TheÌýDepartment of Criminology and Criminal JusticeÌýequips graduates for rewarding careers in the courts, corrections, law enforcement, victim services, juvenile justice, and many other agencies and organizations—professions that make a meaningful impact on society. Through an interdisciplinary curriculum and hands-on learning experiences, students develop a deep understanding of crime and the criminal justice system. Opportunities such as internships, observing real criminal trials in state and federal courthouses, and traveling abroad to explore global criminal justice systems enhance their education and prepare them for success in a variety of criminal justice fields.
Social Media
Experiential Learning
The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice has had a long tradition of encouraging experiential learning. Each faculty member attempts to include an experiential learning component in every class taught. Examples include field trips to jails and prisons including Florida's death row, crime laboratories, mental health facilities and police departments.
Students also have opportunities for comparative criminal justice studies by traveling abroad. Faculty have escorted students to countries such as England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and Scotland. Travel abroad courses allow students to compare the enforcement of laws and the functioning of criminal justice systems that is not just found in textbooks, but in the countries themselves.
Undergraduate Degree and MinorsÌý
The Department of Criminology and Criminal JusticeÌýprepares graduates for some of today's most fascinating and rewarding careers in professions that serve the community and society-at-large in law enforcement, the courts and corrections and victim advocacy.
Gain a comprehensive understanding of the nature of crime and of the criminal justice system with these programs. òòò½´«Ã½ampa offers a Bachelor of Science degree along with several minors. Please note that eligible students may only declare one minor in the criminology and criminal justice department.
Graduate Degree
Graduate Program
Learn about the M.S. in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
- Internships
- Career Opportunities
- Student Organizations
Jasmine Velez has worked two internships full of interactive experiences with the U.S. Marshals Service and with the Office of Inspector General in the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.
Criminology and criminal justice internships provide an exceptional opportunity for students to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply this knowledge in the criminal justice field. Additionally, criminology and criminal justice students can sample a criminal justice career before graduation through internships in a variety of areas, including the courts, corrections, law enforcement, juvenile justice, victim services, private security, the legal field, and more.Ìý
Some of the many organizations our students have interned with include:
- U.S. and State Attorney’s Offices
- Public Defender’s Office
- U.S. Pretrial Services
- Children's Advocacy CenterÌý
- Children's Justice Center
- Juvenile Assessment Center
- ACTS Youth Residential
- Department of Juvenile JusticeÌý
- Guardian ad Litem Program
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Hillsborough County Sheriff’s OfficeÌý
- Tampa Police Department
- Florida Department of Corrections
Students interested in completing an internship should contact Gabe Paez.
Skyler Howeth '15 (right) is now a special agent for the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service serving at the U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, Benin. He "oversees the protection of the people, property and information assigned to the embassy and helps to implement security-related U.S. foreign policy."
Criminology and criminal justice graduates have been accepted to the best graduate and law schools in the country. Other students who choose to enter the work force have found employment in a variety of criminal justice agencies, such as United States Customs Service, Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Tampa Police Department, Bay Area Youth Services and numerous criminal justice agencies throughout the nation.
Other Success Stories:
Graduates of the criminology and criminal justice department have held the following positions:
- Mayor, Tampa
- Police chief, Tampa
- Attorney, Winston and Strawn, Chicago
- Senior psychologist, Florida State Prison
- Senior fraud recovery officer, Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union
- Bilingual securities international processing representative, Citigroup
- Intelligence analyst, FBI
- Fraud analyst, U.S. Postal Inspection Service
- Senior probation counselor, Salvation Army Correctional Services
The Criminology Club meets every WednesdayÌý evening during the academic year. The club welcomes both majors and non-majors. Guest speakers who are working criminal justice practitioners in the Tampa Bay area provide presentations on their experiences in the field. Field trips to local criminal justice agencies allow students to see first-hand the operation of the agencies of criminal justice. Students interested in joining the Criminology Club should contact the club's adviser, Dr. Jordan Land.
The Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor SocietyÌýis open to criminology and criminal justice majors or minors who have excelled in the classroom. Alpha Phi Sigma recognizes the academic excellence of undergraduate and graduate criminal justice students and is the only criminal justice honor society that is a certified member of the Association of College Honor Societies and affiliated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
To be eligible for Alpha Phi Sigma membership, students must have completed at least 37.5% of the credits required for a baccalaureate degree (45 credit hours if 120 credits are needed for graduation), rank no lower than the highest 35% of their class, and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.2. If class rank is unavailable, students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.3. In addition, students must have completed a minimum of four courses in the Criminal Justice field with a minimum GPA of 3.2.
Students interested in applying for the Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor Society should contact the association's adviser, Dr. Cedric Michel.
