Criminology majors study crime, its causes and consequences, and society's options for dealing with it. Faculty members have special training in such areas as sociological theory, criminology, juvenile delinquency, stratification, social change, collective behavior, social movements, research methods, deviant behavior, corrections, and civil and criminal courts. Faculty members are recognized as experts in their fields and have been used as courtroom witnesses hired to give testimony on urban crime patterns and criminals' perceptions of risk in trials involving homicide, aggravated assault and rape. Many students majoring in psychology, religion, political science, social work, business or nursing often study sociology as a complementary second major or minor. Such a combination provides the graduate with an understanding of human behavior in relation to his or her career.
Internships are available with a number of different agencies around Central Ohio.
Recently, students have been placed with the detective bureau, burglary unit, adult probation and juvenile diversion programs of police departments around Central Ohio. A major in sociology requires the completion of 36 hours, including courses in sociology and criminal justice. A minor in sociology requires the completion of 21 hours of course work. The criminology major has become one of Capital's most popular undergraduate majors. It is a multidisciplinary program that integrates 45 credit hours of study from the fields of sociology, criminology, psychology and political science.