Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Understanding crime, criminalization, and society’s use of punishment is the focus of Carleton’s comprehensive Bachelor of Arts in Criminology and Criminal Justice. This interdisciplinary degree program looks critically at claims about the factors that contribute to crime, as well as the way criminalized incidents are handled by the legal system. Our students acquire a comprehensive understanding of criminality, processes of criminalization and punishment, and modes of justice. In addition to learning about criminalization, prevention, policing, sentencing, courts and corrections, you will learn about surveillance, social control, as well as the limits of and alternatives to criminal justice, such as restorative and transformative justice, among other contemporary issues. Our unique program provides a strong footing in criminology’s foundational disciplines: law, psychology, and sociology. Students choose one of these disciplines as a concentration but are trained in all three throughout their degree. Students are also exposed to insights from fields such as political science, Indigenous studies, critical race, gender and sexuality studies, among others. Located in the national capital, on unceded Algonquin territory, the ICCJ’s award winning researchers and teachers are keen to examine and teach about the many complex issues associated with crime and punishment.