Criminology Degree

Course Information

Welcome

Criminology is the study of theories that explain why individuals engage in criminal behavior and how the criminal justice system operates. Students who pursue a Criminology degree prepare for a career in law, criminal justice, social work, government service, human resources or business. Become more competitive for graduate school and careers in the profession through a double major in sociology and criminology in just 18 courses.

Benefits and Features of a Criminology Degree at Assumption:

Opportunity to double major in sociology and criminology in just 18 courses.
Two-semester internship sequence with a dual focus of professional development, including a lineup of guest speakers customized to each year’s students, and research in the real world via a student-driven individual research project
Gain an understanding of criminology as an academic discipline that is both broad and deep, addressing why some actions become crimes and not others, why people commit crime, and how society, via the criminal justice system, reacts
Acquire skills that are most sought by employers, including writing, oral presentations, data analysis, the ability to work in groups, and the ability to analyze problems with complex causes
Develop mentoring relationships with faculty; all majors can be advised in house, facilitating faculty-student research projects and connections with career opportunities
Connect with department alums in the field to learn more about potential career paths and build professional networks
Flexibility in selecting elective courses and internship opportunities to match your individual goals

Program Overview

Criminology Degree at Assumption

Criminology is far more than the study of "how" crimes occur, it explains the underlying reasons why crimes occur in society. The Criminology major at Assumption provides students with an understanding of crime as a social phenomenon, both regarding its causes and its consequences for society. Coursework in the major encompasses the study of how laws are made (the sociology of law), why some people break those laws (theories of crime), and the societal reaction to law-breaking behavior by the criminal justice system. The Criminology major also gives students a strong background in the social science research methods and theories they will need throughout their careers.

The Criminology major at Assumption emphasizes personal, hands-on experience and independent research. The required two-semester Internship Seminar sequence provides opportunities for experiential learning in agencies and organizations within the criminal justice system or closely allied professions like victim services agencies.

In addition, Criminology majors are prepared for graduate study in criminology, criminal justice, related social sciences, and the law. They are also ready for careers in law enforcement, institutional corrections, probation and parole, in social and human service agencies that deal with crime victims, or in a number of diversion and treatment programs that are designed to provide alternatives to incarceration, especially for juvenile offenders.

Criminology majors take 13 courses: eight required and five electives. This breadth of coursework prepares students for a variety of engaging career paths.

Degree Requirements

Accelerated Double Major: Sociology & Criminology

Assumption College offers a double major program in sociology and criminology to better prepare students for graduate school and careers of meaning. The department offers an accelerated double major in Sociology and Criminology (completed in just eighteen courses).

Criminology Major

Criminology majors take 13 courses: eight required and five electives. This breadth of coursework prepares students for a variety of engaging career paths.

Required Courses for Criminology Majors (8)

SOC 121 Principles of Sociology
CRM 130 Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
CRM 242 Criminology
CRM 272 Deviant Behavior
SOC 465 Sociological Research Methods
SOC 300 Statistics
CRM 365 Internship I
CRM 366 Internship II

Elective Courses (5)

Criminology majors must take two courses from Law and Society and three from Structural Factors.

Law and Society

CRM 243 Juvenile Delinquency
CRM 275 Sociology of Law
CRM 325 Victimology
CRM 333 Prisoner Rehabilitation and Reentry
POL 316 Constitutional Law

Structural Factors

SOC 206 The Sociology of Urban Life
SOC 216 Racial and Ethnic Relations
SOC 232 Social Inequality in Society
SOC 224 Gender Issues in Society
SOC 234 Social Policy
SOC 250 Public Sociology
SOC 295 Masculinities

Faculty

In addition to their excellent teaching credentials, the faculty of the Sociology Criminology, and Anthroplogy department have extensive experience as scholars in the fields of sociology and criminology. The faculty blend their research skills into a rich classroom environment where concepts and theories are integrated with real world examples. Our teachers are also mentors and get to know students individually. Faculty advisors assist students with everything from course selection to exploring their career opportunities.

	Robert Biggert Assistant Professor of Sociology
	Alison Cares Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology
	Steven Farough Associate Professor of Sociology
	Richard Gendron Associate Professor of Sociology
	Angela Kaufman-Parks Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology
	Susan Perschbacher Professor Emeritus of Sociology
	Francis Bruce Prior Assistant Professor of Sociology and Criminology

Courses

The following courses were designed specifically for the Criminology major. (Click here to learn about Assumption's extensive course offerings in sociology or here for information about the double major in sociology and criminology.)

CRM 242 CRIMINOLOGY
The course examines the patterns, causes, and consequences of crime, and the ways in which the criminal justice system attempts to deal with the crime problem in the United States. Specific substantive topics will include analyses of how laws are created; theories of crime causation; penology; the relationship between crime/criminal justice and social class, race/ethnicity and gender; fear of crime; the social construction of crime in the media; the growth of the prison system; and an assessment of the efficacy of alternative “crime-fighting” strategies, such as community policing.

CRM 243 JUVENILE DELINQUENCY
This course examines the history of “juvenile delinquency” as a societal category and as a social problem. While the main focus is on competing theories of delinquent behavior and the relative effectiveness of various policy responses to juvenile crime, the course will also focus extensively on media portrayals of juvenile criminals and the broader topic of the social construction of the juvenile crime problem. Specific topics include: decriminalization; deinstitutionalization; court diversion; radical nonintervention; community arbitration; and community-based corrections.

CRM 255 SELECTED TOPICS IN SOCIOLOGY
This course will permit the study of a selected topic within Criminology. The topic may change each time the course is offered.

CRM 272 DEVIANT BEHAVIOR
This course examines how particular acts, beliefs, and conditions come to be defined as deviant; who confers the label of “deviant” upon whom; and how a deviant identity is managed by those persons successfully labeled “deviant.” The main theoretical approach employed in this course, social constructionism, argues that deviant behavior cannot be understood in isolation from differentials in social power that permit some groups in society to define their lifestyles, beliefs, and status as superior and preferred. Specific topics to be covered include crime and delinquency; mental illness; drug and alcohol addiction; “alternative” lifestyles; the social organization of deviant subcultures; and elite deviance (white collar crime).

CRM 275 SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
This course examines the interrelationship between law and society by focusing on the “law in action” versus the law “on the books.” It will offer a broad introduction to the law as a social institution, and it will analyze how the law shapes the form and function of other key social institutions such as the family, the economy, and the state (politics). Specific substantive topics to be covered include: theories of legal creation; types of legal systems; theories of social control and punishment; how laws are used to effect social change (the controversy over “judicial activism”); how racial and class inequalities in society affect the creation and administration of law; and how the work of key theorists in the discipline of sociology (primarily Marx, Weber, and Durkheim) have contributed to the field. There will be less emphasis on the content of law (i.e., legal doctrine and case law) than on the study of how laws represent and shape core societal values.

CRM 325 VICTIMOLOGY
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the complexity of criminal victimization from multiple perspectives: the victim’s, society’s, and the criminal justice and other response system’s. The course begins by exploring the nature and extent of the problem. Then, it moves on to explore theoretical frameworks used to explain criminal victimization. Next, it examines the consequences of victimization for victims, their loved ones, and society at large. The course concludes with a selection of special topics.

CRM 333 PRISONER REHABILITATION AND REENTRY
This course combines classroom and experiential community learning to examine prisoner rehabilitation and reentry programs in the United States. Students will gain an understanding of the reasons for and against prisoner rehabilitation, the various types of rehabilitation services which may be offered, and how rehabilitation and reentry programs have an effect on continuing crime rates in the country. This course also entails a critical analysis of how the availability of rehabilitation programs impacts families, communities, and the safety of society overall.

CRM 365–366 Internship Seminar I and II
This seminar provides interns with the opportunity to examine the internship experience along with other student interns. Students also examine related issues: social policy development; program planning, evaluation, and research; the social scientist’s responsibilities for the use of her or his research; the political role of the social scientist; the “value-free” debate among social scientists; applied versus pure sociology; the role of the social scientist within private and public organizations; management of human service agencies; and career options for social scientists.

Internships & Outcomes

Criminology students are encouraged to engage in learning outside the classroom through a wide variety of internship opportunities and cocurricular activities such as lectures, career nights, and alumni events. Through these opportunities, and the department’s course offerings, students may discover areas of work in which they might become involved. Students studying criminology have engaged in internships with the following organizations:

Clinton Police Department
Massachusetts State Police
Metropolitan District Police, Washington, DC
Northborough Police Department
Pathways for Change (formerly the Rape Crisis Center of Central Massachusetts
Roxbury District Court Probation Department
South Boston District Court
Tewksbury Police Department
Worcester County District Attorney’s Office
Worcester District Court Probation Department
Worcester Police Department
Worcester Public Defender’s Office
Worcester Superior Court Probation Department
U.S. Secret Service, Providence Field Office
U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field Office
Y.O.U., Inc.

Alex Blaszcyk Alexander Blaszczyk
Criminology '17
Internship: "Behind the Badge" program in the College Police Academy at the West Hartford Police Department

"The 'Behind the Badge' program consisted of classroom sessions, practical skills, a ride along and career training. I learned about crime scene investigation and case law. Assumption gave me the academic knowledge and confidence to search out this opportunity. I am very thankful to my professors who have helped me along the way."

Christina Caira
Criminology '16
Internship: Staff Intern at the Worcester Public Counsel, Youth Advocacy Division

“Since beginning my internship, I’ve grown increasingly interested in the phenomenon of the school to prison pipeline. I have learned that certain policies within the education system dictate whether a child will stay in school and receive an education, or become expelled and therefore be pushed into a life with an increased likelihood for unemployment, dependence on social-welfare programs, and imprisonment.”

Gregory Gibson
Criminology and Sociology '16
Internship: Residential Caseworker at The Key Program

“Interning at the Key Program allows me to hone my professional skills. I’ve learned about juvenile delinquency and the criminal justice system. Assumption has helped me succeed by providing me with great professors who have helped me grow as a student and an individual.”

Lauren McCarthy
Criminology '16
Internship: Administrative Clerk with the Litigation Attorney's Office

“My internship was the turning point in my academic career. By working with a poverty stricken population, I was able to apply my criminology background to understand more about this population’s past. I quickly realized the interest I had in reducing and possibly preventing youth that fall into criminal crime.”

Cecilia Sarkodee
Criminology '16
Internship: Volunteer Rape Crisis Counselor with Pathways for Change, Inc.

“Interning at Pathways for Change has taught me many valuable skills. I’ve learned how to properly complete paperwork, plan events, manage my time appropriately and how to be a leader. I learned how to provide services to clients and have honed by listening skills. This internship was a great experience!”

Kimberly Urena
Criminology '16
Internship: Intern with Assumption College Campus Police and Assumption College Campus Advocate

“Assumption has helped me break out of my shell and learn to speak my mine respectfully. The professors here have helped pushed my limit and helped me reach goals that I thought were unattainable.”

Graduate Schools and Careers

The Department of Sociology and Criminology prepares students for graduate study in sociology and criminology and in related fields such as social work, education, law, journalism, and counseling. The Sociology and Criminology program also provides an important background for a wide range of occupations in which knowledge of human behavior, social relationships, and institutional practices is important.

Assumption criminology graduates have found careers in:

Business & Sales
Court administration
Higher Education
Law
Law Enforcement
Probation and Parole
Social and Human Service Agencies
Diversion and treatment programs that are designed to provide alternatives to incarceration, especially for juvenile offenders

Recent Employers

City of Providence Police Department
City of Worcester Police Department
Framingham Public Schools
Fuze
HWC, Inc. (Washington, DC)
Lionbridge
Nashoba Valley Medical Center
The New England Center for Children
Raytheon
Town of Northboro Police Department
UMASS Boston Public Safety
U.S. Marine Corps
Warwick Police Department

Recent Graduate Schools for Criminology Graduates

American University
Assumption College
Boston College
Endicott College
Fitchburg State University
Marist College
New England School of Law
Sage College of Albany
UMASS Law School

Learn more about how you can double major in sociology and criminology in just 18 courses.

#ACachieves

Nichole Rebelo

Criminology and Sociology '16

Internship: Intern at the Worcester District Attorney's Office, Child Advocacy Center

From my internship, I learned how to work in an office environment, be part of a professional team, and learned how the criminal justice system works to help children. My experience helped me to learn about myself, find what my interests are, and help me prepare for my future.
Mike Hroncich

Sociology with a concentration in Criminology '16

Internship: Intern at the Worcester District Attorney's Office

Throughout my internship at the Worcester DA's, I have learned about various parts of the justice system, including recidivism rates and the arraignment process. I have also gained valuable information on how the court system works from an inside perspective.
Lauren McCarthy

Criminology '16

Internship: Administrative Clerk with the Litigation Attorney's Office

My internship was the turning point in my academic career. By working with a poverty stricken population, I was able to apply my criminology background to understand more about this population’s past. I quickly realized the interest I had in reducing and possibly preventing youth that fall into criminal crime.
Kimberly Urena

Criminology '16

Internship: Intern with the Assumption College Campus Police and Assumption College Campus Advocate

Assumption has helped me break out of my shell and learn to speak my mine respectfully. The professors here have helped pushed my limit and helped me reach goals that I thought were unattainable.
Gregory Gibson

Criminology '16

Internship: Residential Caseworker at The Key Program

Interning at the Key Program allows me to hone my professional skills. I’ve learned about juvenile delinquency and the criminal justice system. Assumption has helped me succeed by providing me with great professors who have helped me grow as a student and an individual.
Christina Caira

Criminology '16

Internship: Staff Intern at the Worcester Public Counsel, Youth Advocacy Division

Since beginning my internship, I’ve grown increasingly interested in the phenomenon of the school to prison pipeline. I have learned that certain policies within the education system dictate whether a child will stay in school and receive an education, or become expelled and therefore be pushed into a life with an increased likelihood for unemployment, dependence on social-welfare programs, and imprisonment.

Contact Information

Steven Farough

Associate Professor of Sociology

sfarough@assumption.edu

508-767-7242

2017-2018 Course Catalog