BUFFALO, N.Y. — The University at Buffalo has expanded their Department of Sociology's name to include Criminology. The now Department of Sociology and Criminology is among the College of Arts and Sciences.
The new name represents the programs, degrees, faculty and students that are already part of the department. Crime, law or justice are specializations that roughly half the current faculty are pursuing.
“In addition to our bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in sociology, we also offer a bachelor’s and master’s in criminology,” says Robert Adelman, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Criminology. “Our undergraduate criminology program in fact has grown about threefold since its launch a few years ago.”
Although this expansion leaves room for growth, they're not ready to let go of the department's sociology base.
“The department has been very strategic in hiring new criminology colleagues who have PhDs in sociology, rather than criminology, including the eight faculty members hired within the last five years,” says Adelman. “Although this may change in the future, one of the assets of our criminology faculty is that they all contribute significantly to other areas within sociology.”
Students across the department are enthusiastic about this name change, according to Ashley Barr, PhD, an associate professor in the department and director of graduate studies.
“While the master’s degree in criminology already provides students with the applied skills to do well in areas related to their interests – from policy analysis, social service organization, social justice advocacy, public safety and law enforcement – they expect the name change will offer even more value to their degree,” says Barr. “Informal conversations between faculty and our wonderful undergraduate students indicate they’re just as excited."
The daily operations of the department will remain the same.
“The feeling is that ‘sociology and criminology’ better captures what we do,” says Barr. “It speaks to our strengths with the goal of attracting even more students and faculty members down the road.”
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