Criminology and Criminal Justice
Brandon K. Applegate, Chair
Patricia Armstrong, Director of Academic Programs
The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a program of study leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree. This degree program provides students with a strong foundation in the liberal arts and the social sciences. The department fosters a program of study that has a strong research emphasis and encourages public service. Courses offered through the department focus on problem-solving and critical thinking, which provide students with the skills necessary to understand and interpret the scientific literature, access emerging technologies in the field, and understand emerging issues in criminology and criminal justice. For additional information, visit our website .
Degree Offered
The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice offers a four-year program of study leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in criminology and criminal justice. The degree requirements are based upon a strong foundation in the liberal arts and the social sciences. An array of professional criminal justice courses is offered to support the particular interests of various students. Students also are encouraged to participate in community service activities. Pursuant to this, the department provides information on opportunities for volunteer work and involvement in the criminal justice field through internships.
Entrance Requirements
The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice follows the general admission policies of the University. Should there be more applicants for the degree program than the number of spaces available, admission decisions will be competitive and may take into account the applicant’s grade point average as well as other factors deemed indicative of the student’s potential for success in the program.
Transfer Students
Transfer students from other institutions, other USC campuses, or other degree programs must have a cumulative GPA of 2.25 and a semester GPA of 2.00 in the last semester enrolled. Official transcripts of all academic work must be sent to the admissions office. These transcripts will be evaluated by the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice for possible transfer credits. Only collegiate courses completed at accredited institutions will be considered, and transfer credit will be approved only where an analysis of the course level and content indicates that the work is appropriate for inclusion in a program of study offered by the department.
Progression Requirements
Admission to the upper division is based upon a minimum 2.00 cumulative UofSC GPA.
Courses
Survey of crime and societal responses to crime, including law enforcement, courts, corrections, and the juvenile justice system.
Carolina Core: GSS
Introduction to the practice of social research in criminology and criminal justice settings.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Overview of the constitutional restraints on the investigation, detention, prosecution and adjudication of criminal defendants. Coverage of Supreme Court decisions involving the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Examination of ethical issues in the criminal justice system.
Current and historical perspectives on American policing.
Current and historical perspectives on incarceration and its alternatives.
Structure and organization of the federal and state criminal court systems and personnel.
Origin and development of criminal law in America. Basic elements of crimes and defenses.
Overview of criminal justice system responses to illegal substances. Relationship between substance abuse and crime.
Historical overview of violence in American society, including theoretical perspectives on the causes and prevention of violence.
Social factors in the development, identification, and treatment of criminals.
Cross-listed course: SOCY 353
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and Office of Academic Programs is required for undergraduate students.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Research
Relationships between patterns and trends in homicide, and theoretical explanations for why offenders engage in homicide.
Causes and consequences of criminal victimization and public policy responses to victimization issues.
Correctional alternatives to imprisonment including probation, parole, and various community correctional programs.
Course covers the theoretical and empirical work on gangs, gang members, and gang activity along with insight on these issues from a practitioner perspective. It then examines the variety of policy responses from government and community organizations.
An investigation of the motivations to commit crime. The course presents profiles of the targets of crimes and provides strategic and tactical assessments of police investigations and intelligence.
An examination of the causes and responses to hate crimes. The course also provide a foundation for understanding crimes motivated by racial, gender, religious, disability, and sexual orientation biases.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
Interface between the mental health sciences and the criminal justice system.
Relationship between criminality and community characteristics, with particular attention to how variation in community structure, organization, and culture impacts crime.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
The nature of terrorism; its history; its methodology; and its application to criminological theory.
Public policy responses to crime, its formation, and its impact on society. Individual topics to be announced by title. May be repeated with consent of advisor.
Topics in criminology and criminal justice. Individual topics to be announced by title. May be repeated once with consent of advisor.
A supervised experiential course in a criminal justice agency. Contract approved by instructor, advisor, and Office of Academic Programs is required for undergraduate students.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Internships
Experiential Learning: Experiential Learning Opportunity
Leadership and management strategies for criminal justice agencies during critical incidents and disasters including multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional response.
The collection and use of information and data-driven analysis in criminal justice organizations.
Examination of issues affecting prisons and the inmates confined within them. Specific topics of study will include the philosophy and goals of imprisonment, institutional crowding, inmate rights, inmate adaptation, and individual and collective misconduct.
Application of skills and theories of adolescent mentoring taught in the classroom to a supervised, structured mentoring field experience.
Cross-listed course: WGST 551
Experiential Learning: Experiential Learning Opportunity
Impact of gender-based relations on crime and the criminal justice system.
Cross-listed course: WGST 554
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy, GLD: Global Learning, GLD: Professional and Civic Engagement Leadership Experiences
Development of criminal and delinquent behavior over time.
An historical overview of the intersection between issues of race, crime, and justice. The impact of the criminal justice system on minority groups.
Graduation with Leadership Distinction: GLD: Diversity and Social Advocacy
Origins and modern day activity of organized crime in the United States and internationally will be investigated. Attention is given to problems of criminal activity and the present day transnational character of criminal organizations.
Overview of the history and evolution of the death penalty. Identification of key legal developments in death penalty jurisprudence.
Computing, database systems, and software applications in research and professional practice.
A seminar for advanced students. Individual topics to be announced by title. May be repeated once with the consent of the advisor.