Department of Sociology & Criminal Justice
Message from Dr. Ken Bolton, Department Head
The Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at Southeastern Louisiana University is the largest academic department in the College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences and is located in the heart of campus, Fayard Hall #336. Ours is one of the most active departments at Southeastern with over 20 faculty members and approximately 450 undergraduate and graduate majors. We offer a Criminal Justice AA degree (2 years), a Criminal Justice BA degree (4 years), and a Sociology BA degree. Students may also earn minors in Criminal Justice, Sociology or Geographical Information Systems/Remote Sensing (GIS). We are developing a minor in Anthropology for fall 2010.
Our primary mission is teaching. We strive to offer smaller classes with a very comfortable professor-student ratio that allows students to feel at home while having their individual interests and needs addressed by their professors, academic advisors and faculty mentors. As a department, we are committed to preparing students for citizenship in an ever transforming world by providing them a unique understanding of social, cultural, economic, and physical environments in which humans live and interact. We emphasize the development of critical and analytical skills and the ability to communicate effectively with others in order to resolve conflicts and to help create a world in which social justice and equality are promoted.
Thematically, our classes focus on the diversity of the human population and the increasing globalization of the world’s cultures, economic and political systems. We encourage students to understand, tolerate and respect the vast array of cultural and intellectual differences found throughout the world.
We offer Study Abroad Programs most summers to help students understand the diversity and interconnectedness of people around the world. We encourage students to take advantage of our internship programs in both Sociology and Criminal Justice, which offer placements at the local, state and federal levels, helping our students better understand their major area of interest while gaining needed work experience for an increasingly competitive job market. Our department has many faculty members who are nationally respected researchers and writers in their fields of expertise, and we strongly encourage students to get involved in faculty research projects as they progress in their major program.
This website contains information about our department and programs, including degrees offered, and curriculum information. Important information about the courses (prerequisites and/or special requirements) can be found online at: http://www.selu.edu/admin/rec_reg/university_catalogue/index.html. However, if you have questions that aren’t answered by visiting our website, please call our office at 985-549-2110, or email Dr. Kenneth Bolton Jr., kbolton@selu.edu and I’ll do my best to help you.
Ken Bolton, Ph.D.