Sociology with Criminology

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

People are not born criminals. On this course, you’ll explore how human relationships and social structures influence behaviour. You’ll discover how power dynamics and inequalities create crime. And you’ll see people who break and enforce the law in a new light.

With many diverse options to choose from, you can tailor this BSc (Hons) Sociology with Criminology degree around topics that fascinate you – from identity issues, such as race and sexuality, to issues of experience, such as happiness, gang crime or serial killing.

Modules are taught by experts who draw directly from their research activity – to give you the latest knowledge in the field. .

Course highlights

• Explore topics informed by our latest research, from a curriculum constantly updated to reflect new ideas in areas as diverse as black studies, gender, class and inequality

• Learn how to persuade others through evidence-based argument, by taking a critical look at different ideas of society, crime and justice

• Go beyond issues of crime to explore the human experience more broadly – from migration to inequalities, from food to celebrity culture

• Practice analysing human behaviour through social research, so you can gain insights to help improve people’s wellbeing

• Customise your degree to match your ambitions: some modules reduce the amount to time you’d need to train for a policing career or as a probation officer

Careers and opportunities

Studying a combination of sociology and criminology opens up a wide range of potential careers, both in and out of the criminal justice system. Whether you’re attracted to careers that involve working closely with other people, or roles that call for rigorous and structured thinking, you’ll be well prepared.

This is because you’ll graduate with a set of skills that are transferable to all kinds of professions. Those skills include:

• insight into people and social dynamics

• critical thinking and analysis

• qualitative and quantitative research

• the ability to shape and communicate an argument

For proof that a wide range of employers value these skills, look at the diversity of roles our recent graduates have taken on. They include: police officer, recruitment consultant, litigation paralegal, digital forensics assistant and victim support caseworker.

What areas can you work in with a sociology with criminology degree?

You’ll graduate ready to pursue a career or further training in areas such as:

• health and social care

• law enforcement

• probation

• counselling

• advertising, marketing and media

• teaching and lecturing

• human resources and recruitment

• business administration and personnel management

You could also progress into research-related jobs or pursue further research and study at postgraduate level.

What jobs can you do with a sociology with criminology degree?

Job roles you could take on include:

• social researcher

• probation officer

• investigative analyst

• police officer

• human resource manager

• counsellor

• teacher

• charity worker

• detention custody officer

Course Modules

The University of Portsmouth is passionate about creating career-focused modules that do more than support your studies, they empower your academic journey and prepare you for what comes next.

We design modules that have:

• Clear themes and skills development as you progress through each year
• Assessments that feel meaningful, often based on real-world tasks rather than isolated exams
• Career-enhancing opportunities such as placements, live projects, enterprise and volunteering

For a full list of the modules you will study on this course, please visit the link to the course page.

https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/bsc-hons-sociology-with-criminology#modules