Criminology and Criminal Justice Major
As a criminology and criminal justice major, you’ll study the causes, patterns and control of crime and criminal behavior in individuals, groups, organizations, cultures and societies.
What You’ll Learn
In the criminology and criminal justice program, you will:
- Deepen your understanding of the complex relationship between society and its members.
- Focus on the degree to which people’s lives are influenced by sociocultural, political-economic and historical forces.
- Cultivate critical thinking and informed analysis about the legal system, crime and systems of punishment and social control.
- Examine how inequalities of race, class, gender, age and sexuality are intertwined with systems of control and punishment.
- Learn the theoretical perspectives and research methods criminologists use to systematically study the multifaceted aspects of crime.
Hands-on Learning
100% of criminology and criminal justice majors participate in at least one internship.
In our required semester-long internship program, you’ll learn to apply criminological reasoning through supervised fieldwork experiences at agencies like the U.S. Probation Office, Essex County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children and Families. Bonus? Not only will you get to test-drive your career options and learn from professionals in the field, you’ll gain a better understanding of your postgraduate education options and build a network for potential full-time employment after graduation.
Career Options
Upon successful completion of the criminology program, you’ll be well-equipped to pursue a career in criminology or a related professional field such as law, criminal justice, conflict resolution or social work. Positions may include:
- Correctional officer
- Criminal profiler
- Crime-victim specialist
- Federal special agent
- Forensic-science technician
- Forensic psychologist
- Fire investigator
- Probation officer
- Security specialist
Criminology and Criminal Justice Major Requirements
General Education Requirements
In addition to the major requirements below, you will also need to complete Merrimack’s general education requirements.
Upcoming Changes to Major Requirements Below
The major requirements listed below reflect the 2021-2022 Merrimack College catalog. Beginning in fall 2022, CRM 1200 and CRM 2600 will no longer be offered and CRM 2400 will be renamed to CRM 2150.
To see more details about the major, please visit catalog.merrimack.edu.
Major Requirements
The first courses for all students in the Criminology and Criminal Justice program are Introduction to Criminology (CRM 1000) and The Criminal Justice System (CRM 1100). These prerequisite courses give students baseline knowledge for all courses taught in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department.
This bachelor’s degree program requires a minimum of 124 credits. As part of the overall 124 credit minimum, satisfying the requirements for the major in Criminology and Criminal Justice includes completing a minimum of 44 credits in the major and a minimum of 11 courses as specified below. For a major, students must achieve at least a 2.0 grade point average in their major courses.
The following six courses are required of all Criminology and Criminal Justice majors:
- CRM 1000 – Introduction to Criminology
- CRM 1100 – The Criminal Justice System
- CRM 3000 – Society and Law
- CRM 4000 – Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice
- CRM 4500 – Statistics in Criminology and Criminal Justice
- CRM 4800 – Criminology and Criminal Justice Internship
OR
Elective Courses
Criminology and Criminal Justice majors select five electives from the following courses:
- CRM 1500 – Rural Crime
- CRM 2000 – Youth, Deviance, and Crime
- CRM 2100 – Criminal Courts and Sentencing
- CRM 2150 – Environmental Criminology
- CRM 2200 – Corporate and White Collar Crime
- CRM 2300 – Hate Crimes
- CRM 2450 – Homicide
- CRM 2500 – The Death Penalty
- CRM 2600 – Policy and Prevention in the Public Sphere
- CRM 2700 – Ethics of Criminal (In)Justice
- CRM 2800 – Search and Seizure
- CRM 2900 – Police Culture
- CRM 3050 – Female Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
- CRM 3380 – Race, Class and Crime
- CRM 3430 – Criminal Justice and Mental Health
- CRM 3500 – Domestic Violence
- CRM 3600 – Drugs and Society
- CRM 3700 – Forensic Criminal Investigation
- CRM 3900 – Incarceration
- CRM 4030 – Criminal Justice Administration and Management
- CRM 4100 – Victimology
- CRM 4600 – Practicum in Correctional Education
- CRM 4900 – Directed Study
- CRM 4910 – Directed Study
Cognate Elective Options
A maximum of two Criminology and Criminal Justice electives can be chosen from the following list of cognate courses. Cognates are courses related to the field of criminology and criminal justice, but offered outside of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.
- PHL 2500 – Theories of Justice
- PHL 3010 – Human Rights: Theory and Practice
- PHL 3020 – Philosophy of Law
- PHL 3030 – Global Justice
- POL 3111 – State and Local Politics and the Environment
- POL 3112 – Congress and The Legislative Process
- POL 3150 – Criminal Law
- POL 3151 – American Constitutional Law
- POL 3152 – Civil Liberties and Civil Rights
- POL 3541 – Cyber Security: The Intersection of Technology and Policy
- PSY 3420 – The Psychology of Trauma
- PSY 3340 – Developmental Psychopathology
- PSY 2460 – Abnormal Psychology
- SOC 2050 – Social Work
- SOJ 1000 – Introduction to Social Justice (Theory & Practice)
- WGS 3710 – Gender and the Law
- WGS 3720 – Gender, Immigration, and the Law
