Program Overview

Criminology BA

Overview

Uncover the social context behind crime and the people who commit it with our multidisciplinary BA Criminology course. You’ll take learnings from other fields like sociology, law, psychology, politics, history, and media studies to help us understand how we define 'crime', how we manage those who commit crime, and how we consider the 'victim' in the process.

Course Details

• Qualification: BA Hons
• Entry Requirements: AAB
• UCAS Code: L316
• Duration: 3 years full-time (available part-time)
• Start Date: September 2026
• Fees: £9,535*

Course Information

Year One

• Criminology: Understanding Crime and Victimisation
  • Learn about the development of criminology as a discipline.
  • Consider how crime is defined and counted, and investigate the sources of criminological knowledge.
• Introduction to the Criminal Justice 'System' in England and Wales
  • Explore the function and processes of the agencies and institutions that operate within the criminal justice system.
• Investigating Social Worlds
  • Examine the nature of social research through exploration of the fundamental philosophical, methodological, and ethical debates on ‘how to think of social research’ and ‘how to do social research’.
• Punishment and Penalty
  • Discuss the philosophical, political, and historical reasons why societies use punishment and examine accounts of the changing nature of punishment since the Enlightenment.
• Social Science Uncovered 1
  • Understand what it means to study social science, and how social sciences differ from the natural sciences.
• Social Science Uncovered 2
  • Build on the skills, knowledge, and understanding gained in Social Science Uncovered 1.

Year Two

• Contemporary Theories of Crime, Justice and Society
  • Examine contemporary theories in criminology, including social harm and zemiology, state crime and denial, cultural criminology, green criminology, risk and ‘net widening’ of punishment, and Southern, decolonised criminologies.
• Research Design and Practice (Qualitative Methods)
  • Introduce the principles of research design, practice, and ethics in relation to qualitative research.
• Research Design and Practice (Quantitative Methods)
  • Introduce the principles of research design and ethics in relation to quantitative research.
• Optional Modules
  • China Beyond the Headlines
  • Crime Stories: Crime, Justice and the Media
  • Drugs, Substances and Addiction
  • Police, Policing and the Police
  • Prisons and Society
  • Rehabilitation, Risk and Desistance
  • Social Inequalities: Causes, Patterns and Change
  • #Sociology: Identity, Self and Other in a Digital Age
  • The Body, the Self and Others
  • Understanding Religion in Contemporary Society
  • Youth Crime and Justice

Year Three

• Dissertation A
  • Undertake an extended piece of investigative and synthesising work on a subject of particular interest.
• Optional Modules
  • Crimes and Harms of the Powerful
  • Cults and New Religious Movements: Power, Belief and Conflict
  • Cyber Crime
  • Education and Society
  • Exploring Social and Cultural Life Through Films
  • Gender, the Family and Social Policy
  • Migration and Transnationalism
  • Southern Criminology: Decolonising the Study of Crime and Justice
  • Victimology
  • War and State Violence

Study Abroad

• Apply to study abroad at one of our partner institutions during the first semester of your third year.
• Gain experience of another culture and enhance your CV.

Optional Placement Year

• Apply to undertake an optional placement year.
• Find and secure a placement with the support of our Careers and Employability Service.

Key Information

• Study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships, and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time.
• Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.

Fees

• £9,535* per year for full-time students.
• Reduced fees during your time studying abroad or on placement (where applicable).

Additional Costs

• All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).
• Students are recommended to have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus.
• Additional costs may include travel costs for optional placements, books, and other materials.

Scholarships and Bursaries

• The University of Nottingham offers a wide range of bursaries and scholarships.
• These funds can provide you with an additional source of non-repayable financial help.

Careers Overview

• Criminology graduates have gone on to work for the government, the police, local councils, charities, and consulting companies.
• Employers include the Home Office, Competition and Markets Authority, FTI Consulting, Nottinghamshire County Council, and Lincolnshire Police.

Placements and Internships

• The Faculty of Social Sciences runs an exclusive placements programme of term-time opportunities across all years of study.
• There are both paid and volunteer opportunities at local, national, and even international level, across a wide range of organisations and businesses.

Graduate Stories

• Hear from graduates who shared with us what they enjoyed about their time at Nottingham and what jobs they are doing now.

Job Prospects

• 90% of sociology and criminology graduates were in sustained employment or further study five years after graduation, ranking Nottingham 2nd in the Russell Group.
• These graduates earned a median salary of £29,900.*