Criminology Major
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences – Department of Sociology
The Bachelor of Arts with major in Criminology is an interdisciplinary baccalaureate program grounded in a strong liberal arts curriculum. This program introduces students to three important dimensions of criminology: 1) the role of law and legal systems; 2) social/structural dimensions of crime; 3) individual/behavioral dimensions of crime. While this program will undoubtedly attract students interested in criminal justice careers, it is intended to offer students access to a broader array of career opportunities than that provided by training in Criminal Justice. Students studying criminology at Framingham State University will learn to approach the issue of crime in society from a theoretically informed and research-based perspective in a program that places great emphasis on the underlying causes of crime and on the role of policy- making and policy implementation in crime prevention and crime control.
The General Education Requirement
All students must satisfy a general education requirement consisting of ten (10) courses outside of the major department. The General Education Domain II-A (Analysis, Modeling, and Problem Solving) requirement is satisfied through the completion of the Criminology or Sociology major.
Course Prerequisites
Courses may have specified conditions for enrollment, such as prior completion of less advanced courses, permission of the instructor, or appropriate placement test scores. Students should refer to course descriptions in the department listings for prerequisite requirements.
Major Requirements
Six (6) core courses:
- CRIM 121 Social Perspectives on Criminology
- CRIM 301 Criminology Theory
- CRIM 302 Quantitative Methods I – Research Design
- CRIM 303 Quantitative Methods II – Data Collection & Analysis
- SOCI 320 Uncovering Meaning in the Social World
Capstone:
- CRIM 480 Criminology Senior Thesis Seminar or
- CRIM 495 Internship in Criminology or
- POSC 450 Internship in the Judicial System
Recommended Courses:
- BIOL 142 Introduction to Human Biology with Lab
- PSYC 101 General Psychology
- STAT 117 Introduction to Statistic
Concentration in General Criminology (UCRG)
Concentration core requirements (6 courses):
- Students must select six (6) elective courses, two (2) courses from each of the areas listed below. Three (3) electives must be taken in a minimum of two (2) departments other than Sociology.
Law and the Legal System:
- ANTH 206 Forensic Anthropology
- CRIM 201 White Collar Crime
- CRIM 240 Drugs, Social Control, and the Law
- CRIM 313 The Culture of Punishment
- CRIM 330 Policing and Society
- MGMT 215 Legal Environment of Business
- POSC 250 American Legal Systems
- POSC 315 Judicial Politics and Policy
- POSC 316 U.S. Constitutional Law and Politics
- PSYC 373 Psychology and the Law
- SOCI 230 Law and Society
Social/Structural Dimensions of Crime and Criminal Behavior:
- CRIM 120 The Fight for Social Justice: Institutional Battlegrounds
- CRIM 211 Crime and Inequality
- CRIM 222 Global Criminology
- CRIM 233 Victimization and Justice
- CRIM 308 Understanding Violence
- CRIM 321 Intimate Partner Violence
- CRIM 360 Media and Crime
- HSTY 186 History of Modern Violence
- POSC 270 Race, Politics, and the Law
- POSC 272 Gender, Politics, and the Law
- POSC 337 Legislative Politics and Policy
- SOCI 130 Social Problems
- SOCI 205 Geographic Information Systems Mapping for the Social Sciences
- SOCI 245 Race and Ethnic Relations
- SOCI 263 Social Inequality
- SOCI 288 Immigration in the United States
Individual/Behavioral Dimensions of Crime and Criminal Behavior:
- ANTH 258 Critical Approaches to Men and Masculinities
- CRIM 224 Juvenile Delinquency
- CRIM 270 Social Deviance
- CRIM 336 Sexual Violence
- HLTH 326 Drug, Alcohol, and Addictive Behavior
- NEUR 225 Biopsychology
- PHIL 102 Introduction to Ethics: Why be Moral?
- PSYC 212 Adolescent Development
- PSYC 271 Principles of Behavior Modification
- PSYC 322 Abnormal Psychology
- SOCI 333 Society and the Mentally Ill