South Dakota State University introduced the Criminology major in the fall of 2021. Since its launch, enrollment has grown at an average rate of 25% yearly.
According to SDSU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, the program began its first year in fall 2021 with 21 students, and has expanded to 151 students as of fall 2025.
Paul Markel, director of the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Rural Studies, says the rapid increase stems from strong student interest and their efforts to make their voices heard.
“I have to give it to the students,” Markel said. “The students are sophisticated, the students are savvy and the students value their education.”
Before criminology was added as a major, students often majored in psychology or sociology and minored in criminal justice. Now they can choose a major that directly aligns with their interests.
Markel also credited the faculty for driving the rapid increase in enrollment.
“It’s the combination of students looking for a meaningful major, met with credible, authentic, experienced faculty members that continues to work together very very favorably,” Markel said.
The criminology program is led by three professors, including national award-winning sociologist Patricia Ahmed, retired FBI special agent Matt Miller and Vaughn Estes, a former Georgia police chief who also worked with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Ahmed has been at South Dakota State University since 2012 and teaches a variety of criminology courses. She said she was excited when the major was added, and that it was something students had been pushing for.
“I was very happy when they approved the major,” Ahmed said. “I was thrilled, and I’m really thrilled about how fast this is growing. I figured that was going to be the case based on how popular the minor was.”
Ahmed explained that the criminal justice minor at SDSU had been very popular, and many students questioned why there wasn’t a criminology major that allowed them to focus more directly on their fields.
Criminology is a social science that studies crime, criminal behavior, causes behind why people engage in crime, and looks at ways to prevent those offenses, Ahmed said.
Ahmed also described the skills that the criminology major teaches students.
“This particular major lines you up for a lot of different career paths,” she says. “You can get a lot of data analytical skills, critical thinking skills, and soft skills that employers are looking for in a variety of occupations. So I think if they’re looking for a major that’s going to help them get a job or give them skills, this is going to be a very practical major.”
The criminology major is a bachelor’s degree that consists of 45 credits. Six of those credits are in the general education area, while the other 39 are unique to the major itself. Students majoring in criminology are required to pick up a minor or an additional major.
Professional academic adviser Katie Derrick said the majority of students pick up a minor, while around 15% select another major. She says that some common pairings with criminology are psychology, sociology, legal studies or political science.
After completing the required general education credits, major credits and minor credits, students still have 30 credits to choose courses that specifically interest them, Derrick says. She said she thinks this flexibility is a major reason the criminology program continues to grow.
“Students have changed their major to criminology in their junior or senior year and still are able to graduate within a year if needed,” she said.
Derrick also points out the strength of the criminology faculty to prospective and incoming students.
“With all of our faculty, there’s a very strong mentor mindset,” she said. “Professor Estes doesn’t have to be at the criminology club meetings, but they want him to.”
The Criminology Club was introduced earlier this year. Club president Lillian Lawler says it was Estes’s idea to start the club because his former school in Georgia had a criminology club. Lawler is a junior from Gretna, Nebraska, and is majoring in criminology with minors in psychology and sociology.
When Lawler toured SDSU, she spoke with Matt Miller.
“He explained everything so well and in a way that it all just clicked,” she said. “Having professors that are open to building relationships with their students is something that is unique that sets us apart from other programs.”
After college, Lawler plans on working within a police force doing a mix of counseling and rehabilitation work.
All students are welcome to join the Criminology Club. If students are interested, they can email [email protected].
With enrollment in the criminology major continuing to grow, Markel is working to make improvements to the program.
“Right now we’re working on increasing the potential for elective coursework to continue to make the criminology program cutting edge, keep it interesting and meaningful for the students,” he said. “We really want to make sure that our students are getting the best options for their coursework that reflect real world application.”
