Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Bulletin 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Criminology, BA Major in


Administered by the Department of Sociology   

Program Description


Criminology is an expanding field that explores the causes and consequences of crime and the institutions designed to address it. The Bachelor of Arts and minor program in criminology  are interdisciplinary and strongly based in the liberal arts. They offer a broad array of courses from social and physical sciences, as well as humanities, in disciplines such as sociology, political science, philosophy, forensics, and linguistics. The program is designed to provide students with sound methodological and analytical skills, leading to critical understanding of criminal behavior and the operation of the criminal justice system. The goal of the program is to prepare students for further studies as well as leadership positions in the fields of law, criminal justice administration, policy development, and national security.

Students with criminology degrees will be able to work in governmental criminal justice agencies, nonprofit foundations, and community organizations that deal with various issues in criminal justice, such as rehabilitation, uniformity in sentencing, prison over-crowding, recidivism, de-criminalization of certain drugs, gun control, community policing, crime prevention, treatment of drug offenders, and human rights violations, among others.

As part of the degree, the program offers credited internships in the specialized courts of Nassau and Queens Counties — for example, the youth court, mental health and drug courts, the domestic violence and sex crimes prosecutorial units, the Department of Probation, and community-based educational, advocacy, and rehabilitation programs.

Program Requirements


The major in criminology requires the successful completion of a minimum of 32 s.h. of course work, including:

1) Required Courses - Semester Hours: 20


2) Three s.h. in each of the following categories - Total Semester Hours: 6


3) Electives, chosen under advisement - Total Semester Hours: 9


In addition to the following, courses taken from among those listed under categories I and II above that are beyond the required minimum of 3 s.h. will count as electives.

Footnotes


* Credit toward the major or minor is given for one of these courses, not both.

** When topic approved by the director of the criminology program.

Complete BA Requirements


BA Requirements  in HCLAS.