Bachelor of Science - Criminology

Criminology is a subdiscipline of sociology that focuses on the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society, including the effects crime has on individuals (such as victims, witnesses and perpetrators), factors that can influence an individual or group of people to commit crimes, methods of law enforcement and crime deterrence, and the kinds of organizations, systems, and institutions that have grown up around crime in society.

The Criminology Program seeks to provide its students with the theoretical, practical and ethical foundations for understanding crime and the criminal justice system in its social context, with a focus on humanism and social justice.

Courses in the Criminology Program integrate theory and application into a broad foundation of both scientific and humanistic knowledge about crime and society. All students complete an internship and an original empirical senior thesis as part of their major requirements. Emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking skills and the application of values to the content of the criminology curriculum. The knowledge and skills gained during the program are crucial to successful performance in graduate school and are also highly valued by a wide variety of potential employers who hire criminology majors directly after graduation.