MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice
This MSc is for graduates who want to study crime, criminal justice and social harm in depth. It combines criminological theory with research methods and analysis of criminal justice institutions, social policy and state power. It may suit those interested in rehabilitation, victimisation, human rights, prisons and probation, or the relationship between inequality, marginalisation and criminalisation.
About this course
This MSc examines crime, criminal justice and social harm through criminological, cultural, social and political perspectives. It considers how crime, deviance, victimisation and harm are defined and responded to, alongside the role of criminal justice organisations and the state.
You will explore structural inequalities of power, violence, environmental damage and social marginalisation. The course also addresses subjects including green crime, miscarriages of justice, problem-solving courts, abolitionist criminology, human rights, protest and political dissent.
Research training is central to the course. You will develop qualitative and quantitative research skills, and learn to work with empirical criminology research, systematic reviews and case studies. The final dissertation or digital coproduction and rehabilitation project provides an opportunity to investigate a focused issue in criminology or criminal justice.
Full-time study takes three terms and part-time study takes six terms. An online study option is also available.
What you will study
Core areas of study include:
• Criminology Harms and Power • Crime and Criminal Justice • Research Methods • Transforming Social Policy • Identity, Diversity and Human Rights • Desistance and the Carceral State • Criminology at the Margins • Resistance Activism and the State • Dissertation or Digital Coproduction and Rehabilitation Project
Topics include criminological theory and the history of ideas; criminal justice responses to crime, harm, deviance and victimisation; qualitative and quantitative methods; social policy, state power and global governance; prisons, probation, rehabilitation, resettlement and restorative justice. You will also consider queer and trans theory, Black studies, post- and decolonial thought, detention centres, activism and resistance.
Modules
- Criminology Harms and Power (core)
- Crime and Criminal Justice (core)
- Research Methods (core)
- Transforming Social Policy (core)
- Identity, Diversity and Human Rights (optional)
- Desistance and the Carceral State (optional)
- Criminology at the Margins (optional)
- Resistance Activism and the State (optional)
- Dissertation or Digital Coproduction and Rehabilitation Project (core)
Assessment
Assessment includes formative and summative work, such as written and multimedia assignments, group studies, oral presentations, a digital coproduction project and a dissertation.
Entry requirements
A UK bachelor’s degree in any subject with a 2:2 classification or above, or an equivalent qualification.
Careers
This course may support progression into roles across the criminal justice sector, including policing, prison and probation services, courts and security services. Other possible areas include the civil service, not-for-profit organisations, social care, academia, education, journalism, intelligence services, business and the military.
Your next step starts with a conversation
Tell us where you are now. We will tell you honestly what your options are — in English or Persian, at no cost to you.