2022-2023 Undergraduate Bulletin

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 judgments 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, Fall 2022 (212-237.8695, akarmen@jjay.cuny.edu) and David Brotherton, Spring 2023 (dbrotherton@jjay.cuny.edu)., Department of Sociology. 

Advising resources. Criminology and Sociology Advising, contact socadvising@jjay.cuny.edu. Visit the department's website for advising resources (course worksheet and advising handbook). Criminology Advising Resources (including Sample Four-Year Advising Plans.


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 101Introduction to Sociology

3

MAT 108Social Science Math

3

OR

MAT 141Pre-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 203Criminology

3

SOC 314Theories of Social Order

3

SOC 440Senior Seminar in Criminology

3

SSC 325Research Methods in Criminology and Sociology

3

STA 250Principles 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 216Probation and Parole: Theoretical and Practical Approaches

3

SOC 236/CRJ 236Victimology

3

SOC 275Political Imprisonment

3

SOC 301Penology

3

SOC 308The Sociology of Violence

3

SOC 309Youth, Crime and Justice

3

SOC 335Migration and Crime

3

SOC 351Crime and Delinquency in Asia

3

SOC 354Gangs and Transnationalism

3

SOC 360/ECO 360Corporate and White-Collar Crime

3

SOC 385Selected Topics in Criminology

3

SOC 420/CRJ 420Women and Crime

3

Total Credit Hours: 9

Part Three. Advanced Methods

Select one course
SOC 324Advanced Social Statistics

3

SOC 327Advanced Sociological Methodology

3

SOC 328Qualitative Research Methods

3

SOC 329Evaluation Research

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Four. Electives

A. Multi–Disciplinary Electives

Select one

AFR 215Police and Urban Communities

3

AFR 317Environmental Racism

3

ANT 230Culture and Crime

3

ANT 330American Cultural Pluralism, Justice and the Law

3

ANT 340Anthropology and the Abnormal

3

ECO 315/PSC 315An Economic Analysis of Crime

3

LAW 310/PHI 310Ethics and Law

3

LIT 326Crime, Punishment and Justice in U.S. Literature

3

LIT 327Crime, Punishment and Justice in World Literature

3

LLS 325Latinx Experience of Criminal Justice

3

LLS 341Immigrant Rights in the Americas

3

PSC 216Crime Mapping

3

PSY 242Psychological Disorders and Distress (formerly Abnormal Psychology)

3

PSY 332Psychology of Adolescence

3

PSY 372Psychology of Criminal Behavior

3

B. Sociology Electives

Select two

SOC 201Urban Sociology: The Study of City Life

3

SOC 202Sociology of Families

3

SOC 206The Sociology of Conflict and Dispute Resolution

3

SOC 213Sociology of Race and Ethnic Relations

3

SOC 222Crime, Media and Public Opinion

3

SOC 240Social Deviance

3

SOC 251Sociology of Human Rights

3

SOC 386Selected Topics in Sociology

3

SOC 302Social Problems

3

SOC 305The Sociology of Law

3

SOC 350Social Change

3

SOC 377Internships for Sociology

3

SOC 387Faculty Mentored Research Experience in Sociology

3

Total Credit Hours: 9

Total Credit Hours: 39-42