The Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice provides a distinctive education for undergraduate and graduate students through an active program of applied research, program evaluation, and policy analysis. This state-of-the-art program grounded in research methods and criminological theory focuses on the causes of and societal responses to crime and deviant behavior. Accordingly, the department provides its students with a strong foundation in the liberal arts and social sciences and prepares them to address the challenges of crime in society as criminal justice professionals, researchers, and educators.