Welcome to the Criminology major of the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law! The Criminology major is intended to introduce students to the study of criminal behavior, criminal justice systems, and law from a multidisciplinary, liberal-arts perspective.
With over 400 undergraduate majors, we are one of the larger majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Our instructors pride themselves on the quality of their teaching. You can examine a list of all our courses to see the diverse range of offerings in the major. Through independent studies, honors theses, and internships, you will have the opportunity to go beyond the classroom to explore a wide range of possibilities in criminology, criminal justice, and law and society.
To ensure the quality of the degree program, we have adopted a selective policy for continuation in the major beyond semester four (referred to as the upper division major). Thus, it is important that first and second year students meet the tracking requirements. To make sure that upper division majors can progress toward timely graduation, registration for many of the major’s 3000 and 4000 level courses will be closed to first and second year students until drop/add. First and second year students are not blocked from CCJ 3024, CJL 3038, and CJL 2000.
Tracking for Admission into the Upper Division Major
By 60 hours, students must earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.8 or higher, and complete a required introductory statistics course (STA 2023) and at least 9 hours of criminology-related foundation courses with a 2.75 GPA in those courses. Foundation courses include introductory criminal justice/criminology courses (CCJ, CJL, or CJE prefixes) or courses (or their equivalents) from the following list: AMH 2010; AMH 2020; ANT 2000; ANT 2410; CCJ 3024; CCJ 3038; CJL 2000; ECO 2013; ECO 2023; PHI 2010; PHI 2630; POS 2041; POS 2112; PSY 2012: SYG 2000; SYG 2010. Students who begin at UF should have completed CCJ 3024 by 60 hours; transfer students may complete that course in their first semester at UF.
Remember that you alone are responsible for keeping track of your progress through the major. The College’s Academic Advising Center handles college and university requirements and can be helpful to you for any questions about them (example, general education or distribution requirements). The Undergraduate Coordinator and advisors can help you with matters concerning the major. The Undergraduate Coordinator will certify that you have met graduation requirements for the major; the Academic Advising Center will certify that you have met other graduation requirements. Please seek advising in a timely manner.
- Academic Learning Compact
- Current list of courses for criminology majors and minors
Major Requirements
Total of 34 credits with at least a C grade.
Courses Required of ALL majors (13 credits)
- CCJ 3024 Advanced Principles of Criminal Justice (3 credits)
- CCJ 3701 Research Methods in Criminology (4 credits)
- CCJ 4014 Criminological Theory (3 credits)
- CJL 3038 Law and Society (3 credits)
A 3-credit Law-Driven Course Requirement (majors must take one but may take more than one of the following)
- CJL 2000 Law and Legal Process (3 credits) taken during or after Fall 2009
- CJL 4110 Criminal Law (3 credits)
- CJL 4410 Criminal Procedure (3 credits)
- CJL 4050 Juvenile Law (3 credits)
Major Electives, Minimum of 18 credits
Majors may choose from any of the courses offered in the program not used to meet the requirements reviewed above. Credits will count only if a grade of C or higher has been earned in the course (the only exception is CCJ 4940 in which students must earn an S). As an alternative, students MAY (but do not have to) take up to 9 of the 34 credits required of all majors from approved interdisciplinary courses. See approved interdisciplinary courses. In addition, students may apply only 3 credits of CCJ 4940 (internship/practicum) to the 34 credits needed for the major or the minimum 120 credit hours needed for graduation. That same rule applies to CCJ 4905 (Individual Work). Students who meet upper division honors criteria (see below) may take up to 6 credits in CCJ 4970 (honors thesis research).
Lower Division Courses
Students may apply no more than 6 credits of lower division coursework (1000 or 2000 level courses) to the 34 credit hours needed for the major. The major only offers one lower division course (CJL 2000). There are restrictions on which lower division courses will transfer into the major (see Transfer Policy below).
Residency Requirement for the Major
At least 22 of the 34 credit hours required for the major must be taken in courses offered by the program (courses with prefixes of CCJ, CJC, CJE, CJJ, or CJL). Students who wish to take interdisciplinary courses AND transfer credits from another institution need to be careful about this residency requirement. No more than 12 hours may transfer into the major from another college/university (see section on Transfer Policy for limitations). Academic Learning Compact Undergraduate Majors’ FAQs.