Departmental Goals

  1. To develop a set of critical thinking and problem solving skills relevant to quantitative, theoretical, and comparative criminology.
  2. To promote, stimulate, and reward active leadership that results in positive systemic-social change.
  3. To develop extraordinary oral and written communicators.
  4. To foster a spirit of life-long learning.

Specific Curricular Objectives:

The department seeks to achieve their mission through its curriculum that emphasizes the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills with respect to each of the following:

  • The structure and organizational behaviors of the justice system
  • The theories underpinning normative socialization and both formal and informal social control
  • The roles policing, courts, corrections, and law play in contributing to social order
  • The ways in which rhetoric, politics, and contemporary values affect policy formation and analysis
  • Macro and micro level criminological theories regarding the etiology of crime, criminality, and delinquency
  • The measurement, detection, and prevention of crime, criminality, and delinquency
  • The research, planning, and evaluation methods used to expand knowledge in the field
  • The international variations of formal and informal social control mechanisms
  • The development and refinement of communication skills both orally and in writing with particular emphasis on persuasive argumentation supported by logic and scholarly research