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Criminology & Justice Studies

Offerings: Bachelor | Minor

Course Description

The Criminology and Justice Studies major is offered through the Sociology Department. This major draws on the intellectual traditions of sociology and critical criminology to understand the social correlates of crime and justice. The major provides students with a theoretical and practical foundation for building a lifelong understanding of crime and social justice and the myriad social processes surrounding both. Students majoring in Criminology and Justice Studies will be able to evaluate critically issues of crime and justice and to pursue solutions for positive social change. The degree also provides students with the requisite skills for graduate study and/or entry-level practice in the areas of social justice, administration of justice, and criminal justice systems.

The major purpose of the Minor in Criminology and Justice Studies is to provide an expanded and more focused concentration on the study of criminology and the criminal justice system regarding:

  1. the study of deviance and the incidence and explanations for delinquency and crime;
  2. methods of prevention and control of delinquency and crime; and
  3. characteristics and practices of the criminal justice system.

Moreover, students will select a set of courses that add to this core, such as the study of women and crime and the comparative study of crime in different societies. Students will broadly analyze the origins, causes, and consequences of crime and the structure of the criminal justice system in order to gain greater mastery of this socially important and very timely topic.


College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral & Social Sciences (CHABSS)