Criminology and Criminal Justice

Discover why crime happens, how justice is delivered and what role you can play in challenging the system. Bringing together theory and real-world experience, the BSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice provides a comprehensive understanding of crime and justice, while developing practical skills needed to engage with the criminal justice system.

• Tailor your learning: You’ll gain the knowledge, skills and experience to explore the big questions around crime and justice, while tailoring your degree to your interests.

• Gain career-ready skills: You’ll graduate with strong analytical, research, and legal skills – ready for a wide range of career paths in the UK and beyond.

• Engage in interdisciplinary learning: You'll be taught by experts in law, sociology, and community studies.

• Explore crime in a global context: How it links to inequality, migration, human rights, international trade, and state violence. You'll connect local and international perspectives on crime.

• Study real-world case studies: Learn about the criminal justice system with insights from practitioners and people with lived experience of the system.

• Examine the link between crime and culture: How media and culture shape our ideas about law, justice, and social order.

• Develop your research skills: Learn how to investigate criminological questions and apply your findings to real-world challenges.

• Gain practical experience: You’ll be provided with opportunities for work placements, projects, and engagement with professionals.

Course Modules

Year 1

Foundations of Crime and Justice

You’ll build your understanding of the legal system, criminological theory, and the factors that influence crime.

You’ll discuss contemporary issues, explore the roots of crime, and develop essential academic skills.

You'll take the following compulsory modules:

• Academic Skills for the Social Sciences

• Criminal Justice Systems A

• Crime, Control and the State

• Methods for Worldmaking 1A

• Imaginative Criminology

• Legal Skills for the 21st Century

• Methods for Worldmaking 1B

• Criminal Justice Systems B

Year 2

Policy, Practice, and Research

You’ll explore more advanced criminological theories, gain practical research skills, and critically examine justice institutions.

You’ll also learn to work with quantitative and qualitative data, collecting, analysing, and interpreting crime statistics through hands-on project work.

You'll take the following compulsory modules:

• Law and Contemporary Society

• Methods of Worldmaking 2A

• Criminal Law for Criminologists

• Youth Justice

• Connected Curriculum Project

• Methods of Worldmaking 2B

• Criminal Justice in Context

You'll then choose one from the following optional modules:

• Perpetrators of Violence

• Immigration Law

Year 3

Specialisation and Application

You’ll apply your learning to real-world issues through an applied research project on a topic you care about.

Core modules will allow you to specialise in areas such as white collar crime, privacy and surveillance, while optional modules offer the opportunity to learn about green criminology.

You'll be provided with opportunities for placements to build experience and enhance your employability.

You'll take the following compulsory modules:

• Dissertation (BSc Criminology with Criminal Justice)

• Crimes of the Powerful

• Privacy Surveillance and Society

You'll also choose four from the following optional modules:

• AI, Disruptive Technologies and the Law

• Gender, Sexualities and the Law

• Work Placement (Criminology with Criminal Justice)

• Criminal Evidence (with Advanced Mooting and Advocacy)

• Identity and Contemporary Social Theory

• Confronting the Climate Crisis

*Please note, module content and availability is subject to change.

You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include coursework, extended essays, reports, presentations, practice-based projects or essays/logs, group projects, reflective essays, and seen and unseen written examinations.