For Students & Parents

The faculty and staff in the Department of Sociology and Criminology realize that the transition to college is challenging for both students and their parents. Our Department is student-centered offering an array of undergraduate courses in small classroom settings of 25-35 students. Our 400-plus majors and over 100 double majors learn from excellent, experienced, and student-friendly faculty with advanced degrees. Our highly skilled and friendly staff offer individualized assistance to our students. Our dedicated and very well-trained graduate students assist faculty teaching introductory courses but do not independently teach courses in the department. The success of our students is our core value. Diversity and inclusion are integral to everything we do.

The department has always been home to faculty who are deeply committed to the success of our undergraduate and graduate students, engaging them in numerous research opportunities, and preparing students for meaningful and rewarding careers in a variety of fields including public service, non-profits and government agencies, law and law enforcement, security, community organizations, public relations and marketing, business, education, data analysis, market research, health care and social services, among others. A New York Times article noted that sociology, and in our view criminology as well, is an academic discipline that “may not have the ear of presidents but may actually do a better job of explaining what has gone wrong in large swaths of the United States and other advanced nations in recent years” than other disciplines.

As the professional associations of sociologists and criminologists emphasize, these empirical disciplines are core parts of applied sciences, gateways to meaningful participation in other integrated and interdisciplinary sciences, and key areas for career communities in social impact and sustainability, big data, leadership, licensed helping professions, media, and the academy.

Why study Criminology?

With a criminology degree, you will gain an excellent foundation for engaging in and contributing to crime prevention activities and policies, law enforcement, and the court system. You will develop marketable skills in research, theory, and data analytics that include and go beyond an understanding of criminal law, procedures, evidence. These learning experiences will help you understand the complexities of criminal behavior and public safety, and familiarize you with the justice system processes and the causes and consequences of criminal behavior and victimization.

Why study Sociology?

With a sociology degree, you will gain an excellent foundation for successful participation and engagement in an increasingly diverse and complex world. You will develop marketable skills in research, theory, and data analytics and applied knowledge related to social institutions, interactions, cultures, social inequality, and organizations. These learning experiences will help you enrich your social interactions, and contribute to your successful performance in non-profit and business organizations and profound understanding of other people’s experiences while fostering an appreciation for your own.

Undergraduate MAJOR Programs

Old Main in the sumer, students sit on the bench

Undergraduate MINOR Programs

Undergraduate Honors Programs

Alumni Spotlight

Megan Handley - ALUMNI

Dahlia Evans-Vertreese - ALUMNI
MA in Sociology | 1995 | Mayor of The Township of Hillside in New Jersey

Dahlia notes that she couldn’t have received a better education anywhere else and that “choosing the University of Arkansas was the best honor ever.

Megan Handley - ALUMNI

Megan Handley - ALUMNI
BA and MA in Sociology | 2015 | Project Director for a Grant Housed in the Health, Human Performance, and Recreation Department at the University of Arkansas

"The faculty in the Sociology and Criminology department were outstanding. My education in the MA Sociology Program is the reason that I am doing what I do today. "

Mattie Harris - UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT

Mattie Harris - UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT
Major: Criminal Justice, Sociology and Middle East Studies | Minor: Arabic

"I have always had a passion for the Middle East and public service. I was fortunate to find a degree plan that satisfied these passions, while graduating on time. I am looking forward to the endless possibilities that will arise out of my studies.''

Shila René Hawk, Ph.D. - ALUMNI

Shila René Hawk, Ph.D. - ALUMNI
BA and MA in Sociology | 2010 | Applied Research Services, Inc.

"It was the UofA faculty’s guidance that led me to define an area of interest, nurtured quintessential methods and analyses understandings, and provided the opportunity for my first experiences in conducting studies."

Eric M. Heath - ALUMNI

Eric M. Heath - ALUMNI
BA and MA in Sociology | 2008 | Associate Vice President for the University of Chicago’s Department of Safety and Security

"I think the most important thing I have learned from the program is to always look at things from different perspectives."

Don Willis, Ph.D. - ALUMNI

Don Willis, Ph.D. - ALUMNI
MA in Sociology | 2013 | Assistant Professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock

"The University of Arkansas Sociology Department stood out to me as a program where I would have a lot of opportunities to get engaged with applied sociological research that impacted the surrounding community."