Criminology, B.A.

About the Criminology Bachelor’s Program

Criminology is the sociological study of law-making, law-breaking, and social control. Areas of specialization and faculty expertise include criminology and delinquency, intimate relationships and families, race and ethnicity, inequality, gender, aging, social psychology, medical sociology, religion, social research methods, and social theory. A major in criminology is beneficial to students planning careers in a variety of areas, including business, law, law enforcement, government, international development, medicine, and social services. Courses in sociology fulfill core curriculum requirements in the social and behavioral sciences and multicultural core requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences and the university.

A student majoring in sociology must complete 30 hours in sociology or criminology, 24 of which must be upper-division courses (3000 or 4000). It is the student’s responsibility to make sure they reach the 40 upper-division hours that are required for graduation. A maximum of 9 hours of transfer credit may be accepted for the major. For a course to apply to the major or minor, a student must score a C or better.  Additionally, a GPA of 2.0 or higher is required to be admitted to the program. Core course requirements are as follows:

• SOC 1301 , SOC 3391 , SOC 3392 , SOC 3327 , and CRIM 4325 .
• Either SOC 3393  or SOC 3394 . Students expecting admission to graduate work in sociology should take both of these courses.
• One lower-level division and two alternate upper-division courses to be chosen from: CRIM 2333 , CRIM 2335 , CRIM 3300, CRIM 3328 , CRIM 3339 , CRIM 3341 , CRIM 3357 , CRIM 4321 ; SOC 3326 , SOC 3333 , SOC 3335 , SOC 3340 , SOC 3368 , SOC 3383 , SOC 4335 , SOC 4327 ; ANTH 3303 , ANTH 4320 , ANTH 4343 ; PSY 4384 . SOC 3300  may be applied to this requirement by approval of advisor.
• One non-criminology elective from sociology (any level).

The criminology major requires a total of 30 hours of sociology and/or approved courses in the above related areas.

Communication Literacy Requirement. Communication Literacy courses for the Sociology major include SOC 3391 , SOC 3392 , SOC 3393 , and SOC 3394 .

Recommended Sample Curriculum