Social Sciences Degrees
Another field of study that you can go into with a social science degree is penology. This is a branch of cultural science and more specifically a branch of criminology. Criminology is the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior as well as law enforcement. Penology is specifically the branch of criminology that deals with prisons, prison management and rehabilitation of prisoners.
The word penology comes from the Latin word “poena” which means punishment. This is a penitentiary science that focuses on:
In today’s modern society most penologists work on the study of prison management and rehabilitation of criminals. They may perform studies on prisons and prisoners to determine what methods and policies are working well and which ones are not gaining results. They focus not on developing severer punishments but instead of rehabilitating prisoners so that they learn from their experiences and become a better contribute to society on release.
Penology of today is less focused on punishment and more focused on rehabilitation. They apply many skills and policies which are similar to those used and advised to parents when correcting their children. The goal is to rehabilitate prisoners so that they may be released back into society and function well and have a lower chance of returning to the prison system.
If you already have a degree in social sciences, you may only need to add additional courses to get your degree in Penology. If you have not yet started your degree and are still in high school, then you can consider Penology as a specialty area before you even begin your studies in social sciences.