of Columbia and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Trinity Washington University	District of Columbia	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$47,385	$43,405	$37,641
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$55,994	$61,582	$53,142
Median federal debt at graduation	$33,564	$26,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	71%	71%	67%
Programs compared		5	557

Five years out, Trinity Washington University graduates earn more than the national figure but about $5,588 less than the District of Columbia median.

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia criminal justice program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the District of Columbia medians.

Trinity Washington UniversityOther District of Columbia programs

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 18% between the first and fifth year.

Trinity Washington University grads, year 1$47,385

Trinity Washington University grads, year 5$55,994

All District of Columbia criminal justice grads, year 5$61,582

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 $356 a month, or 9.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (40 borrowers)	Share
Paused payments (forbearance)	40–59%

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $47,385 salary here buys what about $43,519 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

$64,210

Median pay in District of Columbia. 15,880 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $36,600Top 10%: $78,910

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$88,650

Median pay in District of Columbia. 4,720 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $66,420Top 10%: $119,660

Compliance Officers

$111,030

Median pay in District of Columbia. 4,380 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $69,140Top 10%: $156,750

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$73,550

Median pay in District of Columbia. 2,430 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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.

Bottom 10%: $53,020Top 10%: $113,440

About Trinity Washington University

Tuition and fees	$26,610 / year
Average net price after aid	$9,302 / year
Admission rate	100%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	49%
Undergraduate students	1,414

Criminal Justice ranks 3rd of 7 bachelor's programs at Trinity Washington University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($79,349), Liberal Arts and General Studies ($50,283), and Criminal Justice ($47,385).

Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Washington

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Trinity Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit		$47,385	$33,564
Howard UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	Under 1 mi	$27,801	$26,000
Strayer University-District of ColumbiaWashington, DC · private for-profit	2 mi	$43,405	$56,937
George Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	3 mi	$51,256	$20,500
American UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	5 mi	$37,147	$23,250
Marymount UniversityArlington, VA · private nonprofit	7 mi	$35,642	$25,000
UMGCAdelphi, MD · public	8 mi	$55,479	$25,062
Bowie StateBowie, MD · public	15 mi	$41,367	$29,750
George MasonFairfax, VA · public	18 mi	$43,612	$20,761

Common questions

The median graduate earns $47,385 one year after graduating and $55,994 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in District of Columbia is $43,405.

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 District of Columbia 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

Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in District of Columbia, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in the US, ranked557 programs by pay and debt All Trinity Washington University programs, ranked7 programs by pay and debt