Program Overview

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

The School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences offers a comprehensive range of programs, including the Criminology program.

Criminology (B.A.)

The Criminology Program is an interdisciplinary academic program, based primarily in criminology and sociology, that studies the interrelationships among law, policy, and societal conditions. The relationships among these factors are dynamic and complex, and Criminology integrates a variety of perspectives, approaches, and social science disciplines to analyze and understand the origins of crime and injustice and society's response to these issues.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Criminology Program is to examine the causes and consequences of crime and crime control politics by providing a program of study involving a variety of perspectives, approaches, and social science disciplines to undergraduate students. The faculty members are dedicated teachers and scholars who have published their work in the most prestigious journals in the field. They are committed to expanding the knowledge of the discipline and preparing students to be leaders in influencing society's response to crime.

Career Opportunities

Majors in the Criminology program at UT Dallas will be provided an educational experience that will allow them to put their academic training, background, and experience to use in a wide variety of post-graduate educational and occupational positions, including:

• Employment in Criminal Justice agencies at the federal, state, and local government level
• Graduate School in Criminology or Criminal Justice (or a related social science discipline)
• Law School
• Social Work, Counseling, or other Human Service program

Bachelor of Arts in Criminology

Degree Requirements (120 hours)

The degree requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Criminology include:

I. Core Curriculum Requirements (42 hours)

• Communication (6 hours)
  • 3 hours Communication (RHET 1302)
  • 3 hours Communication Elective (CRIM 3300)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences (15 hours)
  • 6 hours Government (GOVT 2301 and GOVT 2302)
  • 6 hours American History (HIST 1301 and HIST 1302)
  • 3 hours Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (ECON 2301 or ECON 2302)
• Humanities and Fine Arts (6 hours)
  • 3 hours Fine Arts (ARTS 1301)
  • 3 hours Humanities (HUMA 1301)
• Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (6 hours)
  • 3 hours Mathematics (at or above College Algebra, MATH 1306 or MATH 1314)
  • 4 hours Quantitative Reasoning (EPPS 3405)
• Science (9 hours including at least one course with a substantial laboratory component)

II. Major Requirements (43 hours)

• Major Preparatory Courses (22 hours beyond Core Curriculum)
  • CRIM 1301 Introduction to Criminal Justice
  • CRIM 1307 Introduction to Crime and Criminology
  • CRIM 2306 Criminal Law
  • CRIM 2308 Juvenile law
  • CRIM 2313 Police & Society
  • CRIM 2316 Corrections
  • CRIM 2317 Criminal Prosecution and Court Process
  • EPPS 3405 Introduction to Social Statistics with Lab
• Major Core Courses (21 hours)
  • CRIM 3302 Advanced Criminology
  • CRIM 3303 Advanced Criminal Justice
  • CRIM 3304 Research Methods in Crime and Justice Studies
  • CRIM 4311 Crime and Justice Policy
  • CRIM 4322 Senior Research Seminar
• Distributive Justice Focus
  • Choose one of the following (3 hours):
    • CRIM 3301 Theories of Justice
    • SOC 4361 Law and Society
    • SOC 4302 Class, Status and Power
    • ECON 4330 Law and Economics
• International or Comparative Focus
  • Choose one of the following (3 hours):
    • CRIM 3319 Comparative Justice Systems
    • SOC 3336 Culture Regions
    • ECON 4360 International Trade
    • PSCI 3350 Comparative Politics

III. Elective Requirements (35 hours)

• Major Related Upper Level Elective Courses (15 hours)
  • 15 hours CRIM upper-division courses or related to CRIM
• Advanced Electives (9 hours)
  • All students are required to take at least nine hours of Advanced Electives outside their major field of study.
• Free Electives (11 hours)
  • This requirement may be satisfied with lower- and upper-division courses from any field of study.

Minor in Criminology (18 hours)

For a minor in Criminology, students must take the following:

• CRIM 1301 and CRIM 1307
• Twelve hours of upper-division CRIM classes, excluding CRIM 4V97, CRIM 4V98, and CRIM 4V99.