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Dr. Novich with law enforcement officers who came to speak with one of her classes. MADELEINE NOVICH\/COURTESY<\/p>\n
By Jocelyn Visnov<\/strong>, Editor-in-Chief<\/em><\/p>\n The sociology department will soon expand to offer a new bachelor\u2019s degree in criminology, beginning next fall. The new 33-credit major offered within the School of Liberal Arts will expand on the criminology concentration currently offered as one of several tracks within the sociology major. \u201cI came to Manhattan College in 2008.\u201d Novich said. \u201cAnd my team and I developed a number of criminal justice classes, specifically Modern American Gangs, Mass Incarceration and Collateral Consequences and Ethics of the Criminal Justice system to name a few.\u201d<\/p>\n The current sociology department will become newly dubbed as the \u201cSociology and Criminology\u201d department upon receiving board approval for the new major. The idea for a second major within the department stemmed an increased interest in classes surrounding the criminal justice system by MC students.<\/p>\n \u201cAnytime I started teaching new classes they would fill up to capacity,\u201d Novich said. \u201cAnd so we as a department recognized that this was a topic that the students really wanted, and they wanted to major in it. Sociology is a fantastic major, but really the students indicated that there should be a criminology major as well. And this also makes us more competitive, like most schools that have criminology majors.\u201d<\/p>\n The department currently offers three tracks of study within the sociology major as well as a 15-credit minor. The concentrations offered within the major include geography, social services and criminology. When the new major becomes official the department will no longer offer the concentration in criminology.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re going to be phasing out the concentration, so you can either major in sociology or criminology,\u201d Novich said. \u201cI think a lot of people will end up double majoring because the tracks between criminology and sociology are very similar. But by doing a strict Criminology major, it allows for students to be required to take criminological theory, which they wouldn\u2019t have to take before, and do criminal justice related research. And so this is what differentiates in a couple of ways, there\u2019s much more theoretical training in criminology than is required with sociology.\u201d<\/p>\n Classes offered as part of the criminology major will also be cross-listed with other classes surrounding social and criminal justice which are currently taught by MC. The sociology department hopes to eventually expand their staff in order to teach additional courses that are specific to the study and research of criminology and the criminal justice system.<\/p>\n An article written by David Koeppel on the schools website stated that \u201cThe curriculum will be embedded in the Lasallian principles of excellence in teaching, respect for human dignity, reflection on faith, an emphasis on ethical conduct, and a commitment to social justice.\u201d<\/p>\n Richard Divirgilio is a senior double majoring in sociology and psychology. Having taken a plethora of sociology classes during his time at MC, he expressed his admiration for the department. The sociology and criminology majors will prepare undergraduate students for a number of potential career paths in fields such as law enforcement, social work and civil service. Sociology and criminology students may also decide they want to pursue a graduate program in any of these fields. \u201cI think the addition of the criminology major will cause a lot more traffic within the sociology department as a whole,\u201d he wrote. \u201cEspecially for those who may want to enter some form of law or law enforcement (among other things) will probably declare it as a major. So, I have no doubt it will be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The creation of the new major was spearheaded by Assistant Professor Madeleine Novich, Ph.D, who serves as the director of criminology and criminal justice programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy favorite part of the sociology department is how every professor I have ever had has challenged and ultimately expanded the way that I think about the world,\u201d Divirgilio wrote. \u201cThey try to make the class material interesting and grounded in current events.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake Delfel, a senior sociology major who hopes to eventually attend law school following his graduation from MC, explained his hopes for the department\u2019s expansion.<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n