JUR5101 – Criminology
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
New course code starting from the springsemester 2012 - please see the website for JUS5101 – Criminology (continued) (the course now gives 10 credits).
Criminology is the study of crime and its causes and about how society relates to crime. In this analysis Criminology has to deal with some central questions: What are the acts that are defined as crime, in which societies, based on what values? What are the consequences of these definitions? Who are the people performing these acts that are given the meaning of being criminal acts, and how does society react to them? Criminology takes its starting point in acts that are seen as undesirable or offensive, and undertakes a description of these acts.
Further, Criminology discusses the different kinds of reactions these acts and those performing them are met with in society. These societal reactions can take the form of civil-law actions, penal-law actions, medical actions, informal actions or sometimes no action at all. Criminology focuses on the understanding and description of this variety of acts, actors, reactions and consequences. The judicial/crime control perspective in the understanding and analysis of these processes is central to Criminology. As lawyers are especially important in the crime-control/judicial system, it becomes important to describe the problems they meet with, the methods they use and, furthermore, to carry out an evaluation of these methods. By comparing the judicial/crime-control method with other approaches, Criminology attempts to grasp the essence of both the juducial as well as the non-judicial methods.
The study of Criminology is anchored in the social sciences, maintaining strong ties with the humanities.
Learning outcome
You will acquire an overview of central criminological topics and theories. The course provides the basis of study for students who are new or relatively new to the subject and those who need a foundation knowledge of criminology on other relevant courses. The aim of the course is to give a general understanding of the theoretical, practical and methodological aspects of crime, deviance, and society’s responses to them. See also ‘Detailed course information’ regarding requirements and syllabus.
Admission
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams
they wish to sign up for by registering a study plan in StudentWeb.
You may register for this course if you have admission to a Master of Law-programme at UiO, the faculty's exchange-programme or have admission to Law-electives at masters-level. All applicants must fill the formal prerequisites.
International applicants, if you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures for international applicants
Prerequisites
Formal prerequisite knowledge
- Admission to the faculty’s exchange-programme or
- Active study-right for a study programme, masters-level at the University of Oslo or
- Norwegian Masters of Laws degree or equivalent or
- Passed forth year, 96 – Cand. Jur programme (or exams that are equivalent) or
- Passed JUR3000, Masters of Laws programme at the University of Oslo (or exams that are equivalent).
Recommended previous knowledge
Three years of law studies.
Overlapping courses
- 15 credits overlap with VALCRIME – Criminology (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with JUTCRIME – Criminology (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with JUR5100 – Kriminologi (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with VALKRIMIN – Kriminologi (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with JUXKRIMIN – Kriminologi (discontinued)
- 15 credits overlap with JUVOKRIM
Teaching
Lectures/seminars.
Examination
4 hour written examination.
Examination support material
Auxiliary materials allowed during examinations for courses taught in English.
Language of examination
Students may answer the examination question in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish pursuant to Regulations governing studies and examinations at the University of Oslo. (§ 5.4 Forskrift om studier og eksamener ved Universitetet i Oslo)
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Resitting an examination.
- There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master's programme in Law.
Withdrawal from an examination
It is possible to take this exam up to 3 times. If you withdraw from the exam after the deadline or during the exam, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
There are special rules for resitting a passed examination in the master's programme in Law.
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Please se Detailed regulations for the Faculty of Law, Chapter 3 regarding application, responsibilities and special measures.
Evaluation
The course is subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students to participate in a more comprehensive evaluation.