Is Criminology a Art, Commercial or Science Course?

Criminology in the Universities, Art, Science, or Commercial?

A student recently visited my office to be cleared of something. He wanted to know if Criminology was a Social Science or Art course.

The course can seriously be confusing. Since the term "criminology" is derived from the word “Crime”. And crime aligns with Law, constitution, law enforcement, etc. All of which have to do with Art classes and subjects.

With this, we can call it an art course. Can we be wrong?

The answer is No, we’re wrong!
Criminology is a social science, commercial, or management course. Though it's the study of the law enforcement and criminal justice system, all Nigerian universities and probably abroad categorize it as a management course - according to the official JAMB brochure.

As a result, unless an art student has the required O’level subjects too, he can’t be offered admission for Criminology, unlike other general and well-known art courses such as Law, English, Linguistics, Mass Communication, etc.

NOTE: Criminology is strictly a university course. Hence, polytechnics and colleges of education are not offering it.

Let’s see if you will be qualified for Criminology as an art or commercial student. Below are the requirements from UTME and SSCE results as demanded by each institution you may want to consider in JAMB.

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JAMB General Requirements for Criminology

Generally, candidates seeking admission into Criminology and/or Security Studies must have five (5) SSCE credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Economics, and any two (2) of Arts or Social Science subjects.

In UTME, they must sit for Economics, Mathematics, and any of Government, History, Geography, and Literature in English, French, and Christian Religious Studies/Islamic Studies.

NOTE: ECONOMICS is compulsory for Criminology – just like other similar commercial courses such as Accounting, Business Administration, and Marketing. However, if you’re an Art student who has Economics in O'level (and other required SSCE subjects) and can write and pass the required UTME subjects, you can still put in for the course.

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A Few Universities Offering Criminology and Their O'level Requirements

Below are the requirements for SSCE results as demanded by each institution you may want to consider in JAMB.

1. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) requires five (5) 'O' Level credit passes to include English Language, Mathematics, Economics, Geography or Government and any from Civic Education/History /Christian Religious Studies/Islamic Studies/Yoruba/Literature/Chemistry/ Physics/ Biology/Agricultural Science/Further Mathematics/ICT.
2. University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) accepts 'O' Level passes in Mathematics, but such candidates will be required to pass a remedial course in Mathematics.
3. University of Lagos (UNILAG) accepts Five 'O' Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Economics, and any two subjects from Biology, Financial Accounting, Geography, and Government.
4. Imo State University (IMSU) requires 'A'level credit pass in Economics.
5. University of Ibadan (UI) requires five (5)'O' Level credit passes to include Mathematics, Economics, and any two (2) Arts or Social Sciences subjects.
6. CUAB and BAYERO accept two (2) 'O' Level credit passes only in Social Sciences subjects.
7. University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) requires (5) SSCE credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Economics and any two of Government, History or Geography.
8. Adekunle Ajasin University (AAUA) requires five (5) 'O' Level credit passes to include  English Language, Mathematics, Economics and any other two from Commerce, Geography, Accounting and History/Government, and for Criminology and Security Studies, requires five (5) 'O' Level credit passes to include English Language, Government/History, Mathematics and two other subjects from Social Science/Arts.
9. Ekiti State University (EKSU) requires five (5)'O' Level credit passes to include English Language, Mathematics, Economics, and any two (2) other subjects, one of which must be a Social Science subject.
10. Kogi State University (KSU) requires any two (2) 'O' Level credit passes in any relevant subjects as the fourth (4th) and fifth (5th) subjects.
11. Osun State University (UNIOSUN) requires Five (5)'O' Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Economics and any two (2) of Social Science subjects at one sitting.
12. LAPAI requires five (5)'O' Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Economics and any two (2) of Social Science subjects.
13. DELSU requires five credit passes at SSC or its equivalent which must include English Language, Economics, Mathematics and any Social Science or Arts subject.
14. UNN requires five (5)'O' Level credit passes in English Language, Mathematics, Economics and two (2) other relevant subjects.
15. University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) requires five (5) 'O' level credit passes in English Language, Maths, Economics and any two (2) of Commerce, Geography and Government.
16. Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) requires five (5) credits at SSC (or its equivalent) in English, Mathematics, Economics, plus one social Science subject(Government or/Geography) and any other subjects in Arts, Social sciences or science.

Summary
The list of universities offering criminology (as above) is just a few extracted from the JAMB brochure. I gave you these so you could understand how important Economics and Mathematics (which are commercial subjects) were to Criminology.

Hence, be mindful that the course belongs to social science but if you have the required grades in the O'level and the right subject combination in UTME, you can as well take it.

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JAMB Subject Combination May Not Favour Art Students for Criminology

Speaking of UTME subject combination, below is a list of few universities and what they ask for in UTME, other than the general one mentioned above.

1. ABU requires English, Economics, Mathematics, and any other Arts or Social Science and Management subjects.
2. ILORIN requires Economics, Mathematics, and any of the following Social Sciences subjects: Geography, Commerce, and Government.
3. OAU requires English Language, Mathematics, Economics, and Geography or Government.
4. IBADAN - Mathematics and any other two (2) subjects
5. OOU -Mathematics and any one of Economics, Geography, Government, History, and Literature in English
6. AAU and BAYERO require any Social Science subject as the third (3rd) subject.
7. DELSU requires Economics, Mathematics, and one other Social Science subject.
8. EBSU and BENIN require Mathematics, Economics, and any other subject.
9. 
   

Conclusion

A few students had faced this dilemma in the past. They're art students and opt-in for criminology without studying the JAMB brochure. They used common sense and mistook the course as an art course in their universities. They were let down at the end of the day.

You can see for yourself now that if you don't have ECONOMICS and can't write the required UTME subjects as listed above (which usually include Economics), Criminology is a no-going course for an art course.

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