Faculty of Arts

Department of Sociology and Criminology

The Department of Sociology and Criminology is one of the largest departments in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Manitoba. In addition to core areas of theory and methods, the Department’s specialties include: sociological theory; research methods; power, inequality and social justice; wellness, illness, disability and medicine; criminology and sociolegal studies; culture, identity and belonging.

Our faculty and staff
People interconnected with digital lines

Study with us

Diverse learning opportunities

Social behaviour cannot be fully understood simply by studying the individuals involved. Instead, it requires attention to the wider social contexts in which those individuals are located. Sociology makes the connections between individuals and public or social issues.

In criminology, students undertake a systematic study of the nature and extent of crime and explanations put forward to understand it, as well as close scrutiny of the laws and practices designed to respond to crime. Students will gain a better appreciation of the social dimensions of harmful behaviour and engage in critical exploration of the causes of crime and the possibility of its prevention.

Prestigious practicum opportunity

Gain valuable experience and training in field research through a placement in a criminal justice or other social service agency having a mandate relevant to the study of sociology.

Practicum in Criminological/Sociological Research (SOC 3100)

A student studying with his friends.
Woman working on desktop computer in a row of other workers doing the same.

News and events

  • Researching Educational Genocide in Canada and Australia

    Visiting Doctoral Student Samara Hand on Indigenous Education Reforms

    As a child growing up in Australia in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Samara Hand wasn’t taught much about Indigenous peoples or cultures in school. Today, the visiting doctoral researcher argues that exploring the fundamental assumptions of education systems and considering alternative models can open possibilities for an education system that is grounded in, and honours, Indigenous ways of knowing.

    Read more on UMToday

  • A woman sitting in an old wooden desk chair, one arm resting on the chair arm, her other hand resting on that arm.

 

  • Protestors marching and holding signs outside of Trump tower in New York city.

  • The American mass exodus to Canada amid Trump 2.0 has yet to materialize

    By Dr. Lori Wilkinson with Jack Jedwab, CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute

    Numbers for the first quarter of 2025 show no signs of any significant uptick in Americans moving to Canada.

    Read the article in The Conversation Canada

 

Jeremy-Patzer

Dr. Jeremy Patzer named Canada Research Chair

Congratulations to Dr. Jeremy Patzer on his 2025 appointment as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Comparative Indigenous Politics supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. 

Dr. Patzer’s CRC program aims to use sociolegal data and interviews with Indigenous rights advocates to deepen understanding through comparative study. This work will emphasize a transdisciplinary approach based on Indigenous experiences and will compare Indigenous rights, not only by jurisdiction or group, but also by activity and the type of struggle. This approach recognizes diverse avenues for rights assertion within law and politics.

Dr. Patzer is Métis, Saulteaux and German with roots in the West Interlake region of Manitoba. (Indigenous family names are Spence, Monkman, Pottinger, and Dumas.) A citizen of the MMF, Patzer co-owns the family farm in the Vogar Métis Local, just outside Lake Manitoba First Nation, and has family ties to members of Peguis and Sagkeeng First Nations.

 

  • Congratulations to Chief Tréchelle Bunn [BA/23]

    Congratulations to sociology alum Tréchelle Bunn [BA/23] who was elected Chief of the Birdtail Sioux First Nation on April 10, 2025.

    A proud member of Chan Kagha Otina Dakhóta Oyáte (Birdtail Sioux Dakota Nation), Bunn co-launched a mentorship program for Indigenous youth while excelling as a USPORTS athlete, and she’s championed Reconciliation through initiatives like the Reconciliation Run Scholarship for Indigenous Student Athletes. Currently pursuing her Juris Doctor at Robson Hall, Bunn addresses critical issues on the global stage, including the United Nations Human Rights Council. 

    Bunn is the 2025 recipient of the UM Outstanding Young Alumni award and founded the annual Reconciliation Run in 2021. 

  • Headshot of Trechelle Bunn. Long black hair wearing a grey blazer and black and white beaded earrings.

Programs of study

A building with roman columns.

Bachelor of Arts in Criminology

Earn an undergraduate general or Honours degree in criminology. Attention is given to gender, race, class and crime, youth and crime, violence and victimization, criminal law and procedure, policing and crime prevention, restorative justice and global criminology. Courses are taught primarily from a sociological perspective, with emphasis placed on research, program development and policy analysis.

Student resources and opportunities

Sociology and Criminology honours program testimonial videos

Watch the testimonial videos from our former students to learn more about the Sociology and Criminology honours programs.
 

Sociology and Criminology professional associations

  • Sociology and Criminology student advising

    Undergraduate Student Advisor

    Dr. Sonia Bookman
    Associate Professor
    sonia.bookman@umanitoba.ca 

    Please provide detailed information including your full name, UM student number as well as how to contact you.

    Advisors can provide useful advice and information about the academic program, information about course selections, preparing for and being accepted into graduate programs, careers in sociology and criminology and related fields or obtaining special permission to enter courses if you do not have the prerequisite(s).

    Advisors in the Department of Sociology and Criminology ONLY provide guidance on discipline specific courses. They CANNOT offer advice on degree requirements outside of sociology and criminology courses. Please contact the Academic Advisors in the Faculty of Arts if you require assistance with degree requirements (e.g., math, writing, science and humanities credits as well as 6-credit hours in 5 different subject fields) ancillary options (i.e., credits outside of your major/minor) and GPA requirements.

You may also want

Male student sitting in an atrium study space, looking at laptop.

Become a graduate student in Sociology at UM

Together, the students, faculty and staff of the Department of Sociology and Criminology have developed an outstanding learning and research environment.

Once you decide on an area of specialization for graduate studies, please review our faculty members and their research interests to see who works in this area. Applicants are required to list two potential supervisors when applying.

Learn more about being a sociology graduate student at UM 

Research

Sociologists and criminologists engage in a variety of community-based, local, national and international projects, presenting diverse opportunities for student research involvement.

  • Dying at Home

    Dr. Laura Funk

    Understanding the complexity of preferences for place of death and family involvement in end of life (EOL) care is especially urgent following decades of changes in Canadian health and social policies, funding and service delivery, which have increased structural pressures towards aging and dying in place.

    This study examines and compares public attitudes and policy on dying at home and responsibility for supporting home death.

    More about the research project

  • Democratizing data: Canadian Immigration Research Portal

    Dr. Lori Wilkinson
    Canada Research Chair in Migration Futures

    This new interactive map provides statistical demographic data to policy analysts, researchers, NGO workers, students and the public across Canada helping to inform discussions, support grant requests and direct programming among local partnerships, the settlement sector, government, business, and ethnocultural, Indigenous and newcomer communities.

    More about the Canadian Immigration Research Portal

  • Why Food Sovereignty Matters

    Dr. Annette Desmarais

    What is food sovereignty? What is it that makes it such a powerful idea? What is the significance of this new vision of agriculture and food? How do communities actually engage in it?

    More about the research

  • Unpacking immigration
    Student Fareedah Ganiyu interviews Dr. Lori Wilkinson on her research on immigrants and refugees in light of national and international current events. Filmed January 2025.

  • Unocovering the meanings of genocide
    Student Fareedah Ganiyu interviews Dr. Andrew Woolfordon his research on genocide in the Canadian and global context. Filmed February 2025.

  • Deconstructing inequality
    Student Fareedah Ganiyu interviews Dr. Mara Fridell on her interdisciplinary research on inequality in the context of climate change, reproductive rights and democracy's struggles. Filmed February 2025.

Community and outreach

Members of the Department of Sociology and Criminology have affiliations with other research institutes, centres, facilities and groups, including:

Contact us

Department of Sociology and Criminology
318 Isbister Building
183 Dafoe Road
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada

sociology@umanitoba.ca
204-474-9260
Toll Free: 1-800-432-1960 Ext. 9260
204-261-1216