犯罪学和刑事司法是一个跨学科领域，致力于研究犯罪以及社会对犯罪的应对方式。犯罪学和刑事司法课程审查犯罪的性质和成因，刑事司法系统的目的和活动以及犯罪对受害者和社会的影响。由于犯罪是一个社会问题，因此许多课程都包括研究基于社区的计划和社会服务机构以及刑事司法系统的组成部分。公共事务和行政学院内的犯罪学和刑事司法系强调将公共政策和变革努力作为其课程的重要组成部分。学生可能有机会参加系教员进行的公共事务研究项目。
They offer a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice, providing students the opportunity to discover, arrange, and make sense of facts about crime systematically. Students will gain an empirical understanding of the factors that influence individuals’ decision-making practices within various criminal justice institutions, including programs designed to prevent crime, meet the needs of victims, and rehabilitate criminals. These institutions and programs include the police, courts, probation and parole systems, correctional institutions, community-based programs, and socialhuman service agencies.Also, the degree has a strong emphasis on the behavioral and societal aspects of criminal behavior. Attention is also given to how we count, measure, and explain crime rates, why and how crime rates differ across populations, and the various tools criminologists use to predict and explain seemingly random and unexplainable behaviors. The issues examined in our courses are plucked straight from the headlines of the news of our day—issues that desperately need the attention of students who are willing to devote their life’s work to something greater than themselves.