Criminology

With a blend of volunteering opportunities, work placements and strong employer connections, we ensure you gain practical experience alongside your academic studies. Equipping you for success in your future career. This course is also available to study at Dudley College of Technology.

As an academic subject criminology is both theoretical and empirical with a focus on social scientific explanations for crime, victimisation and deviance. It also looks at the responses to these crimes by societies and individuals.

The inter-disciplinary nature of the subject is mirrored in the construction of our programme. Core modules in criminology are complemented by optional modules in applied criminology, sociology, forensic science, law, psychology and policing, this prompts shared learning with students from other disciplines.

You’ll be taught through a combination of interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. On this course you'll never have an exam, instead, you’ll be assessed through a mix of case reports, presentations, and consultancy projects.

Throughout your degree there are opportunities to attend extracurricular talks, research conferences, and workshops to enhance you understanding of the criminal justice sector. Organised visits to the courts, local prisons and parliament give an insight into the practicalities of working in the criminal justice system.

We believe that it is important for you to gain perspectives through different lenses, so guest speakers from a range of professions such as the Prison Service, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Ministry of Justice deliver talks. You'll also hear from those who have perpetrated or experienced crimes in our society. These talks highlight different challenges, good practices and solutions for a complex system and field of study.

Our graduates work with a range of community based organisations and client groups to ensure their learning in the classroom can be applied to a criminal justice setting. Criminology as a subject is ever changing, and our course continually evolves to reflect contemporary issues in our society.

Study Abroad

You can choose to study abroad for a semester or a whole year. We have fantastic connections with criminology programmes in Malta, Scandinavia, and the USA, allowing you to travel and see how different countries approach criminal justice and rehabilitation.

Why the University of Worcester?

The University of Worcester is a campus university, meaning everything you need is on site. We’re based in a vibrant cathedral city just 40 mins south of Birmingham and an hour north of Bristol, and our beautiful green campuses have plenty of parking and quality on-site accommodation.

At Worcester small class sizes, supportive tutors and professionally focussed courses mean you’ll be prepared for your dream career. These are just some of the reasons why we’re first in the UK for both graduate employment and quality education.

• First in the UK for sustained employment and/or further study (excluding specialist institutions), 5 years after graduation – Longitudinal Education Outcomes data 2024.

• First in the UK for quality education – Times Higher Education University Impact Rankings 2024.

• Ofsted Outstanding in 2023 the University’s primary and secondary teacher training programmes were rated ‘Outstanding’.

Join us at one of our regular Open Days to see if the University is a good fit for you: www.worcester.ac.uk/opendays

For a breakdown of the modules you'll study each year visit our course page. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of this page and selecting 'Visit our course page'

For detailed information about assessment, feedback, teaching and contact time visit our course page. You can do this by scrolling to the bottom of this page and selecting 'Visit our course page'