Rutgers catalogResearched guideSIRS history20 section records

01:920:222

Criminology

SOCIOLOGY

School 01 — New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences
credits
3
Core
SCL, SOEHS
Typical seasons
Fall, Spring, Summer
Fall 2026 sections
5
Open snapshot
3 open in snapshot

Course guide

AI-generated overview

Course fingerprint 10 AI-generated signals

Difficulty

3/5
Why

The course connects social theory, crime patterns, and justice responses, but it is an undergraduate requirement rather than a methods-heavy seminar.

Workload

3/5
Why

Students need regular reading across theories and empirical examples; no lab or project structure is specified in the catalog materials.

Pacing

4/5
Why

A typical survey must cover definitions, explanations, patterns, inequality, and policy within one three-credit course.

Projects

1/5
Why

Rutgers lists Criminology as a course requirement but does not describe a laboratory, field placement, or production project.

Exams

3/5
Why

Theory and concept distinctions are likely assessable, but no common grading scheme is published.

Math

2/5
Why

Crime patterns may be discussed empirically, but Rutgers does not identify formal quantitative methods as the course focus.

Memorization

4/5
Why

Students must distinguish multiple criminological theories, terms, and justice responses across a broad survey.

Abstraction

4/5
Why

Explaining crime through social structure, culture, and control requires theoretical reasoning beyond case description.

Prerequisites

2/5
Why

The catalog places it in the undergraduate Criminal Justice curriculum without an advanced prerequisite stated in the cited requirements.

Reading

4/5
Why

Criminology is theory- and evidence-driven, so substantial reading is likely even though the exact syllabus was not used.

Topic breakdown

A practical chapter-by-chapter view from foundations to applications.

4 modules

Module 1

Crime as a social category

The course begins by distinguishing crime, deviance, and law and by asking who defines behavior as criminal.

crimedeviancelawsocial control

Basic concept overview

Crime is socially organized

Law, institutions, opportunity, and inequality shape both offending and the way behavior is labeled.

No single theory explains everything

Different theories highlight different mechanisms and levels of analysis.

Justice responses are consequential

Policing, sentencing, and prevention can alter the patterns they are intended to address.

Patterns need interpretation

Crime statistics reflect social behavior, reporting, enforcement, and measurement choices.

Things to watch for

Equating deviance with crime

Keep legal status, social reaction, and norm violation analytically separate.

Treating crime statistics as transparent facts

Ask how reporting, enforcement, sampling, and definitions shape the numbers.

Using one level of explanation

Move between individual, group, institutional, and structural mechanisms.

Fall 2026 sections

3 open · College Avenue, Livingston, C/D, Online

SectionStatusInstructorMeetingCampus
0113953OpenCOVINGTONTuesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ABE 1180; Thursday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at ABE 1180ABE 1180College Avenue
0213954ClosedHARO, GABRIELMonday 7:30 PM-8:50 PM at ABW 1170; Wednesday 7:30 PM-8:50 PM at ABW 1170ABW 1170College Avenue
0313955OpenMARTINEZ-SCHULDTuesday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at TIL 264; Friday 10:20 AM-11:40 AM at TIL 264TIL 264Livingston
0413956OpenHIRSCHFIELDMonday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at DAV 122; Wednesday 3:50 PM-5:10 PM at DAV 122DAV 122C/D
9013957ClosedGRAY-THOMASONLINE INSTRUCTION(INTERNET)Online
cachedSource: Checked-in Rutgers Schedule of Classes snapshotsUpdated when term datasets are refreshedMay be stale

SIRS teaching signals

Historical student surveys

Teaching

3.67

Course quality

3.70

Response rate

41.9%

Coverage

61 offerings · 2014–2025

InstructorOfferingsTeachingQuality
Covington, Jeanette122.903.00
Porow Monique64.074.03
Covington Jeanette62.682.78
Bateman Michael54.284.30
Muni, Michele44.004.03
Lu, Wenbo43.883.93

Course stats

Catalog and planning context

Credits

3

Current campuses

College Avenue, Livingston, C/D, Online

Current availability

3 open of 5

Catalog terms

Fall, Spring, Summer

Core codes

SCL, SOEHS

Loaded terms

5

Prerequisites

No prerequisite note appears in the checked-in Rutgers catalog snapshots.

Degree requirement lists

No direct degree-list membership appears in the checked-in requirement index.

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