To address the growing need of crime and security concerns in Bangladesh, the University of Dhaka at first introduced a program in Criminology under the Department of Sociology from 2010-2013. However, as a separate program, the Department of Criminology has been approved by the University Grants Commission in 2012 and it has formally started admission procedure in 2013. The department has been playing a significant role in establishing ‘Criminology’ as an academic discipline all over the country. Since the scope of criminology is increasing by leaps and bounds, the Department has introduced BSS (honors) degree with a number of relevant courses to meet the needs of our time. Importantly, the undergraduate program in criminology at the University of Dhaka is an interdisciplinary one that aims to study theories and practices of crime causation and prevention mechanisms.

The Department of Criminology studies crime, deviance, security, and policing from an inter-disciplinary perspective. The discipline aims to understand the nature of crime and society and the theoretical underpinnings that guide how reactions against crime are initiated in a legal system. The BSS in Criminology in a nutshell allows one to learn about the theoretical understanding of crime and criminal justice. Sociologist Professor Dr. Zia Rahman joined as the founder Chair of the Department and currently, it has seven faculty members having backgrounds in Law, Sociology, Criminology, Anthropology, and Journalism.