Criminology, Bachelor of Arts

Criminology is the study of crimes, criminals, crime victims, theories explaining illegal and deviant behavior, the social reaction to crime and criminals, the effectiveness of anti-crime policies and the broader political terrain of social control. The major contains courses in sociology, other social science disciplines and the humanities. Students who are planning to attend graduate or professional schools and students who are currently working in criminal justice or other public service fields as well as those planning to do so in the future will find this major of interest.

Learning Outcomes. Students will:

• Know the core literature and debates that make up the discipline of criminology.
• Understand the key components of criminological theory and apply theory to specific contexts. 
• Understand the methods of criminological research.
• Make reasoned and informed judgment on issues relating to crime and punishment.
• Organize thoughts and communicate arguments effectively in writing.

Credits Required.

Criminology Major	39-42
General Education	42
Electives	36-39
Total Credits Required for B.A. Degree	120

Coordinator. Professor Andrew Karmen, Department of Sociology (212-237.8695, [e-mail])

Advising resources. Criminology and Sociology Advising, contact [e-mail]. Visit the department's website for advising resources (course worksheet and advising handbook). Criminology Advising Resources.  Sample Four-Year Plan (for students who declared before Fall 2017 and beginning in Fall 2017).

Honors option.

To qualify for honors in the major, a student must have completed the credit requirements for the major and have earned at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average in courses above the 100-level in the major. Credit for courses required as prerequisites for major courses applied to the major will not be calculated into the major cumulative grade point average. Students must have also earned at least a 3.2 overall cumulative grade point average. This honor will be noted on the student’s transcript.

Experiential Learning Opportunities. The Criminology major offers students a wide variety of experiential learning opportunities.  Many students take tours of state and federal correctional facilities and also to museums as part of their class studies. Students are offered opportunities to conduct original research under the supervision of a faculty member with those who have been caught up in the criminal justice system. Students are also able to take classes with prison inmates as part of cooperative programs established by the college under the Prison to College Pipeline program. In their junior and senior years, students can also participate in an internship course, SOC 378.  

Additional information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College or changed to this major in Fall 2017 or thereafter must complete the major in the form presented here. Students who enrolled prior to that date may choose either the form shown here or the earlier version of the major. A copy of the earlier version may be obtained in the 2016-2017 Undergraduate Bulletin.

Foundation courses

Required

SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
MAT 108	Social Science Math	3
	or
MAT 141	Pre-Calculus	3

Total Credit Hours: 3-6

Advisor recommendation: SOC 101 will fulfill the Flexible Core: Individual and Society area and MAT 108 or MAT 141 can fulfill the Required Core: Math and Quantitative Reasoning area of the General Education program depending on students mathematics placement.

Part One. Disciplinary Requirements

Required

SOC 203	Criminology	3
SOC 314	Theories of Social Order	3
SOC 440	Senior Seminar (Criminology)	3
SSC 325	Research Methods in Criminology and Sociology	3
STA 250	Principles and Methods of Statistics	3

Total Credit Hours: 15

Part Two. Applications of Criminology

Select three (two courses must be at the 300-level or above)

SOC 216	Probation and Parole: Theoretical and Practical Approaches	3
SOC 236/CRJ 236	Victimology	3
SOC 275	Political Imprisonment	3
SOC 301	Penology	3
SOC 308	The Sociology of Violence	3
SOC 309	Juvenile Delinquency	3
SOC 335	Migration and Crime	3
SOC 351	Crime and Delinquency in Asia	3
SOC 354	Gangs and Transnationalism	3
SOC 360/ECO 360	Corporate and White-Collar Crime	3
SOC 385	Selected Topics in Criminology	3
SOC 420/CRJ 420	Women and Crime	3

Total Credit Hours: 9

Part Three. Advanced Methods

Select one course

SOC 324	Advanced Social Statistics	3
SOC 327	Advanced Sociological Methodology	3
SOC 328	Qualitative Research Methods	3
SOC 329	Evaluation Research	3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Four. Electives

A. Multi–Disciplinary Electives

Select one

AFR 215	Police and Urban Communities	3
AFR 317	Environmental Racism	3
ANT 230	Culture and Crime	3
ANT 330	American Cultural Pluralism and the Law	3
ANT 340	Anthropology and the Abnormal	3
ECO 315/PSC 315	An Economic Analysis of Crime	3
LAW 310/PHI 310	Ethics and Law	3
LIT 326	Crime, Punishment and Justice in the U.S. Literature	3
LIT 327	Crime, Punishment and Justice in World Literature	3
LLS 325	Latina/o Experience of Criminal Justice	3
LLS 341	Immigrant Rights in the Americas	3
PSC 216	Crime Mapping	3
PSY 242	Abnormal Psychology	3
PSY 332	Psychology of Adolescence	3
PSY 372	Psychology of Criminal Behavior	3

B. Sociology Electives

Select two

SOC 201	Urban Sociology: The Study of City Life	3
SOC 202/PSY 202	The Family: Change, Challenges and Crisis Intervention	3
SOC 206	The Sociology of Conflict and Dispute Resolution	3
SOC 213/PSY 213	Race and Ethnic Relations	3
SOC 222	Crime, Media and Public Opinion	3
SOC 240	Social Deviance	3
SOC 251	Sociology of Human Rights	3
SOC 282	Selected Topics in Sociology	3
SOC 302	Social Problems	3
SOC 305	The Sociology of Law	3
SOC 350	Social Change	3
SOC 377	Internships for Sociology	3
SOC 387	Faculty Mentored Research Experience in Sociology	3

Total Credit Hours: 9

Total Credit Hours: 39-42