Criminology and Sociology

Why study Criminology and Sociology at Liverpool John Moores University?

• Taught by subject specialists with national and international reputations for their research and civic engagement

• Delivered using innovative teaching, learning and assessment methods, with options for fieldwork at home and overseas, with international study opportunities

• The teaching team are committed to sociology and criminology in action, and to making a difference in peoples' lives

• You will have opportunities to participate in 'out of classroom' learning activities including educational field visits to organisations, museums, art galleries, places of worship and walking tours

• Work placement opportunities in teaching, international development, charities, tourism, media, creative and heritage industries

• 93% of students on this course said teaching staff were good at explaining things (National Student Survey 2025)

About your course
The BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology at Liverpool John Moores University combines two contemporary and popular disciplines, providing you with grounding in core elements of both subjects, together with a wide range of optional modules that will enable you to follow your own pathway.

Throughout the course you will be encouraged to develop your critical thinking skills by questioning what we mean by the terms 'crime', 'criminals', 'punishment' and 'justice'. You will learn about the institutions of the criminal justice system and study areas like corporate crime, state crime, miscarriages of justice, policing and drugs. The two disciplines share many concerns, and our degree brings the two subjects together in ways which emphasise the areas of social policy, the variable impact of age, class, gender, sexuality, religion and ethics, disability and ethnicity on social life.

The degree is taught in the Sociology department, and your personal tutor will be a sociologist. The modules will be taught by a team of well-qualified, experienced and dedicated staff from the Sociology and Criminology departments.

You will study social science research methods, including qualitative surveys and qualitative techniques, and be provided with a thorough grounding in theoretical perspectives which are drawn upon in the critical investigations of societies and of criminology.

The degree carefully fosters an international perspective on society and criminology, considers the relationships between the local and the global, and includes opportunities to study abroad, undertake educational field work visits to South Asia or Europe.

Pathways can be built through the study of modules, which concentrate ecological issues, social policy and cultural analysis of media, music, sport and religion. You will also receive training in sociological methods and sociological and criminological theory.

The degree also offers you exciting work-based and work-related opportunities to gain professional experience relevant to your degree.