Honours Program

Students must first declare the Criminology major. Students normally apply for the Criminology Honours Program in the Spring Term (February) and must complete 104 total units with a minimum 3.00 CGPA prior to the start of the Honours Program in the Fall Term (September). Students may complete up to 8 additional units of the 104 during the Fall Term. Students must complete and defend their theses in an Honours Symposium by the following April.

To continue in the Honours Program, students must maintain a 3.00 CGPA. Students whose CGPA falls below 3.00 cannot enrol in CRIM 499 and, therefore, cannot complete the program. Students whose CGPA falls below 2.25 cannot enrol in any upper division CRIM courses.

Eligible students must apply to the Director of Undergraduate Programs. The selection process normally happens each spring for September admission.

To apply, students need to submit the following documents:

1. Completed Honours Program application form
2. Research Proposal: Briefly describe your proposed research including objectives and methodology (maximum 2 pages, double spaced). Discuss with your supervisor before submission.
3. Statement of Interest: Explain why you are applying to the Honours Program, your expectations for the program and your interest in teamwork (maximum 1 page, double spaced).
4. Advising Transcript: Must be signed by the Criminology Academic Advisor verifying you will meet the minimum requirements for admission to the Honours Program in fall of that year.

The Undergraduate Program Committee will review submitted applications for suitability for admission to the program. Potential applicants will be invited for an interview.

Note: Students must pre-arrange a supervisor. Attaining a supervisor in advance does not guarantee admission to the program.

Click here to open the Honours Program Application Form.

The application form is a fillable PDF. To use this feature, you must save the application form to your computer before filling it out. Save and print as usual after completing the application form. If you wish to fill out the application form manually, you may print without saving it your computer.

The program complements the Criminology major and consists of two terms of advanced course work and supervised research. Honours students write and defend a short thesis.

Students complete a minimum of 120 units, including a minimum of 60 upper division units, as specified below with CGPAs in accordance with general and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences graduation requirements including a minimum 3.00 CGPA.

Lower Division Requirements

Lower division requirements are the same as for the Criminology major.

Upper Division Requirements

Students with a minimum 2.25 CGPA are eligible to enroll in upper division Criminology courses upon successful completion of 60 units and Criminology program declaration.

Students complete a minimum of 60 upper division units including a minimum of 48 units in upper division Criminology* with minimum C grades in each course, including:

• CRIM 300W - Current Theories and Perspectives in Criminology (3)
• CRIM 320 - Quantitative Research Methods in Criminology (3)
• CRIM 321 - Qualitative Research Methods in Criminology (3)
• CRIM 330 - Criminal Procedure and Evidence (3)
• CRIM 490 - Honours Thesis I (3)
• CRIM 491 - Current Theory and Research in Criminology: Advanced Topics (4)
• CRIM 499 - Honours Thesis II (9)

*Declared Criminology students may not take CRIM 301 for credit.

The remaining credit hours, to satisfy degree requirements, may be selected at the student’s discretion. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences breadth requirements must be completed for graduation; general electives should be considered for that purpose.