Be it mimicking CSI investigators or swinging to the beat, undecided undergraduates trying to pick majors or minors will have more options to choose from come fall semester.
The School of Arts and Sciences' curriculum committee, comprised of College professors, met yesterday to discuss its recommendation for a Criminology major and Jazz Studies minor.
College faculty will vote on these additions at their April 17 meeting.
They are likely to approve both proposals, said College Dean Dennis DeTurck.
The Criminology major, said Criminology Department Chairman Lawrence Sherman, would be a "research-focused major where students would spend their senior year working with faculty members on existing research programs and primary data analysis."
The coursework would include electives in various other fields, like Sociology and Anthropology, he said.
"People don't understand that Criminology isn't just forensic science," Sherman noted. "We try to understand why homicide is up in Philadelphia and how punishment responses to crimes shapes society."
Penn's Criminology Department was created in 2003 and was the first of its kind in the Ivy League.
On a similar note, DeTurck said that the Jazz Studies minor will also explore relevant cultural components. The minor would "not just be about [jazz] music, but also about the literary and artistic culture around the music."
"Penn's Jazz Department could use some bolstering," said College senior Daniel Glass, who is a Music minor and a member of Penn Jazz.
He said that, apart from a Jazz history course and a sporadically offered Jazz Improvisation course, there haven't been many such offerings over the past few years.
"Most of the Music Department's content is oriented toward Classical . and South Asian music," he said.
College sophomore Blake West, also a Music minor, added that "courses that focus on certain periods or aspects of jazz would enhance the minor."
If approved, both the Criminology major and Jazz Studies minor will be offered in the fall, in addition to the new Modern Middle East Major, which was passed last Spring.
The MME major was created due to high student demand and will focus on "the study of the Middle East across different disciplines, with courses in literature, history, anthropology and art," said Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations Chairman Roger Allen.
Other academic changes currently in the works include a Statistics minor specifically for Wharton students, DeTurck said. As of now, that option is only available to College undergraduates.
