Bachelor's · Worcester, Massachusetts

Is Criminal Justice and Corrections at Worcester State University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $55,808; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $70,449; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,132; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $59k (likely $59k – $76k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $27k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 4 years (likely 3.4–4.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: $7k (likely −$61k – $62k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $351k (likely $209k – $493k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 57%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26