Welcome to the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department!

Sociology classes show students how to look at the world in a new way, while teaching them the nuts and bolts of scientific inquiry.  Many ideas, events, and activities that we think reflect nothing but individual circumstances turn out to be affected by larger social forces and historical trends.  Discovering how these forces and trends work can help us make sense of our own lives and better understand the lives of people who are different from us.  This leads to exciting discoveries and sparks our sense of curiousity.  But Sociology isn't just about asking questions.  It provides tools for answering them as well!

As a Criminal Justice major you'll learn how to look at the world from a social rather than an individualistic perspective.  You will learn how to use quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze and interpret how society is organized and why people make the choices they do.  You'll explore how society works--and what happens when it doesn't work the way it is supposed to.  Most importantly, you will learn how to contribute to the betterment of communities by developing critical thinking skills coupled with a deep commitment to social justice.

To learn more about our undergraduate majors and minors or the accelerated undergraduate program, just click on one of the links to the left. Each will lead you to more information on degree requirements, course schedules and/or suggested course sequences and special programs.

Many of the department’s elective courses are cross-listed with other exciting programs, allowing students to add further minors in Environmental Studies, Gender Studies, Latin American Studies, Legal Studies and Non-Western Studies.

Department faculty are happy to help with academic and career advising. Please contact a specific faculty member or the department office if you have questions.