Bachelor of Arts in Criminology Online
Gain a deeper understanding of the big picture of crime and its social contexts, particularly how inequalities (race, class and gender), the role of individual background, and social forces intersect. This degree can prepare you for many public service fields, including local, state and federal government or local police departments.
Program Overview
Check out the benefits of our 100% online criminology degree
Learn to reduce crime in the most effective way—prevent it before it starts. With an online bachelor's degree in criminology, you'll examine crime from a macro perspective as a social phenomenon and explore how society, psychology and even biology contribute to its cause and impact.
While a criminal justice major tends to focus on the after-effects of crime, such as law enforcement, the court system and correctional institutions, a bachelor's degree in criminology goes beyond to study the science of crime and the overarching root causes that promote its proliferation. By exploring the correlation between social justice and crime, you'll gain valuable insights into how inequalities—from race and socioeconomics to gender and sexuality—contribute to crime and its multigenerational effect on communities.
With a mix of criminology, sociology and political science courses, this 100% online program studies factors that lead to delinquent behaviors along with social research methodology, criminal justice systems and crime reduction strategies.
Interested in pursuing a double major? Pair your online B.A. in Criminology with other select A-State Online programs, including our B.A. in Communication Studies, B.A. in Political Science, B.A. in Sociology or B.S. in Business Administration.
By studying sociological theories and criminal justice practical applications, you will gain a broad-based understanding of crime, applicable to employment opportunities in both the public and private sectors.
Prepare for a broad range of professional roles, including:
- Criminal Investigator
- Recruiter
- Community Supervision Officer
- Community Service Manager
- Police Officer
- Criminal Investigator
- Recruiter
- Community Supervision Officer
- Community Service Manager
- Police Officer
Gain the knowledge and industry-relevant skills employers seek:
- Negotiation
- Criminal law
- Social research methodology
- Relationship-building
- Recruiting
- Negotiation
- Criminal law
- Social research methodology
- Relationship-building
- Recruiting
Also available:
A-State offers a variety of undergraduate programs in a convenient online format. Explore our full range of online undergraduate programs.
Tuition
You may be eligible for financial aid
A-State's online programs are affordable and convenient. You may also qualify for financial aid. Learn more.
The B.A. in Criminology online program offers the same low, pay-by-the-course tuition to all U.S. residents. All fees are included.
Tuition breakdown:
Transfer your credits for lower tuition
Use our Tuition Estimator to see how affordable your degree could be. Slide the notch to the number of credits you've already earned—which may qualify for transfer credit—to get an estimate of what your degree might cost.
Transcripts sent from other colleges and universities will be evaluated, and accepted credits will be added to the student's A-State record. The Tuition Estimator is not a guarantee or predictor of the number of credit hours that will be accepted.
You may be closer to Graduation than you think!
A-State-approved credit for prior learning recognizes your previous accomplishments, reducing your tuition costs and time to graduation.
Calendar
Jot down these key dates and deadlines
Our B.A. in Criminology is a flexible online program with accelerated coursework and multiple start dates per year.
| Term | Program Start Date | Application Deadline | Document Deadline | Registration Deadline | Payment Due | Last Class Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2 | 3/4/24 | 2/19/24 | 2/23/24 | 2/29/24 | 3/1/24 | 4/26/24 |
| Summer 1 | 5/6/24 | 4/22/24 | 4/26/24 | 5/2/24 | 5/3/24 | 6/20/24 |
| Summer 2 | 6/24/24 | 6/10/24 | 6/14/24 | 6/20/24 | 6/21/24 | 8/7/24 |
| Fall 1 | 8/20/24 | 8/5/24 | 8/9/24 | 8/15/24 | 8/16/24 | 10/4/24 |
| Fall 2 | 10/14/24 | 9/30/24 | 10/4/24 | 10/10/24 | 10/11/24 | 12/6/24 |
Now enrolling:
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Ready to take the next step toward earning your degree online from A-State?
Admissions
Check out the admission steps to enroll at A-State
A-State Online offers a streamline admission process for both new students and transfers. Review the requirements for admission to the B.A. in Criminology Studies online program below.
Admission Requirements:
- Online application
- Official transcripts
- 2.0 GPA for transferring credits
There are several paths to admittance at A-State:
- If you have 13 or more transferrable college credit hours, you would be admitted if you have a cumulative college GPA of at least 2.0 on previous college coursework
- If you have 0-12 transferrable college credit hours and have been out of high school for five years or more, you would be admitted if you:
- Have a high school diploma or state-approved equivalent
- Have completed 12 or fewer earned college hours
- Have never enrolled as a student at A-State
- If you have 0-12 transferrable college credit hours and have been in high school within the last 5 years, you would be admitted if you have one of the following:
- 3.0 cumulative high school grad point average (or GED test score equivalent), OR
- 19 minimum ACT super score or minimum 990 combined SAT super score, OR
- Class rank in the top 20% of your graduating class
Application Submission Requirements
Submitting your application takes three easy steps: filling out the application, submitting your documents and paying the application fee.
- When completing the online application, select 100% online student and then complete all the steps on the online application.
- Pay $30.00 non-refundable application fee.
- Submit all official college transcripts.
- Submit official high school transcripts (if applicable).
- Submit official ACT/ SAT test scores (if applicable).
Note: If you have 0-12 transferrable college hours, test scores will still need to be submitted for reporting purposes to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE); however, they are not needed for an admission decision. Accuplacer test scores are an acceptable alternative to ACT/SAT scores.
If you have any questions along the way, call us at 866-621-8096 and we’ll be happy to help answer questions.
Document Submission Address
Submit all documents to:
A-State OnlineP.O. Box 2520
State University, AR 72467
Fax: 870-972-3548
Email: [email protected]
For Non-US Postal Mail Overnight Delivery Only:
Academic Partnershipsc/o Central Receiving
2713 Pawnee St.
Jonesboro, AR 72401
Courses
A look at the online criminology degree curriculum
To earn your Bachelor of Arts in Criminology, you need to complete 120 credit hours of coursework. The program includes 38 credit hours of general education courses and 48 credit hours of major courses. Also included is 34 credit hours of elective courses, which includes a foreign language requirement of up to 12 hours dependent upon transferring credits. Transferring previously earned credit hours may help you finish faster, and those transfer credit hours will be evaluated during the admission process.
Visit the Course Registration page to view the course schedule for this degree.
Core Requirements:
These courses must be taken to complete your degree.
Students must take 34 credit hours of electives to satisfy the 120 credit hours required for this program and may include up to 12 hours of a foreign language to satisfy the foreign language requirement. Courses may be chosen with the assistance of an advisor and per your degree plan. Electives can come from any courses offered so long as prerequisites are met.
Students must take 24 credit hours from the following courses.
Students must take the following courses.
First-year course - Students must take the following Making Connections online course. If you transfer in more than 12 credit hours, you will not be required to take the Making Connections course. You may replace that 3-hour course with a 3-hour elective course.
First-year course (3 hours)
UC 1013
Departmental (3 hours)
12 hours of Social Sciences are required, including at least one of the following courses: GEOG 2613, POSC 2013, PSY 2013 or SOC 2213.
Communication Requirement (6 hours)
ENG 1003
ENG 1013
Mathematics Requirement (3 hours)
Students must take MATH 1023 or any MATH course that requires MATH 1023 as prerequisite.
Arts and Humanities Requirement (6 hours)
MUS 2503
ENG 2003
ENG 2013
Social Sciences Requirement (12 hours)
HIST 1013
HIST 1023
HIST 2763
HIST 2773
Life Science Requirement (4 hours)
Students must complete BIO 1003 with BIO 1001 lab.
Physical Sciences Requirement (4 hours)
Students must complete CHEM 1043 with CHEM 1041 lab.