Doctor of Policing and Criminal Justice (Taught)

Why study Doctor of Policing and Criminal Justice | Part-time at Liverpool John Moores University?
Our programme is designed for criminal justice professionals. It offers a collaborative, practice-focused doctoral experience for practitioners and leaders working across the domains of policing, rehabilitation, community safety and broader fields of social policy delivery.

About this course
By completing this doctorate, you will achieve formal recognition and accreditation of your professional development and a raised profile within your profession, and you will have the chance to contribute to academic debate, and influence policy and practice.

By joining the programme, you will become part of a vibrant learning community of academics and practitioners working collaboratively to advance evidence-informed practice in criminal justice.

The doctorate will enable you to:

• Develop as a reflective, ethically grounded, and professionally competent practitioner with a sophisticated understanding of criminal justice systems

• Build advanced skills in research design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination

• Generate original, practice-based research with real-world impact

• Contribute to policy, professional practice, and academic debates at local, national, and international levels

• Strengthen your reflective practice through sustained engagement with peers and the wider research community

A defining feature of this programme is the development of a dynamic Community of Practice, bringing together professionals studying on the doctorate alongside colleagues from related programmes across the School of Law and Justice Studies and the wider interdisciplinary environment at LJMU.

You will engage in both formal and informal opportunities to exchange ideas, share experiences, and develop knowledge collaboratively. The School has a strong and supportive research culture, underpinned by two vibrant research centres - Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing Studies and Centre for Crime, Criminalisation and Social Exclusion.

As part of the programme, you will be invited to participate in workshops, seminars, and events that explore contemporary debates, challenges, and innovations in policing and criminal justice. These activities will deepen your understanding of current policy and practice issues while strengthening your research approach.

Tailored with the needs of criminal justice practitioners in mind, you will:

• Develop and conduct original research rooted in your own professional context

• Engage in structured learning around research design, methodology, and critical reflection

• Gain formal recognition of your advanced professional expertise

• Enhance your influence, credibility, and impact within your field

To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.

Assessments are clearly important, and we recognise that success is necessary for you to progress through the stages of your degree to your eventual graduation. We also recognise that students have different strengths, so we include a diverse range of assessment methods. Assessments will include a scoping review, learning agreement, data analysis portfolio, research proposal, final thesis submission (viva voce by external and internal examiners), mock viva, and critical reflection. Please be sure you are not alone in your doctorate, and we will support you in any way we can to make sure you succeed in your assignments. All assessments are graded on a pass/fail basis in line with the Professional Doctorate Framework.