CAREERS AND ALUMNI
Why Study Sociology?
What will a major in Sociology prepare you to do? You will find sociology majors in many different occupations. Employment opportunities with a bachelor’s degree include entry-level positions in the following areas: advertising, banking, counseling, consulting, criminal justice, health services, human resources, marketing, sales, and social research.
Liberal Arts students are very successful at entering the business world. Corporate recruiters are interested in serious students with strong analytical, verbal and written communication skills, as well as computer literacy and familiarity with research and statistics. All of these skills can be improved in the pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in sociology at Villanova University.
More information on careers in sociology can be found at the American Sociological Association’s website.
Why Study Criminology?
What will a major in Criminology prepare you to do? The liberal arts focus of our criminology program will prepare you to write and communicate well, develop analytical and problem-solving skills, and other abilities which graduate schools and employers’ value.
You could build a career as a juvenile court caseworker, probation officer or working with at-risk youth. Crime prevention agencies develop and implement programs for families, schools and communities designed to reduce crime, and your skills would be a valuable asset in these efforts. If you feel strongly about making a difference, then hands-on work in a teen runaway shelter or domestic violence shelter may be appealing to you.
More information on careers in criminology can be found at the American Society of Criminology's website.
Professional Development
In addition to a strong GPA, employers seek applicants who have a broad educational background and who acquire real world experience. Internships provide students with opportunities to explore careers, acquire professional experience, and prepare for post-graduate employment.
Our students land internships at community agencies such as:
- People’s Emergency Center
- Catholic Social Services
- New York State Supreme Court
- U.S. Pretrial Services
- Philadelphia DA’s Office and Delaware County Probation Department
- the Legal-Aid Society
- Children’s Law Center
- Zappos
- Bloomingdales
- and American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut
The Nova Network is Villanova's official social and professional networking platform. By joining the Nova Network, you will be able to network with Villanovans in your industry or city, share career advice or gain insights from experienced professionals, and access career development resources designed for your level of experience.
There is a specific Nova Network group for Villanova Sociology and Criminology students and alumni.
Service-Learning connects course objectives with meeting the needs of people in underserved communities. Integration of theoretical knowledge and experiential learning in the community provides a context for critical and constructive thinking and action that promotes the common good.
Learn more about experiential learning opportunities for our students.
Our students conduct research under the mentorship and guidance of distinguished faculty and present their work at regional and national conferences. These experiential learning opportunities allow our students to hone their analytical and professional skills.
Learn more about undergraduate research in the department.
Graduate School
Some of our majors choose to continue their education in competitive masters and doctoral programs in sociology, criminology and related fields.
See U.S. News & World Report for the rankings of the best sociology graduate school programs.
More information on graduate schools in criminology can be found at the American Society of Criminology’s website.
Alumni News
Jocelin P. Rocha-Quiñones ’18 CLAS reflects on her Villanova experience, the compassion shown to her by one of our professors, and using her degrees in Sociology, English, and Education to help students from her low-resource high school understand the world around them through a sociological lens.
Casey Morrison ’22 CLAS shares how her experiences as a criminology major helped her secure an internship with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where she helped create a dataset on prosecutorial discretion in the plea-bargaining process used in a research report by the Urban Institute.
