The four-year baccalaureate degree program in Criminology has as its major focus a critical understanding of the structural, administrative, political and professional context of the criminal justice system and broader agencies associated with social and legal regulation. Students will learn to question the assumptions behind both administrative practice and policies that emerge from a variety of sources, and to evaluate them on a range of criteria, including the empirical, theoretical, and ethical bases. This will also include an analysis of the influence of race, class, gender, and other forms of social inequality on the administration of criminal justice and broader institutions. The tools to engage constructively with both state and non-state/community responses to crime will be a theme throughout. This will include analyses of events that initiate the criminal process, the various paths through which the criminal cases proceed, the professional roles and responsibilities of workers within that process, prospects of reform and the policies that provide the professional context in which decisions are made.
Career Opportunities
Graduates of the Criminology program will be able to pursue careers in a variety of capacities both inside and outside government. These may include working with victims, people in conflict with the law (such as young offenders), policing, the criminal courts, the correctional system, or community-based justice agencies. Graduates may also pursue further education through law school or graduate studies in disciplines such as Criminology.
CURRICULUM INFORMATION
Criminology is an interdisciplinary program which draws on the theories, methods, and practices of a broad range of social sciences and humanities. The Criminology program thus builds on a first year that is common to many other programs in the Faculty of Arts, with specialized study in Criminology in years two to four.
Semesters One and Two:
In the first year, which is shared with the BA programs in English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Geographic Analysis, History, Politics and Governance, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology, students are introduced to Criminology through introductory core courses that provide an overview and assessment of the administration of the criminal justice system in Canada, the main theories of criminality, and the nature and extent of crime in Canada. Students also acquire skills and knowledge in Academic Writing and Research and Critical Thinking, and choose electives from a broad range of areas, such as Business, Law, and Natural Sciences.
Semesters Three and Four:
In second year, students study the foundations of criminal law in Canada, the role and experiences of victims of crime, and concerns about social inequality in the criminal justice system. In addition, students are introduced to the quantitative and qualitative research methods that are necessary to study criminal justice effectively.
Semesters Five through Eight:
In the upper years, students study criminal justice issues in greater depth, exploring such topics as youth justice, aboriginal justice, strategies of crime control and prevention, criminal justice ethics, security threats and a series of special topics such as how crime is depicted in the media, the establishment of the International Criminal Court, and many more. In addition to program courses, students choose courses from a broad range of subject areas that complement their professional studies and broaden their career preparation. These include courses in Business Communication, Human Resources Management, Law, Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Management, Interdisciplinary Studies, Economics, Geography, Politics and Governance, Sociology, Psychology, and the sciences such as Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics.
Transferability Guidelines
Students admitted to the Bachelor of Arts in any of Criminology, English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Geographic Analysis, History, Philosophy, Politics and Governance, Psychology or Sociology may transfer from their current program and plan to any one of the other eight plans for the Fall term of their second year of studies. Applications are available through the Program Office and must be submitted by February 2nd. Transfer applications are considered on a competitive basis subject to program capacity, and therefore, program choice cannot be guaranteed.
Students intending to transfer to Criminology for second year from any of English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Geographic Analysis, History, Philosophy, Politics and Governance, Psychology, or Sociology, are encouraged to present a cumulative grade point average of 2.67 (B-) in their first semester studies at Ryerson to maximize their chances for consideration, subject to competition and available second-year spaces. Possession of the minimum cumulative grade point average does not guarantee program transfer. Students must have successfully completed CRM 100 in order to transfer to Criminology for the Fall term of their second year of studies. It is strongly recommended that students complete both CRM 100 and CRM 102 in first year.
Liberal Studies
Students must take two lower level liberal studies courses and four upper level liberal studies courses to graduate.
