What You'll Learn
Gain the skills and knowledge to become an agent of justice and renewal.
As a criminology major at Calvin, you'll focus on more than scientific inquiry into crime and the criminal justice system. You'll think analytically about crime, deviance, and harm—learning about their root causes and evaluating efforts to address them.
You'll engage directly with the real-world pursuit of justice through opportunities through Calvin's Prison Initiative, volunteering at rehabilitation facilities, interning at a police department, or working with community-based violence prevention organizations. You’ll have the opportunity to contribute to global conversations about crime by partnering with faculty in research projects and presenting at professional conferences.
What Makes This Program Great
- Unique learning opportunities: Calvin’s Prison Initiative provides inmates at the Handlon Correctional Facility (Ionia, MI) with the opportunity to complete a bachelor’s degree. Students from the Grand Rapids campus are able to take an "Inside-Out" class inside the prison with Handlon students and participate in a club on social justice involving students from both campuses.
- Practical skills: Students will complete an internship at places such as local courts, victim services, police departments, mental health organizations, rehabilitation facilities.
- Real-world research: Each professor in the department is an active researcher in their field. Students can take advantage of mentorship opportunities through faculty-student research projects.
- Experts on campus: Calvin is renowned for hosting lectures, workshops, and conferences on important contemporary issues. Events on topics such as race and policing, restorative justice, and nonprofit anti-violence programs provide students with examples of applied criminology.
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Program Requirements
Internships
Take the knowledge you've gained in your Criminology classes and begin to apply it in the real world. Gaining work experience through an internship can help you determine what kind of career might be best for you. When you are entering your junior or senior year in the program you will need to apply for an internship placement. This can be completed as a for-credit internship by enrolling in SOC 380. This is a four-credit course that includes an average of 8-10 hours a week spent working in a local business or organization under the direction of an on-site supervisor. The course includes participation in regular seminar meetings and a project that details your learning throughout your internship experience. You can also find an independent internship to by utilizing resources at the Career Office or directly through an employer internship opportunity that fits within your Criminology career interests. Contact Elisha Marr (elisha.marr@calvin.edu) to learn more about internship placements.
