Bachelor of Arts in Criminology

This major is offered through the Department of Sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences. This area of study focuses on the root causes and implications of crime in societies, the preventive strategies that could control such social behavior, and approaches the study of crime from an evidence-based and Catholic social justice perspective. 

To fulfill the requirements for the major, students must complete 36 credit hours, of which six are core course requirements, to satisfy the major. The department offers an active internship program and encourages all majors to enroll in at least one internship course while in good academic standing at the university. Students may take up to six internship credits.

Course Requirements

• SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology OR SOC 102 Global, Social Problems and Social Justice
• SOC 202 Research Methods
• SOC 205 Sociology of Crime and Justice
• SOC 301 Statistical Analysis for Social Sciences I (fulfills foundations of math requirement for sociology/criminology majors ONLY)
• SOC 317 Criminological Theory 
• SOC 452 Senior Coordinating Seminar
• SOC 496 Thesis Guidance OR SOC 498 Comprehensive Exam (please see below)

 

All majors must complete the above core required curriculum and an additional six elective courses with a grade of “C-” or better. We expect all Criminology majors to complete the above core courses (exempting SOC 452) before the senior year.

All students enrolled in the major are required to successfully pass either a comprehensive examination or a senior thesis.  The senior thesis is under the supervision of one faculty advisor selected by the student pursuing the thesis option.  Any student with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher may opt to complete the senior comprehensive or the thesis as part of her/his capstone experience. Students wishing to write a thesis in lieu of taking comprehensive exams must have identified a topic and a faculty sponsor by the end of their junior year, e.g., 2 semesters before graduating.

In addition to the above listed core courses, students are required to take six elective courses.

 

Elective Courses

• SOC 107 Introduction to Criminal Justice
• SOC 204 Transnational Crime
• SOC 208 Sociology of Delinquency
• SOC 220 Social Interaction
• SOC 226 Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• SOC 230 Families and Incarceration
• SOC 270 Human Rights in a Global Society
• SOC 300 Sociology Research Practicum
• SOC 303 Public Safety Leadership
• SOC 309 Sociology of Law
• SOC 310 Police, Law and Society
• SOC 311 Victimology
• SOC 313 Criminal Investigations
• SOC 315 Crime in Urban America
• SOC 318 Domestic Terrorism Investigations: An FBI Perspective
• SOC 319 Modern Islamic Terrorism
• SOC 320 Terrorism and Counter Terrorism
• SOC 322 Military and Society
• SOC 324 Race and Ethnic Relations
• SOC 329 White Collar Crime
• SOC 331 Globalization and Social Movements
• SOC 332 Popular Culture and Crime
• SOC 335 Surveillance
• SOC 337 Crime and Corruption in Chinese Society
• SOC 339 Punishment
• SOC 341 Border Security
• SOC 354 Social Psychology of Crime
• SOC 355 National Security in American Film, Television, and Popular Culture Post- 9/11
• SOC 357 National Security and Civil Liberties
• SOC 365 Controlling America's Borders: Issues and Problems
• SOC 371 Deviance and Control
• SOC 404 Criminal Courts
• SOC 407 Pillaging, Murder, and Mayhem: A Survey of Violent Crime
• SOC 408 Religion and Terrorism
• SOC 415 Criminal Behavior in America
• SOC 424 Conflict and Conflict Resolution
• SOC 468 The FBI and Counterintelligence
• SOC 493 Independent Research
• SOC 494 Independent Study in Sociology
• SOC 495 Sociology Internship

Interdisciplinary Electives

• ANTH 204 Forensic Anthropology
• ANTH 206: Artifact Studies in Archaeology
• CHEM 202 Science Under Oath
• CSC 581 or EE 581 Cryptography and Stenography
• LSC 324 Actionable Intelligence
• MDIA 308 Mafia, Politics, and Italian Society in Cinema
• MDIA 322 Media and Crime
• POL 260 Intro to American Intelligence
• POL 412A Homeland Security
• POL 437 Countering Terrorists and Radicals 
• POL 462 Moral Foundations of Intelligence 
• POL 468 US Counterintelligence: Operations and Controversies
• POL 471 Issues in Contemporary U.S. Intelligence
• PSY 302 Forensic Psychology