Criminology and Criminal Justice

Our undergraduate BSC in Criminology and Criminal Justice offers an exciting opportunity to explore the complex factors that shape criminal behaviour, the decisions that define certain acts as criminal, and the ways society responds to deviance and harm.

You will engage with key criminological theories and apply them to real-world, contemporary issues such as gender and crime, terrorism and extremism, state crime, race and racism, environmental harms, cybercrime, and more. This critical approach will help you understand how theory connects to lived experiences and global challenges.

Alongside this, you’ll examine the role of the criminal justice system and the agencies responsible for preventing and responding to crime. You’ll explore the structures and practices of justice in England and Wales, and assess the challenges these institutions face in a rapidly changing society.

Throughout the programme, you’ll develop a range of transferable skills essential for the workplace - including research, analysis, communication, and ethical reasoning. This degree will prepare you to think critically, act ethically, and make a meaningful impact in the field of criminology and beyond.
Our degree structure strikes a balance between providing access to the core areas of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and offers the ability to tailor your studies to your individual interests, career aspirations, or plans for postgraduate study.

This programme includes opportunities to undertake a Semester or Year Abroad, spent in locations such as the USA, Canada, China, Hong Kong, or Singapore, enhancing your learning and offering invaluable life experience.

This course also offers you the opportunity to spend a Year in Industry, in the UK or overseas, enabling you to gain valuable workplace experience. The University advocates for paid-only placements, which on average have a salary of over £20,000. Unpaid placements are considered on a case-by-case basis.

In Year 1, you will typically study areas including: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System; The Sociological & Criminological Imagination; Foundations in Social Sciences Research and Academic Skills; Victims and Victimology; Who makes the rules? Law, Decision-Making and Human Rights; Criminology, Crime and Society.

In Year 2, you will typically study areas including: Research Methods in Criminology; Criminological Theory: Content and Application.

In Year 3, you will typically study areas including: Critical Challenges in Justice for Children; Sexual Crimes; Dissertation; Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice; International Comparative Criminology; Core and Critical Issues in Policing; Homicide: Criminalising Death and Dying; Risk in Modern Society; Understanding the sex industry: Theory, policy and practice; Understanding & Countering Terrorism & Violent Extremism; Social and Environmental Harms; Critical Criminology of Sports and Leisure; Crime and the Limits of Free Speech; Illegal Economies; Probation and Community Justice: Policy, Practice and Partnerships.