Criminology and Justice Studies BS

Major: Criminology and Justice Studies
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science (BS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 181.0
Co-op Options: Three Co-op (Five years); One Co-op (Four years); No Co-op (Four years)
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 45.0401
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 11-9199

About the Program

Criminal Justice: A Flexible and Forward-Looking Degree

At Drexel, we call our major in Criminology and Justice Studies a Criminal Justice concentration to provide a familiar reference point for prospective students. But in truth, this is our full and only major pathway—a modern, flexible curriculum that covers the full spectrum of crime, justice, and public safety in both U.S. and global contexts.

The Criminal Justice concentration introduces students to the workings of justice institutions—police, courts, corrections—while also exploring broader questions about crime policy, community safety, and the role of data and technology in understanding crime. All students complete core sequences in research methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), building tools to ask better questions and design stronger solutions.

To allow students to specialize and personalize their degree, we encourage them to add one or both of our department’s minors:

• The Justice Studies minor supports students interested in advocacy, law, and public service.

• The Crime Analytics and Digital Investigations minor is ideal for students interested in mapping, analysis, and problem-solving in public safety fields.

Many students pair their major with minors in areas like psychology, business, legal studies, or languages—and the degree structure makes this easy. With 55.0 free elective credits, students have the flexibility to double major or customize their path without extending their time at Drexel.

Students also learn by doing. Our program includes community-based courses and faculty-led study abroad programs that examine justice systems through an international lens. Recent seminars have explored The Legacy of Nazi Policing in Germany and the Czech Republic, and Crime and Justice in Scandinavia in Sweden and Norway. We continue to develop new opportunities for our students to take our intensive courses abroad across an expanding list of countries.

Students build maps and visualizations that uncover where and why crime clusters—near schools, transit stations, or abandoned properties—and how those patterns shift over time. These tools help answer big questions: Where should resources go? What strategies work? How can we design safer communities?

Criminology and Justice Studies at Drexel gives students the insight, tools, and hands-on experience to analyze problems—and the vision to imagine what justice can become. At its core, Drexel’s Criminal Justice degree prepares students to think clearly, analyze crime and justice with purpose, and take part in building safer, more just communities—at home and abroad.

For more information about Criminology and Justice Studies, contact Senior Academic Advisor, Mica Storer mls46@drexel.edu or Department Head, Dr. Robert J. Kane rjk72@drexel.edu.

Degree Requirements

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Students not participating in co-op will take one additional credit of free elective instead of COOP 101.

Co-op cycles may vary. Students are assigned a co-op cycle (fall/winter, spring/summer, summer-only) based on their co-op program (4-year, 5-year) and major. 

COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

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See Core Curriculum for complete list of course options.

Writing-Intensive Course Requirements

In order to graduate, all students must pass three writing-intensive courses after their freshman year. Two writing-intensive courses must be in a student's major. The third can be in any discipline. Students are advised to take one writing-intensive class each year, beginning with the sophomore year, and to avoid “clustering” these courses near the end of their matriculation. Transfer students need to meet with an academic advisor to review the number of writing-intensive courses required to graduate.

A "WI" next to a course in this catalog may indicate that this course can fulfill a writing-intensive requirement. For the most up-to-date list of writing-intensive courses being offered, students should check the Writing Intensive Course List at the University Writing Program. Students scheduling their courses can also conduct a search for courses with the attribute "WI" to bring up a list of all writing-intensive courses available that term.

Sample Plan of Study

4 year, no co-op

4 year, one co-op

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COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

5-year three co-op

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COOP 101 registration is determined by the co-op cycle assigned and may be scheduled in a different term. Select students may be eligible to take COOP 001 in place of COOP 101.

Professional Experiences

The Department of Criminology and Justice Studies offers three options for students: a five-year three co-op option, a four-year one co-op option, and a four-year, no co-op option. We help students identify a co-op option that best fits their goals, though we encourage students earning their bachelor's degree in criminology to take advantage of the co-op program. Taking on the 5-year three co-op option means students will have earned a total of one and a half years of work experience by the time they graduate, allowing them to apply for crime and intelligence analysis or other positions that require at least one-year experience (What is crime analysis? Click here to find out about this exciting career path for our graduates). Criminology and Justice Studies students have held co-op positions at the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, at local sheriff and police departments, with local judges, at criminal justice agencies, law firms, community agencies and nonprofit organizations locally and justice organizations nationally.

In recent years, students have been placed in local agencies such as the District Attorney’s Office, the Institutional Law Project, the Juvenile Law Center, the Defendants Association of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia and Bucks County Prison Systems and the Pennsylvania Prison Society, Pennsylvania and New Jersey State Police. Several students have done co-ops and later worked full time at the Eastern State Penitentiary Historical Site and Museum. On the state level, co-op students have worked with the Board of Probation & Parole and other agencies. At the federal level, the US Customs Service had an agreement to accept cooperative education placements after having been screened by faculty. The faculty in Criminology and Justice Studies has been working over the past few years to expand its list of research co-ops (primarily for students working toward graduate school) and international co-ops.

Program Level Outcomes

Criminology and Justice Studies Faculty