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.
$269
Per Credit Hour
Up to 90
Transfer Credits
120
Credit Hours
$269
Per Credit Hour
Up to 90
Transfer Credits
120
Credit Hours
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.
Choose a Career That Makes a Difference
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.
In-Demand Skills:
Gain the knowledge and industry-relevant skills employers seek:
- Negotiation
- Criminal law
- Social research methodology
- Relationship-building
- Recruiting
Top Careers:
Prepare for a broad range of professional roles, including:
- Criminal Investigator
- Recruiter
- Community Supervision Officer
- Community Service Manager
- Police Officer
Projected Job Growth:
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment in criminology occupations to grow 4.8% from 2019 to 2029, resulting in about 386,397 new jobs nationwide.
Also available:
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.
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 in the total tuition.
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.
| Per Credit Hour | Per Course | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Resident Tuition | Required Fees | Total | U.S. Resident Tuition | Required Fees | Total |
| $229.00 | $40.00 | $269.00 | $687.00 | $120.00 | $807.00 |
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.
Next Start & Application Due Dates:
| Term | Length | Course Begin | Course End | Application Deadline | Document Deadline | Registration Deadline | Payment Deadline | Last Day to Withdraw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2023 | 7 wk | 03/06/2023 | 04/28/2023 | 02/20/2022 | 02/24/2022 | 03/02/2023 | 03/03/2023 | 04/15/2023 |
| Summer 2023 | 7 wk | 05/08/2023 | 06/23/2023 | 04/24/2023 | 04/28/2023 | 05/04/2023 | 05/05/2023 | 06/09/2023 |
| 7 wk | 06/26/2023 | 08/11/2023 | 06/12/2023 | 06/16/2023 | 06/22/2023 | 06/23/2023 | 07/28/2023 | |
| Fall 2023 | 7 wk | 08/21/2023 | 10/06/2023 | 08/07/2023 | 08/11/2023 | 08/17/2023 | 08/18/2023 | 09/22/2023 |
| 7 wk | 10/16/2023 | 12/08/2023 | 10/02/2023 | 10/06/2023 | 10/12/2023 | 10/13/2023 | 11/17/2023 |
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.
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
Note: If you're admitted as a non-traditional first-time freshman, you may be required to successfully complete a predesignated curriculum of 12 hours (Certificate or Non-Degree). Upon successful completion, you will be transitioned to a degree seeking program.
- 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 grade 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
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 866-621-8096, and we'll be happy to help answer questions.
Additional Information
Students who have attended any other institution of higher education must meet the following requirements.
For students who have:
- Fewer than 12 college hours: Submit official final high school transcript and official test scores.
- 13 - 23 college hours: Have a minimum of 2.0 grade point average on cumulative transcripts and official test scores.
- 24 or more college hours: Have a minimum of 2.0 grade point average on cumulative transcripts.
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.
Core Requirements:
These courses must be taken to complete your degree.
CRIM 1023: Introduction to Criminal Justice
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The introductory survey course in criminology, dealing with the main components of the criminal justice system including the police, courts, and corrections, as well as issues and procedures pertinent to the operation of these components.
CRIM 2263: Criminal Evidence and Procedure
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Rules of Evidence of import at the operational level in law enforcement and criminal procedures, personal conduct of the officer as a witness, examination of safeguarding personal constitutional liberties.
CRIM 3183: Institutional Corrections
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
An examination of the context, structure, and dynamics of local, state, and federal criminal confinement facilities.
CRIM 3223: Police and Society
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Explores the relationship of the police to courts, probation, community corrections, institutional corrections, and parole. Also explores the relationship between police and other social institutions and the philosophy of police as an agent of social control.
CRIM 3263: Criminology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Sociological patterns of crime and criminals, with emphasis on causes, effects, and prevention.
CRIM 4243: Social Justice
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Social justice in the criminal justice system, including issues of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Must be arranged with the professor and approved by department chair.
CRIM 4493: Capstone in Criminology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Senior research project in Criminology intended to demonstrate student’s ability to formulate a proposal, collect and analyze data, and present findings.
Prerequistes, Declared Criminology major, SOC 3383, SOC 4293
SOC 3383: Social Statistics
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Central concepts and techniques of conducting descriptive and inferential analysis employed in quantitative investigation to understand social processes and phenomena.
SOC 4293: Methods of Social Research
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Overview of quantitative and qualitative tools used in the social sciences to analyze relationships among social variables.
Other Requirements:
Students must take 21 credit hours from the following courses.
CRIM 3193: Community Corrections
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
An examination of non-institutional correctional agencies and techniques including probation, parole, diversion, pretrial release, community service, restitution, halfway house, and similar programs.
CRIM 3323: Juvenile Delinquency
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Causative factors in home, school, and community, extent of the problem, and methods of prevention and treatment.
CRIM 3423: Serial Homicide
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Historical and current trends in serial homicide, including viewpoints of offenders, victims, and law-enforcement community. Must be arranged with the professor and approved by department chair.
CRIM 4103: Criminal Justice Systems
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
General functions of the individual agencies and the duties and responsibilities of the individuals who perform these functions.
POSC 3183: Criminal Law and the Constitution
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
An examination of state and federal police powers and how they are regulated by the Constitution and statutes.
SOC 3353: Minority Groups
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Examines race, ethnicity and other bases for minority status in society, focusing on social inequality and the social construction of minority and majority group statuses and relations.
SOC 3463: Collective Behavior
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Examines various types of unusual group behavior, such as panics, riots, protests, fads, urban myths and legends, and millenarian groups. Must be arranged in consultation with a professor, and approved by the department chair.
SOC 4073: Sociology of Family Violence
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
An overview of the causes, prevalence and consequences of child abuse, intimate partner violence, and elder abuse.
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 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.
UC 1013: Making Connections
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Required course for all first semester freshmen. Course content is centered around the skills and knowledge needed to be a successful ASU student, including academic performance, problem solving, critical thinking, self-management and group building skills, university policies and other relevant issues.
Departmental Option Course Requirement:
The three credit hours for the degree plan are chosen by the department, not the individual student.
PSY 2013: Introduction to Psychology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Study of the important scientific, principles of individual human behavior from biological, cognitive, social, and behavioral perspectives.
SOC 2213: Principles of Sociology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Human society and social behavior.
Communication Requirement:
Students must complete 6 credit hours of the following courses.
ENG 1003: Composition I
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Study and practice of fundamentals of written communication, including principles of grammar, punctuation, spelling, organization, and careful analytical reading. Prerequisite, with grade of C or better, for ENG 1013.
ENG 1013: Composition II
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Continues the practice of ENG 1003 to develop further the skills learned in that course. Based on reading and discussion of various types of writing, the students’ essays will provide practice in different kinds of rhetorical development, including research and documentation.
Mathematics Requirement:
Students must complete 3 credit hours of either College Algebra or any higher-level mathematics course for which College Algebra is a prerequisite.
MATH 1023: College Algebra
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Equations and inequalities, functions and graphs, polynomial and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, systems of equations and inequalities, matrices, and miscellaneous topics. No credit given if taken following MATH 1054.
MATH 1043: Quantitative Reasoning
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Quantitative Reasoning Quantitative reasoning as the approach to understanding relationships using mathematical and algebraic methodologies. Contemporary topics will be used to identify, analyze, generalize, and communicate quantitative relationships.
Arts and Humanities Requirement:
Students must complete 6 credit hours of Arts and Humanities courses.
ENG 2003: Introduction to World Literature I
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to the analysis and interpretation of literary works from several historical periods ranging from early civilizations through the Renaissance.
ENG 2013: Introduction to World Literature II
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to the analysis and interpretation of literary works from several historical periods ranging from the Renaissance to the present.
MUS 2503: Fine Arts – Music
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
An introduction to music for the listener who has had no formal musical training or experience. A study of musical styles and composers and their cultural and historical contexts.
Social Sciences Requirement:
Students must complete 9 credit hours of Social Sciences courses. At least one course must be selected from POSC 2103, SOC 2213 or HIST 2773.
POSC 2103: Introduction to US Government
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The constitution, government, and politics of the United States.
SOC 2213: Principles of Sociology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Human society and social behavior.
PSY 2013: Introduction to Psychology
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
Study of the important scientific, principles of individual human behavior from biological, cognitive, social, and behavioral perspectives.
Life Science Requirement:
Students must complete 4 credit hours of Life Science courses, including one course and one lab.
BIO 1003: Biological Science
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 3
The major characteristics and processes of life emphasizing the human organism. Promotes understanding of diversity and unity among living organisms with focus on ecological interactions and responsibilities of people within their social and natural environment. Lecture three hours per week. Special course fees may apply. Must be taken with BIO 1001.
BIO 1001: Biological Science Lab
Duration: 7 weeks | Credit Hours: 1
Laboratory, must be taken with BIO 1003. There will be a fee when purchasing the LabKit. Please visit the tuition and fees page for pricing.
Physical Sciences Requirement:
Students must complete 4 credit hours of Physical Science courses, including one course and one lab.
CHEM 1043: Fundamental Concepts of Chemistry I
Duration: Varies | Credit Hours: 3
An introduction to selected fundamental concepts including dimensional analysis, mole concept, atomic and molecular structure, nomenclature, chemical reactions, thermochemistry, intermolecular interactions, gases, mixtures, kinetics, equilibrium and acid base chemistry. Fall, Summer.
CHEM 1041: Fundamental Concepts of Chemistry Lab
Duration: Varies | Credit Hours: 1
Special course fees apply. Prerequisite or co-requisite of CHEM 1043. Fall, Summer.
"Numerous job opportunities exist for individuals who have a degree in criminology. A B.A. in Criminology can give you a solid footing and competitive edge in a wide variety of career fields, not only in public service (at the local, state or federal level) but also in the private sector."
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