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. Criminology and Sociology Advising, contact socadvising@jjay.cuny.edu. Sample Four-year Plan of Study. Visit the department's website for advising resources (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 203 | Criminology | 3 |
| SOC 314 | Theories of Social Order | 3 |
| SOC 440 | Senior Seminar (Criminology) | 3 |
| SSC 325 | Research Methods in Criminology and Sociology | 3 |
| STA 250 | Principles and Methods of Statistics | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 15
Part Two. Multi-Disciplinary Foundations
Select one
Total Credit Hours: 3
Part Three. Applications of Criminology
Select two courses
Total Credit Hours: 6
Part Four. Advanced Methods
Select one course
| SOC 324 | Advanced Social Statistics | 3 |
| SOC 327 | Advanced Sociological Methodology | 3 |
| SOC 328 | Qualitative Research Methods | 3 |
| SOC 329 | Evaluation Research | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 3
Part Five. Electives
A. Multi–Disciplinary Electives
Select one
| AFR 215 | Police and Urban Communities | 3 |
| ANT 330 | American Cultural Pluralism and the Law | 3 |
| ANT 340 | Anthropology and the Abnormal | 3 |
| ECO 315/PSC 315 | An Economic Analysis of Crime | 3 |
| LIT 326 | Crime, Punishment and Justice in the U.S. Literature | 3 |
| LIT 327 | Crime, Punishment and Justice in World Literature | 3 |
| LLS 325 | Latina/o Experience of Criminal Justice | 3 |
| PSC 216 | Crime Mapping | 3 |
| PSY 332 | Psychology of Adolescence | 3 |
| PSY 372 | Psychology of Criminal Behavior | 3 |
B. Sociology Electives
Select two
| SOC 201 | Urban Sociology: The Study of City Life | 3 |
| SOC 202/PSY 202 | The Family: Change, Challenges and Crisis Intervention | 3 |
| SOC 206 | The Sociology of Conflict and Dispute Resolution | 3 |
| SOC 222 | Crime, Media and Public Opinion | 3 |
| SOC 240 | Social Deviance | 3 |
| SOC 251 | Sociology of Human Rights | 3 |
| SOC 282 | Selected Topics in Sociology | 3 |
| SOC 302 | Social Problems | 3 |
| SOC 305 | The Sociology of Law | 3 |
| SOC 351 | Crime and Delinquency in Asia | 3 |
| SOC 377 | Internships for Sociology | 3 |
| SOC 405 | Social Systems/Modern Organizations | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: 9
Total Credit Hours: 36