Bachelor of Arts

Criminology, Law, and Society

Academic Department

Contact: Dr. Michael Kane, kanemf@stthom.edu

Criminology, Law and Society focuses on the problem of crime and on understanding the social, cultural, political, and economic forces that interact with the law. Courses present overviews of legal systems with particular emphasis on criminal and juvenile justice, forms of criminal behavior, the role of law in understanding social and psychological phenomena, and the applications of sociological theory in understanding law and legal systems. Students are provided with opportunities to become acquainted with the varieties of behavior that society chooses to control or regulate; the methods and institutions used to achieve that control or regulation, and the approaches aimed specifically at altering sanctioned behavior.

Students who complete this program will demonstrate:

An understanding of the criminal justice system and its components, e.g. Police, Courts, and Corrections.
An understanding of criminological theories and their application to contemporary law and society.
An ability to integrate and apply analytical skills and substantive knowledge to specific topics and/or problems in criminology, law and society.
An ability to use skills in critical thinking, synthesis and analysis, of informational sources about policing, criminal law, corrections, leadership, applied research, and social justice.
Knowledge of the role of ethics, morals, and values in the field of criminology and social doctrine of the Catholic Church.
An understanding of applied research methodologies.

Bachelor's Degree Requirements

The following overall requirements are needed in order to earn a bachelor's degree. For a full explanation of the requirements, please see policy A.04.01.

Completion of the core curriculum. Specific core plan is dependent upon accepted transfer credit, major, and Honor's Program participation.
Successful completion of at least 120 credit hours, with the final 36 hours taken in Residence at UST. Total credits listed on the page only reflect the major.
Completion of a major.
Completion of 36 upper-division credit hours.
A cumulative grade point average (GPA) above 2.0
A cumulative GPA above 2.0 in your major
Freshman Symposium is a one-credit hour, mandatory course exclusively for first-year students at the University of St. Thomas, introducing them to the UST mission and the Basilian Fathers’ core values of goodness, discipline, and knowledge. Freshmen register for it during the Freshmen Registration/Orientation events and can choose a class that aligns with their interests, with course descriptions provided in advance.