Don’t let Law and Order fool you, Criminology isn’t going to be like CSI. Criminology can combine a lot of disciplines such as behavioral science, sociology, history, statistics, anthropology, and law. Criminology students are students who are looking for a holistic and dynamic way of learning about the many facets of crime. The best programs take a multidimensional approach to understanding the roots and realities of crime. Criminology is less for people who want to become law enforcement and more for people who want to understand and shape how crime is treated in our society. Unfortunately, not every school has a criminology program, but we have compiled the top ten of those who do.
UPenn
If you are hoping to study Criminology in the Ivy League, is kind of your only choice. Their program leans towards the quantitative social science side of the field but takes a pretty interdisciplinary approach. UPenn Crimm students learn both sociological and Bio-Psychological-Social Analysis of Crime. They also have a mandatory Research Capstone. They offer prizes, research opportunities, and an extracurricular Undergraduate Criminology Society for those interested.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
We are putting on this list, but with one big caveat. If you are considering John Jay, you have to be 100% sure that Criminal Justice Studies is your whole thing. Usually, we encourage our students to write essays and talk to admissions reps like they 100% know what they want to do in college. But we tell them privately, that they can always change their minds once they are at the school since most colleges won’t make you declare a major til after freshman year. This isn’t really true with John Jay. While they have a couple of non-crime-related majors, they are very few and they are not very popular. But if you are 100% sure that you want to study criminology and work in the field when you graduate, John Jay has a specialized program that is great for pre-professionals. Also being at a school where pretty much everyone is studying something criminal justice-related can be appealing.
Northeastern
’s The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a BS in Criminal Justice, but their more unique program is their BS/JD in Law, Criminology, and Criminal Justice. Students in this program Bachelor’s from the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice and a Juris Doctor from their School of Law in as few as six years. It’s a pretty intense program so it’s not for everyone. But for those interested in a profession in criminal law, it is an exciting opportunity. For those not interested in law school, their BS in Criminal Justice is also a great program with hands-on learning opportunities including co-ops, research projects, study-abroad placements, directed studies, and service learning.
Howard University
As an HBCU, isn’t for everyone. However, their Department of Sociology and Criminology takes a really important approach to the Criminal Justice field. Their mission is to get students ready “to analyze, transform, and overcome conditions of oppression, exploitation, and injustice.” They take a very sociological approach to understanding criminology in a larger context of society. They also offer opportunities like internship learning.
American University
has a couple of Pre-law and Criminal Justice majors, but the Data Sciences for Justice, Law, and Criminology (BS) should be top of your list for criminology. The major is a collaborative program between the Department of Justice, Law, and Criminology and the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The program thus has a bit more of a statistical bend than some of the others on this list. Students in this major can use classes like Computer Science and Statistical Programming in R to fulfill requirements. However, they also have classes that aren’t mathematics-based such as Psychiatry and the Law and Corrections and the Constitution as part of their 9 elective credit requirement.
Villanova
offers both a major and minor in Criminology through their Sociology and Criminology department. Their program takes an interdisciplinary approach and is fairly flexible when it comes to electives. Out of their 33 credit major, 18 credits are elective. They also offer credit for internships in the field and independent study. On top of that, they have research opportunities and prizes for interested students.
George Washington University
offers a BA in Criminal Justice, but they also offer a BA in Criminal Justice/MA in Criminology. This 5-and-a-half-year program is for those who want to accelerate their Master’s degree. Their Criminal Justice students are required to do an internship. They also offer a wide range of related minors including a Minor in Sociology, a Minor in Criminal Justice, a Minor in Law and Society, and a Minor in Human Services and Social Justice. Many of their Criminal Justice majors also double major or minor in a related field such as political science, history, and psychology.
University of Florida
Criminology is the largest interdisciplinary degree program at They take a sociological approach to Criminology but also have students take classes in Statistics, Psychology, Philosophy, Economics, Anthropology, and more. Their program attempts to study crime from all sides and takes a broad approach to understanding the multidimensional roots of crime. They also accept credits for related fields towards the major making it easier to double major or minor while pursuing Criminology.
University of California- Irvine
offers the Criminology, Law, and Society major. It’s an interdisciplinary approach to studying the interconnected causes and effects of crime in society. Students must take courses on four main topics: The Legal System, Law and Society, Crime and Criminology, Formal Institutions of Social Control, and Justice and Inequalities. However, students can choose from a long list of classes from each category to fulfill the requirement.
University of Miami
s Criminology major has an emphasis on the theory of crime and its societal effect. Their program is preprofessional and they are excited to prepare their students to enter the criminal justice field. However, they also prepare graduates for grad school. With only about 6 required courses, their program has a lot of room for electives. They also offer a minor.
Any of these programs will give you a great foundation in the study of crime. Whether your interests lie more in the law or the order, understanding the theory and statistics of crime is a great base of knowledge. The skills that you can glean from a criminology degree work outside of the field of criminology. Research skills, sociology skills, and statistical skills are valuable whatever you choose to do.
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