Major in Sociology, Criminology and Criminal Justice Concentration

The Criminology and Criminal Justice Concentration focuses on areas such as policing, deviance, punishment, victimization, green criminology, corporate and state crime, environmental justice, equality, and gender.

Students who concentrate in Criminology and Criminal Justice learn to view issues of crime, victimization, and justice at multiple levels—from individuals to communities and institutions. A sociological perspective on these issues focuses our attention to the social aspects of crime, law, and deviance including understanding societal factors that contribute to crime, effective and innovative programmatic approaches to prevent or control crime, the unintended consequences of our system for marginalized communities, and the role of research in creating effective policy. Our faculty teach courses that address issues like forms of punishment in the U.S. and global context, how gender shapes people’s experiences with crime, environmental and state crime, as well as evidence-based policing practices. Moreover, our undergraduate program provides students with a strong theoretical foundation in sociology, research methods, data collection, and analysis. These are all essential skills for a wide variety of careers including those associated with law, justice, or advocacy. Our unique mentoring program models how to transfer students’ sociological skill sets to meaningful employment after graduation. We can’t wait to guide you through a life-changing major!

Visit the department website for details. To change your major to Sociology, you can either call the College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center at 970-491-3117 or send an email to cla_advising@colostate.edu.

Effective Fall 2022

Each course used to satisfy requirements of the concentration requires a minimum grade of C (2.000), i.e. all SOC courses, STAT 2**, and each course taken to satisfy the Social and Behavioral Sciences electives or the Criminology and Criminal Justice electives.

Freshman
		AUCC	Credits
CO 150	College Composition (GT-CO2)	1A	3
SOC 253	Intro to Criminology and Criminal Justice		3
Select one course from the following:			3
SOC 100	Introduction to Sociology (GT-SS3)	3C
SOC 105	Social Problems (GT-SS3)	3C
Biological and Physical Sciences		3A	3
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion		1C	3
Quantitative Reasoning		1B	3
Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (see list below)¹			3
Electives			7
	Total Credits		28
Sophomore

Advanced Writing		2	3
Arts and Humanities		3B	6
Biological and Physical Sciences		3A	4
Historical Perspectives		3D	3
Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (see list below)¹			6
Electives			9
	Total Credits		31
Junior

Select one course from the following:²			3
SOC 210	The Power of Numbers--Statistics in Sociology
STAT 2** Statistics³
Select one course from the following:			3
SOC 301	Development of Sociological Thought
SOC 302	Contemporary Sociological Theory
Select one course from the following:			3
SOC 352	Criminology
SOC 372	Sociology of Deviance
Criminology and Criminal Justice Electives (see list below)⁴			6
Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (see list below)¹			12
Electives			3
	Total Credits		30
Senior

SOC 311	Sociological Research Methods	4A,4B	3
Select one course from the following:			3
SOC 314	Applications of Quantitative Research
SOC 315	Applications of Qualitative Research
Select one group from the following:			3-4
Group A:
SOC 403	Capstone Seminar	4C
Group B:
SOC 431	Community Dynamics and Development	4C
Group C:
SOC 487	Internship	4C
SOC 492	Seminar	4C
Criminology and Criminal Justice Electives (see list below)⁴			9
Electives⁵			12-13
	Total Credits		30-32
	Program Total Credits:		120

Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives - 21 credits

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Students may also take up to six credits of additional SOC courses not counted elsewhere in the program.
AGED 210	History of Agriculture in the United States	3
AGRI 116/IE 116	Plants and Civilizations (GT-SS3)	3
AGRI 270/IE 270	World Interdependence-Population and Food (GT-SS3)	3
AM 250	Clothing, Adornment and Human Behavior (GT-SS3)	3
AMST 100	Self/Community in American Culture, 1600-1877 (GT-HI1)	3
AMST 101	Self/Community in American Culture Since 1877 (GT-HI1)	3
ANTH 100	Introductory Cultural Anthropology (GT-SS3)	3
ANTH 140	Introduction to Archaeology (GT-HI1)	3
ANTH 200	Cultures and the Global System (GT-SS3)	3
ANTH 232/MU 232	Soundscapes-Music as Human Practice	3
ANTH 310	Peoples and Cultures of Africa	3
ANTH 312	Modern Indian Culture and Society	3
ANTH 322	The Anthropology of Religion	3
ANTH 330	Human Ecology	3
ANTH 333	Anthropology of Sex and Reproduction	3
ANTH 334	Narrative Traditions and Social Experience	4
ANTH 335	Language and Culture	3
ANTH 338	Gender and Anthropology	3
ANTH 340	Medical Anthropology	3
ANTH 359	Colorado Prehistory	3
ANTH 360	Archaeological Investigation	3
ANTH 400/GR 400	History of Theory-Anthropology and Geography	3
ANTH 412	Indians of North America	3
ANTH 413	Indigenous Peoples Today	3
ANTH 414/ETST 414	Development in Indian Country	3
ANTH 440	Theory in Cultural Anthropology	3
ANTH 441	Method in Cultural Anthropology	3
ANTH 450	Hunter-Gatherer Ecology	3
ANTH 451	Andean Archaeology and Ethnohistory	3
ANTH 478/HIST 478	Heritage Resource Management	3
AREC 202	Agricultural and Resource Economics (GT-SS1)	3
AREC 240/ECON 240	Issues in Environmental Economics (GT-SS1)	3
BUS 205	Legal and Ethical Issues in Business	3
BUS 260	Social-Ethical-Regulatory Issues in Business	3
E 142	Reading Without Borders (GT-AH2)	3
E 238	Contemporary Global Fiction (GT-AH2)	3
E 245	World Drama (GT-AH2)	3
ECON ***
EDUC 275	Schooling in the United States (GT-SS3)	3
ETST ***
GR 100	Introduction to Geography (GT-SS2)	3
GR 102	Geography of Europe and the Americas (GT-SS2)	3
GR 320	Cultural Geography	3
HDFS 101	Individual and Family Development (GT-SS3)	3
HDFS 310	Infant and Child Development in Context	3
HDFS 311	Adolescent/Early Adult Development in Context	3
HDFS 312	Adult Development-Middle Age and Aging	3
HDFS 332	Death, Dying, and Grief	3
HDFS 334	Family and Parenthood Across the Lifespan	3
HDFS 402	Couple and Family Studies	3
HDFS 403	Families in the Legal Environment	3
HIST ***
HONR 292C	Honors Seminar: Knowing Across Cultures (GT-SS3)	3
HONR 492	Honors Senior Seminar	3
HORT 171/SOCR 171	Environmental Issues in Agriculture (GT-SS3)	3
IE 179	Globalization: Exploring Our Global Village (GT-SS3)	3
INST 200	Interdisciplinary Approaches to Globalization	3
JTC 100	Media in Society (GT-SS3)	3
JTC 311	History of Media	3
JTC 316	Multiculturalism and the Media	3
JTC 411	Media Ethics and Issues	3
JTC 412	International Mass Communication	3
JTC 413	New Media Trends and Society	3
JTC 414	Media Effects	3
JTC 456/LB 456	Documentary Film as a Liberal Art	3
LB 173	Encountering the Global (GT-AH2)	3
LB 393	Seminar in Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences	3
LEAP 200	Advocacy in the Visual and Performing Arts	3
MU 132	Exploring World Music	3
PHIL 103	Moral and Social Problems (GT-AH3)	3
PHIL 170	World Philosophies (GT-AH3)	3
POLS ***
PSY 100	General Psychology (GT-SS3)	3
PSY 152	Science of Learning	3
PSY 260	Child Psychology	3
PSY 296	Group Study	1-3
PSY 315	Social Psychology	3
PSY 316	Environmental Psychology	3
PSY 317	Social Psychology Laboratory	2
PSY 320	Psychopathology	3
PSY 325	Psychology of Personality	3
PSY 327	Psychology of Women	3
PSY 340	Organizational Psychology	3
PSY 341	Organizational Psychology Laboratory	1
PSY 401	History and Systems of Psychology	3
PSY 437	Psychology of Gender	3
PSY 452	Cognitive Psychology	3
PSY 465	Adolescent Psychology	3
SOC ***
SOWK 110	Contemporary Social Welfare	3
SOWK 352/ETST 352	Indigenous Women, Children, and Tribes	3
SPCM 130	Relational and Organizational Communication (GT-SS3)	3
WS ***

Criminology and Criminal Justice Electives - 15 credits

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select two courses from Group A and two courses from Group B, plus one additional course from either Group A or Group B.
Group A: Criminal Justice System		6-9
SOC 354	Policing and Society	3
SOC 358	Punishment and Society	3
SOC 455	Sociology of Law	3
SOC 482A	Travel Abroad: Comparative Criminal Justice	3
Group B: Critical Criminology and Criminal Justice		6-9
SOC 322	Environmental Justice	3
SOC 351	Corporate and State Crime	3
SOC 356	Inequality in Criminal Sentencing	3
SOC 357	Women, Crime, and Victimization	3
SOC 359	Green Criminology	3
SOC 482B	Travel Abroad: Crime and Deviance	3

¹: No courses used to satisfy AUCC requirements may be used to satisfy the Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement.
²: A statistics course is required if STAT 201 or STAT 204 was not taken to satisfy the AUCC 1B requirement. SOC 210 is recommended
³: Select STAT 201 General Statistics (GT-MA1) or any Statistics course 200-level or above.
⁴: For students interested in working in the criminal justice system it is recommended that they enroll in SOC 354, SOC 358, and SOC 455.
⁵: Select enough elective credits to bring program total to 120 credits, of which at least 42 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).

*Freshman*
Semester 1		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
CO 150	College Composition (GT-CO2)			1A	3
Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (see list on Concentration Requirements tab)					3
Biological and Physical Sciences				3A	3
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion		X		1C	3
Elective					3
	Total Credits				15
Semester 2		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
SOC 253	Intro to Criminology and Criminal Justice				3
Select one course from the following:					3
SOC 100	Introduction to Sociology (GT-SS3)			3C
SOC 105	Social Problems (GT-SS3)			3C
Quantitative Reasoning		X		1B	3
Electives					4
CO 150 must be completed by the end of Semester 2.		X
	Total Credits				13
*Sophomore*
Semester 3		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
Arts and Humanities				3B	3
Biological and Physical Sciences				3A	4
Historical Perspectives				3D	3
Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (see list on Concentration Requirements tab)					6
	Total Credits				16
Semester 4		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
Advanced Writing				2	3
Arts and Humanities				3B	3
Electives					9
SOC 253 must be completed by the end of Semester 4.		X
	Total Credits				15
*Junior*
Semester 5		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
Criminology and Criminal Justice Electives (see list on Concentration Requirements tab.)					6
Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (see list on Concentration Requirements tab)					6
Electives					3
	Total Credits				15
Semester 6		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
Select one course from the following:		X			3
SOC 210	The Power of Numbers--Statistics in Sociology
STAT 2**
Select one course from the following:		X			3
SOC 301	Development of Sociological Thought
SOC 302	Contemporary Sociological Theory
Select one course from the following:					3
SOC 352	Criminology
SOC 372	Sociology of Deviance
Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives (see list on Concentration Requirements tab)					6
	Total Credits				15
*Senior*
Semester 7		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
SOC 311	Sociological Research Methods	X		4A,4B	3
Select one course from the following:		X			3
SOC 314	Applications of Quantitative Research
SOC 315	Applications of Qualitative Research
Criminology and Criminal Justice Electives (See list on Concentration Requirements tab.)		X			6
Electives					3
	Total Credits				15
Semester 8		Critical	Recommended	AUCC	Credits
Select one group from the following:		X			3-4
Group A:
SOC 403	Capstone Seminar			4C
Group B:
SOC 431	Community Dynamics and Development			4C
Group C:
SOC 487	Internship			4C
SOC 492	Seminar			4C
Criminology and Criminal Justice Electives (See list on Concentration Requirements tab.)		X			3
Electives		X			9-10
The benchmark courses for the 8th semester are the remaining courses in the entire program of study.		X
	Total Credits				15-17
	Program Total Credits:				120