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 1102 - Introduction to Criminology
CRIM 1103 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
This course provides a broad introduction to the American criminal justice system, focusing on its main components: policing, courts, and corrections. It delves into the historical development, organizational structure, and operational functions of each, providing an understanding of their interconnected roles in the system. Credit hours: 4. Offered every semester.
CRIM 1119 - Introduction to Legal Studies
An introduction to the role of law in society with a focus on the American legal system. Topics include, the history of law; organization of the judicial system; civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law; introductory jurisprudence; judicial behavior; and legal writing and argumentation. Credit hours: 4. Alternate years. (HE)
CRIM 1128 - Legal & Forensic Terminology
This course focuses on the history and structure of words of the majority of technical terms in medicine, the sciences, law, and beyond that use Greek and Latin roots as their building blocks. Students will learn elements of word formation (prefixes, suffixes, and bases) to develop word-analytical techniques and build vocabulary and recognition. By the end of the course, students will build a working vocabulary specific to professions in law and justice by choosing the units most relevant to their disciplines. Emphasis on knowledge of terms regularly in use in the legal system and related fields, along with command of roots, prefixes, and suffixes that will allow students to interpret new terms. Does not count towards the Political Science major. Identical with CLAS 1128. 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 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 - Corrections
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 2213 - Special Topics in Violence
Special topics in violence specific to various populations, locations, or categories, prioritizing guest speakers and field trips. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 2214 - Special Topics in the Law
Special topics in the law covering such subjects as the role of a defense attorney or prosecutor, special issues in the law as topical in the news, Supreme Court law, etc. 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 2225 - Criminal Courts
Overview of the American criminal court system, focusing on structure, processes, and key actors at both the state and federal level. Examines the history and evolution of modern courts and the procedural journey from crime to appeals. Explores the functions of the courts and the roles of the judges, attorneys, victims, defendants, and law enforcement. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CRIM 1102 or 1103. Offered every year.
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 2235 - Criminological Theory
This course examines the nature, extent, and causes of crime in American society through an examination of major criminological theories, from classical to modern perspectives. Various theories will be explored, such as deterrence, rational choice, biosocial, strain, social disorganization, and critical theories, while considering their larger impact on policy, research, and societal responses. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CRIM 1102 or 1103. Offered every year.
CRIM 2240 - FBI Counterintelligence Program
This course examines the FBI “counterintelligence program” that was active from 1956 to 1971. The program used extensive surveillance to monitor, target, and discredit organizations including the KKK, the Black Panther Party, and individuals like Martin Luther King, Jr. All classified documents relating to COINTELPRO were leaked to the public in 1971. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite: CRIM 1102. Prerequisite: CRIM 1102. Offered alternate years.
CRIM 2245 - Interpersonal Violence
An examination of the causes, patterns, and consequences of interpersonal violence such as domestic violence, stalking, and trafficking. Emphasis is placed on theoretical ideologies, risk factors, and justice system intervention and prevention responses. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 2260 - Guns in America
This class will take a historical look at the laws, culture, and crime involving gun ownership and use in the US from the pre-revolutionary period to today. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 2265 - Rural Criminology
An overview of crime within rural communities that emphasizes how location, economic deprivation, and culture shape criminal behaviors and criminal justice responses. While covering a wide range of rural criminology topics, a special focus will be given to violence within these communities. 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, and 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 3315 - Power, Authority, and Legitimacy
This course takes a philosophical and cultural sociological approach to power, authority, and legitimacy, examining how theorists have defined each term, and identifying historical transformations in how each has been utilized by states and other apparatuses. Credit hours: 4. Prerequisite/Corequisite: CRIM 1102. 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 3340 - Victimology/Victimization
This course explores the criminal justice system through the perspective of victims of crime. Topics include victim services, victim demographics, social psychology of victimhood. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 3345 - Death Penalty
Examining the history and evolution of the death penalty over time with an emphasis on the primary legal decisions that shape how the death penalty is applied today. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 3350 - Women in Crime
Examines women who commit crime and what factors or experiences contribute to their criminal behavior. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 3360 - Revolutions, Outlaws, and Cult Leaders
This class looks at the role of outlaws in American criminal, legal, and cultural history. The class is made up of famous examples from Jim Jones and Charles Manson. Credit hours 4.
CRIM 3393 - Mixed Methods
An examination of the quantitative and qualitative methods that criminologists use for data collection and research. Students begin to develop the research projects they will complete in their Capstone course. Required as part of the senior sequence. Credit hours 4.
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.
