Contact: Kenneth Billings
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Beginning with summer-term classes in June, Mississippi State's College of Arts and Sciences will offer a bachelor's degree program in criminology.
As a major within the university's sociology department, the academic curriculum will emphasize the study of types; patterns and trends in criminal behavior; and the social causes of and responses to crime. Among other areas, it also will provide training in crime data analysis and critical evaluation of crime theory and policy.
The new major is distinct from criminal justice-degree programs available at other Mississippi schools, said department head Greg Dunaway. Entry to the program has no special requirements, other than basic admission criteria of MSU and the college, he added.
"We have developed a program that is not only unique in name, but also does not duplicate existing criminal justice programs at other state institutions of higher learning," Dunaway emphasized.
"By providing a broad knowledge of the nature and trends of crime, exposure to dominant explanations of criminal behavior, and comprehension of crime control policy, as well as methodological and critical thinking skills, we believe our students will be prepared to assume positions of leadership across a range of career paths," he said. "They also should be prepared for post-graduate studies."
The department long has offered an undergraduate degree in sociology that provides certification in criminal justice and corrections.
For more information, contact Dunaway at 662-325-2495 or dunaway@soc.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.