Criminology and Criminal Justice Curriculum
Criminology & Criminal Justice Major
The criminology/criminal justice major is a social behavioral science that explores all aspects of crime and its impact on society, including crime patterns and criminal behavior, how societies work to prevent and control crime, as well as how they punish offenders.
Students will explore topics such as law enforcement, racial profiling, poverty, the human condition, the prison system, and the death penalty.
Randolph’s criminology/criminal justice major prepares students for careers in a broad range of fields, including local, state, and federal law enforcement, corrections, probate, forensic science, public service, forensic accounting, and private investigation, to name a few.
The major is also exceptional preparation for graduate study in the social sciences and law.
Through a challenging and interdisciplinary curriculum, students will develop sought-after skills in critical thinking, writing, and evidence-based decision-making while also examining their own assumptions about crime and its impact on society.
Internships and other real-world experiences will add to a student’s overall educational foundation.
Degree Requirements
Course Catalog
Course Offerings
Below is a list of available courses offered by the Criminology and Criminal Justice department. Consult the Registrar’s Office and the College Catalog for all available course offerings.
CRIM 1101 - Introduction To Criminal Justice And Criminology
An introduction to the fields of criminology and criminal justice including the study of crime and its causes, how it is understood, and how criminal justice policy works. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 1102 - Introduction To Criminology
CRIM 1185 - Criminology One Time Only
One time only. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2201 - Introduction To Criminal Law
An introduction to criminal law in the United States, including process, evidence, the rights of the accused and the state, and comparisons with other criminal justice systems. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2203 - Philosophy Of Law
This course focuses on questions about the law dealing with issues like truth, fairness, justice, and autonomy in a free society. We will explore debates about criminal justice and punishment; unconscionable contracts; exploitation; economic efficiency; class, race, gender, sexuality and other forms of inequality; and the pursuit of civil and political rights. Identical with POL 2203. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: POL 1102 or permission of instructor. (HE)
CRIM 2205 - Policing
An introduction to the practice of policing with coverage of the history of policing, theories of policing, and the practice of policing. Coverage of issues including accountability; race, class, gender, and other dimensions of identity; and social welfare will form a backdrop for the study of the practice of crime control. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2209 - Deviance And Social Control
Addresses the creation and enforcement of societal rules, why and how rules are violated, the repercussions of violating norms, and the ways that race, class, gender, and sexuality affect those repercussions. General explanations of deviance will be applied to a wide variety of specific examples ranging from gender non-conformity to white-collar crime. Identical with SOC 2209. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and either SOC 1101 or 1114 or permission of instructor. (HE, SS)
CRIM 2210 - Prison Systems
This course covers the history and practice of corrections through prisons, with a particular discussion of prisons as centers of deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2215 - Juvenile Crime
This course examines the particular social problem of juvenile crime and the methods of understanding and addressing it. Particular focus will be paid to social services, rehabilitation, and social context of the idea of “crime.” Credit hours: 4. Offered alternate years.
CRIM 2220 - Terrorism
This course will examine the modern problem of terrorism in the United States and internationally, including its history. Counterterrorism policies and how they are enforced will also be discussed. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2230 - Philosophy Of Crime
This course focuses on philosophical problems related to crime: who gets to decide what “crime” is, whether crime is in some sense inevitable, how individuals and society perceive and respond to crime, and the moral and ethical considerations involved in social and crime control policy. Identical with POL 2230. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2285 - One Time Only: Race, Class, And Crime
One-time only. Fall 2024, Session 1: “Despite a veneer of neutrality, race-based and class-based double standards operate in virtually every criminal justice setting, including police behavior, jury selection, and sentencing.” This sentence appears on the .gov website of the U.S. Department of Justice. In this course we will examine this claim: what does the U.S. Department of Justice mean when it says “double standards operate in virtually every criminal justice setting?” How have these inequalities taken different forms in different eras of history? What legal and political actions have affected them? In this course we will examine how the social institutions of race and class shape crime— how it is defined, how it occurs, how it is treated and punished, and how its harms might be reduced. Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2286 - One Time Only: Criminal Labeling
One-time only. Spring 2025, Session 4: This course examines how deviant behavior is identified and defined, and traces the legal process by which deviant behaviors become codified as crimes. We will examine a variety of methods currently used to charge individuals as criminals, and investigate the effects of criminal labelling, including differences in criminal categories (ex. Drug possession vs. corporate crime). Credit hours: 4.
CRIM 2295 - Legal History Of Policing
This course is a survey of the landmark Supreme Court decisions from 1865 – present that transformed the guidelines for acceptable police behavior. Students will understand how policing standards have developed over the past century and a half, and become familiar with cases that are cited frequently in court as precedent. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CRIM 1101.
CRIM 3305 - Race, Class, Crime
An advanced course on the distinctive challenges of race and class for crime control. Issues related to poverty, racism, and injustice in the policing, prosecution, and incarceration of individuals will be examined by students using recent research and a variety of materials including testimonials of criminal justice system participants. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years.
CRIM 3310 - Police Accountability
A study of the variety of methods employed to hold police and prosecutors accountable to the public, both in terms of the rights of the accused and public demands, which may or may not contradict. Students will be expected to do original work and analysis on a project. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years.
CRIM 3327 - Rich Vs Poor: Unfair Inequality
A study of the nature, causes, and consequences of social inequality or social stratification. Students analyze concepts of power, class, and status (e.g., race and gender) toward understanding who gets ahead in society. We consider issues such as wealth and “welfare,” upward mobility, jobs and unemployment, poverty, and why some people routinely get paid more than others. The course concentrates on distributive processes in the United States but is broadly comparative and includes the study of international inequality. Identical with SOC 3327. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing and SOC 1101 or 1114 or permission of instructor. Alternate years: offered Spring. (CI,SS)
CRIM 3395 - Violence
This course will take a cultural approach to the study of violence. We will examine how violence has been defined and described throughout history, as well as what place it has been given in a variety of societies. We will also examine how contemporary societies strive to limit the functions of violence. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CRIM 1101.
CRIM 4494 - Senior Seminar
A senior seminar in which students discuss recent research in criminology and criminal justice culminating in a senior capstone project proposal. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice or permission of instructor. Offered alternate years.
CRIM 4495 - Capstone Project
A senior seminar in which students discuss recent research in criminology and criminal justice culminating in a senior capstone project proposal. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: Senior Seminar in Criminology and Criminal Justice. Offered alternate years.
