2015-2016 Undergraduate Bulletin

Criminology, Bachelor of Arts

Criminology is the study of crimes, criminals, crime victims, theories explaining illegal and deviant behavior, the social reaction to crime and criminals, the effectiveness of anti-crime policies and the broader political terrain of social control. The major contains courses in sociology, other social science disciplines and the humanities. Students who are planning to attend graduate or professional schools and students who are currently working in criminal justice or other public service fields as well as those planning to do so in the future will find this major of interest.

Credits required. 36 (or more depending on math placement)

Coordinator. Professor Louis Kontos, Department of Sociology (646-557.4512, lkontos@jjay.cuny.edu)

Advising resources. Department of Sociology, Criminology and Sociology Advising, contact socadvising@jjay.cuny.edu. Sample Four-year Plan of Study. Visit the department's website for advising resources such as a course worksheet and advising handbook.

Prerequisites. SOC 101. This course fulfills the College’s general education requirements for the Flexible Core: Individual and Society area. Depending on math placement, students may need to take MAT 105 and/or MAT 108 (or MAT 141) as a prerequisite for the required statistics course, STA 250.

Other courses also have prerequisites beyond courses previously taken in the major:

  • In Part Three, any ECO course can be a prerequisite for ECO 360/SOC 360 Corporate and White-Collar Crime
  • In Part Five, CRJ 101 or CJBS 101 or ICJ 101 is a prerequisite for PSC 216 Crime Mapping; ECO 101 or ECO 170 is a prerequisite for ECO 315 /PSC 315 An Economic Analysis of Crime; PSY 242 is a prerequisite for PSY 372 Psychology of Criminal Behavior.

Honors option. Students with a cumulative 3.5 grade point average when they have completed 75 credits are eligible for a Criminology Honors track. The Honors track requires completion of 6 additional credits in the form of a two-semester research internship (SOC 430–SOC 431) or a research independent study. Consult the major coordinator for further information.

Additional information. Students who enrolled for the first time at the College or changed to this major in Fall 2014 or thereafter must complete the major in the form presented here. Students who enrolled prior to that date may choose either the form shown here or the earlier version of the major. A copy of the earlier version may be obtained in the 2013-2014 Undergraduate Bulletin.

Part One. Disciplinary Requirements

Required

SOC 203Criminology

3

SOC 314Theories of Social Order

3

SOC 440Senior Seminar (Criminology)

3

SSC 325Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences

3

STA 250Principles and Methods of Statistics

3

Total Credit Hours: 15

Part Two. Multi-Disciplinary Foundations

Select one

ANT 230Culture and Crime

3

ECO 170Crime, Class, Capitalism: The Economics of Justice

3

LAW 310/PHI 310Ethics and Law

3

PSY 242Abnormal Psychology

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Three. Applications of Criminology

Select two courses

SOC 236/CRJ 236Victimology

3

SOC 301Penology

3

SOC 308The Sociology of Violence

3

SOC 309Juvenile Delinquency

3

SOC 335Migration and Crime

3

SOC 360/ECO 360Corporate and White-Collar Crime

3

SOC 385Selected Topics in Criminology

3

SOC 420/CRJ 420Women and Crime

3

Total Credit Hours: 6

Part Four. Advanced Methods

Select one course

SOC 324Advanced Social Statistics

3

SOC 327Advanced Sociological Methodology

3

SOC 328Qualitative Research Methods

3

SOC 329Evaluation Research

3

Total Credit Hours: 3

Part Five. Electives

A. Multi–Disciplinary Electives

Select one

AFR 215Police and Urban Communities

3

ANT 330American Cultural Pluralism and the Law

3

ANT 340Anthropology and the Abnormal

3

ECO 315/PSC 315An Economic Analysis of Crime

3

LIT 326Crime, Punishment and Justice in the U.S. Literature

3

LIT 327Crime, Punishment and Justice in World Literature

3

LLS 325Latina/o Experience of Criminal Justice

3

PSC 216Crime Mapping

3

PSY 332Psychology of Adolescence

3

PSY 372Psychology of Criminal Behavior

3

B. Sociology Electives

Select two

SOC 201Urban Sociology: The Study of City Life

3

SOC 202/PSY 202The Family: Change, Challenges and Crisis Intervention

3

SOC 206The Sociology of Conflict and Dispute Resolution

3

SOC 222Crime, Media and Public Opinion

3

SOC 240Social Deviance

3

SOC 251Sociology of Human Rights

3

SOC 282Selected Topics in Sociology

3

SOC 302Social Problems

3

SOC 305The Sociology of Law

3

SOC 351Crime and Delinquency in Asia

3

SOC 405Social Systems/Modern Organizations

3

Total Credit Hours: 9

Total Credit Hours: 36