Sociology is a perspective for understanding human behavior. The discipline holds that people's actions are largely a response to the conditions and situations in which they live. Human beings make decisions, but they make them under circumstances not of their own choosing. It is our mission to empower students to think critically about societies. The sociological perspective systematically analyzes human behavior by exploring the tension between decision making and life circumstances.
Criminology is the study of crime and delinquency and their prevention and control, and strives to investigate, understand, and solve social problems related to crime, law, punishment, and justice. Because criminal justice systems reflect the structure, ideas, and concerns of the societies in which they operate, the study of crime is truly interdisciplinary. The criminology major is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of crime and the operation of social control systems. Students will learn about crime causation, the origins and nature of criminal law, the structure and operation of criminal justice and competing ideologies and philosophies of justice.
