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The Criminology Program within the Sociology Department offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology.
This program delivers a comprehensive liberal arts education centered on examining crime and justice systems. Students gain fundamental knowledge about criminal justice and legal structures while developing critical thinking, problem-solving, analytical reading, and effective writing skills applicable to criminological research and theory.
The B.A. program prepares students for entry-level roles in criminal justice or for advanced studies in graduate or law school. Those seeking stronger quantitative training may want to explore the Bachelor of Science option.
The majority of Penn State’s applications come from traditional, first-year students. The following types of students are considered first-year applicants (or freshman applicants, as some refer to them): Current high school student in his or her senior year; Student who has earned a high school diploma or a GED and has no post-secondary coursework; Student who has attempted 17 or fewer credits (semester hours) of college coursework at a regionally accredited college/university before attending Penn State; Current high school student who may have enrolled in another institution(s) before graduating from high school (dual enrollment); Student who may have attended Penn State on a nondegree basis.
English Language Proficiency
The following are ways in which you can satisfy the language proficiency requirement: TOEFL: A minimum TOEFL score of 80 on the Internet-based TOEFL or 550 on the old paper exam and a minimum of 20 in each section of the new paper exam (code #2660); IELTS: A minimum IELTS score of 6.5 on the academic test.