Criminology is centered on the scientific study of the causes and prevention of criminal behavior and the functioning of criminal justice institutions. It draws on a wide range of academic disciplines and research traditions including both the social and natural sciences. At the University of Pennsylvania, a heavy emphasis is placed on research applications to pressing policy concerns drawing substantially on research methods from statistics and computer science. The department offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate major in Criminology, a unique M.S degree in which research and practitioner content are combined, and a research-centered Ph.D. program for a small number of talented graduate students.