About Us

The Department of Criminal Justice provides undergraduates with a core of courses central to the discipline of criminal justice. Students are also exposed to specialized courses as preparation for careers in law enforcement, corrections and security. The department serves more than 300 majors and a large number of students who enroll in criminal justice courses for elective credit.

The Department has an internship program which provides students with an opportunity to observe professionals in their fields and with practical job experience. Students may continue course work at the graduate level by pursuing the Master of Science in Criminal Justice degree.

The Department is recognized for its participation in national and regional meetings and its scholarly activity.

Sociology: n., fr. Lat. socius. See social (I.) & -logy. Scientific and systematized study of mankind considered as social beings, living in organized communities; the study of human society; social science.

Sociology is the scientific study of social organization. It studies groups of all sizes, from individual families to entire societies. An understanding of self, others, and history requires knowledge of the social environment.

There are two aspects of the sociological perspective: looking "beyond" the individual to the structure and dynamics of human groups rather than the nature of the individuals within these groups, and looking at the individual and society as they are interrelated. Sociology studies people, or more pecisely, their interactions within a social setting.

The discipline's ultimate aim is to develop a refined body of knowledge that can explain, and in some cases predict, social phenomena.