Program Overview

Criminology (LAWS0035)

Key Information

The Criminology module is offered by the Faculty of Laws, with the Laws department being responsible for teaching. This module has a credit value of 30. Restrictions apply to students from other UCL departments or University of London institutions, who must have a solid 2.1 average and be entering their final year, but do not need a background in law or previous Laws modules.

Alternative Credit Options

There are no alternative credit options available for this module.

Description

This module explores fundamental questions about crime, including its definition, who commits it, why, and how society responds. Through examining theories from biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and philosophy, students develop a deeper understanding of criminal behavior without requiring prior knowledge in these subjects. Literary works such as Frankenstein, Crime and Punishment, and Brighton Rock are used to illuminate questions about the human condition, society's role, and whether crime is a matter of destiny or social construction.

The module also investigates how criminological theories shape laws and crime control policies, critically evaluating their legitimacy and effectiveness through an interdisciplinary approach. This provides a solid foundation for analyzing the complex relationship between crime, society, and justice.

Module Aims

• Introduction to the history of ideas and ways of thinking about crime
• Introduction to significant concepts concerning crime and its explanation
• The facts: what we know about the incidence and patterns of crime
• Student workshop on interpretation of the "facts of crime" – case study on murder
• Classical School of Criminology: free will, situational and opportunity theories
• Individual pathology: physiological and biological explanations
• Individual pathology: psychological explanations
• Individual pathology: personality
• Social explanation: Durkheim on Suicide, the beginnings of sociological method
• The Chicago School and social ecology
• Strain theory: The American dream
• Social learning: Sutherland and differential association, Emile Durkheim, and G.H Mead
• Subcultural theories: social strain and cultural transmission
• Control theory
• Symbolic interactionism: social reaction and labelling theories
• Critical explanations: American conflict theory and Marxist explanation
• Critical explanations: feminism, masculinities, and post-modernism
• The application of criminological theory to particular types of crime
• Revision class: examination questions and brief evaluation of the field

Module Deliveries for 2026/27 Academic Year

The module is intended to be taught in Terms 1 and 2, at the Undergraduate (FHEQ Level 6) level.

Teaching and Assessment

• Mode of study: In person
• Methods of assessment: 100% Exam
• Mark scheme: Numeric Marks

Other Information

• Number of students on the module in the previous year: 24
• Module leader: Ms Elaine Genders

This module description was last updated on 10th March 2026.