Criminology and Criminal Justice

Criminology and Criminal Justice at Kent helps you understand how crime is defined, controlled and challenged. This course explores issues including drugs, cybercrime, violence, policing, prisons and forensic psychology.

You’ll study in a diverse, supportive environment and learn directly from expert researchers whose work spans everything from gang exit strategies to domestic violence, terrorism and dark web drug markets.

Get involved in unique opportunities like the UK’s first Restorative Justice Clinic, where students deliver real-world interventions. You can also learn from case-based activities set by our wide range of partner organisations.

Whether you're interested in careers in the criminal justice system, the civil service, or the third sector, this course gives you the academic knowledge and practical insight to make a difference.

Year 2

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Contemporary Issues in Criminology and Criminal Justice

• Investigating Social Issues

• Inequalities, Crime and Justice

Optional modules may include the following:

• Contemporary Sociological Theory

• Inequalities

• Researching Digital Society and Culture

• Critical Issues in Policing Concepts, Theories and Debates

• Crime and Punishment in Britain from 1750 to the Present

• Prisons and Society

• The Psychology of Criminal Justice

• Restorative Justice: Theories and Practices

• Globalisation and Development

• Digital Culture

• ‘You think you’re better than me?’ The Sociology of Status

• Race and Ethnicity in Multicultural Societies

• Migration and Belonging

• Education in a Global World

Year in Industry

Year in Industry

You have the option to add a year in industry to this course. We already know you have the confidence and commitment to thrive in the workplace and kick-start your career. This is your chance to prove it, to yourself and to employers.

Any questions? We have the answers.

When should I start looking? Companies will recruit at different times of the year based on their size. It's good to be application ready by the summer of your first year.

Where can I get help finding a placement? Book an appointment with a placement adviser via the careers service.

Will I get paid? Most of our placements are paid.

Do I have to pay tuition fees? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website.

Where can I get visa advice if I’m an international student? Kent Students' Union can help with any visa queries.

Does the University keep in touch? You receive four-weekly check-in emails, a visit from the team every three months and you can reach out to us any time by email or phone.

Do I work for a full year? The minimum requirement for an industrial placement is 44 weeks.

Year Abroad

Go Abroad

Taking a year abroad – whether you study at one of our prestigious partner universities or do an internship – is an amazing opportunity.

Any questions? We have the answers.

Is there any additional funding for the year abroad? You may be able to apply for funding; check with our Go abroad team.

Do I have to pay tuition fees for the year abroad? Yes, you’ll pay a substantially reduced fee. Fees for the current year (subject to changes) can be found on our tuition fees website. You don’t pay anything to the host uni.

Will I still get my maintenance loan? Yes.

When does the year abroad take place? Between your second and final year.

Do I have to learn a foreign language? You’re taught in English in many destinations, but you’ll get more out of your year if you learn the local language.

Does the University keep in touch? You have full access to all Kent’s support services as well as our dedicated Go abroad team.

Year 3

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Applying Social Research

Optional modules may include the following

• Analysing Data in the Real World

• Philanthropy in Action

• Social and Criminal Justice Practice

• Drugs and Crime

• Offender Rehabilitation in Prisons and Probation

• Technology and Cybercrime

• The Politics of Criminal Justice

• Youth, Crime and Youth Justice

• Violence and Society

• Issues in Criminology: The Inside-Out Programme

• Multispecies Sociology: Animals and Society

• Protest, Activism, and Social Change

• Environmental Sociology: Politics and Protest

• Money and Power: Sociology of Economic Life

• Science and Society

• The Sociology of Urban Life

• Researching Bodies and Gender

• Sociology in the Global South

• Research Project

Year 1

Compulsory modules currently include the following:

• Theories of Crime and Harm

• Introduction to Criminology

• Developing the Criminological Imagination

• Making Sense of Society

• Introduction to Criminal Justice

• Careers in Criminology