Overview
How do we understand crime? How can it be prevented? Why should criminals be punished, and how should we go about it? Why are certain groups of people more likely to become offenders, and why are some more likely to be caught? Why are so many people fearful of crime, and yet simultaneously fascinated by it?
Our course provides a thorough training in the foundations of criminology, exploring the nature of crime, criminals, and criminal justice within wider social and psychological contexts. Social psychological approaches are increasingly crucial in understanding the interpersonal dynamics in crime control organisations, as well as exploring questions of criminal motivation.
You will explore topics including:
- Crime and its control
- Power
- Identity
You also have the opportunity to complete a supervised dissertation on a topic that inspires you, encouraging you to think differently and connect with live issues and debates, and preparing you for your graduate career.
Our BA Criminology is run by the Department of Sociology, which was rated top 10 in the UK for research quality (REF 2014).
Study abroad
Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.
Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.
If you spend a full year abroad you’ll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won’t pay any tuition fees to your host university
Placement year
You can also undertake a placement year in which you gain relevant work experience within an external business, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre.
Training social scientists of the future
Through our Q-Step Affiliate Status, we offer you the opportunity to follow a specialised pathway that embeds quantitative methods in your degree. Successful completion of specified modules entitles you to receive the qualifier ‘(Applied Quantitative Methods)’ at the end of your degree title, for example BA Sociology (Applied Quantitative Methods) and this will appear on your transcript. You can also receive student bursaries to go on work placements, helping you stand out when applying for jobs.
If you complete a placement year you’ll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.
Our expert staff
You are taught by a team of award-winning internationally renowned scholars widely regarded as leading experts in their fields.
Criminology at Essex is led by Professor Nigel South, Professor Eamonn Carrabine, Professor Pamela Cox, Professor Pete Fussey, Dr Darren Thiel, Dr Jackie Turton and Dr Isabel Crowhurst.
All lecturing staff are actively researching at the cutting edge of their respective disciplines and bring the very latest research findings into the classroom. All are prominent writers and the criminology team collectively authored the best-selling criminology textbook, ‘Criminology: A Sociological Introduction’, used on undergraduate courses across the country.
Our staff have worked at local, national and international level with bodies like local councils, the Home Office, Amnesty International and the United Nations.
Specialist facilities
- Our Centre for Criminology hosts expert speakers and practitioners
- A unique Student Study Centre where you can get help with your studies, access examples of previous students’ work, and attend workshops on research skills
- The common room is open all day Monday-Friday, has a hot drinks vending machine, water cooler and microwave as well as a small number of lockers available
- Links with the Institute of Social and Economic Research, which conducts large-scale survey projects and has its own library, and the UK Data Archive, which stores national research data like the British Crime Survey
- Our students’ Sociology Society, a forum for the exchange of ideas, arranging talks by visiting speakers, introducing you to various career pathways, and organising debates
Your future
As an Essex criminology graduate, you can use the skills and knowledge gained from your degree to pursue a range of fulfilling careers. Careers linked to criminology are varied. Our courses provide an excellent training for work within the criminal justice system, for example, as community safety officers, risk assessors, court managers, researchers, paralegals, police officers, probation officers and youth workers.
In recent years our graduates have gone on to work in a range of high-profile organisations including:
- The Institute of Public Finance
- Guardian Professional
- United Synergy Healthcare Research
- National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
- Home Office
- Media Analysts
We also work with the University’s Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.
Why we’re great
- We’re ranked 18th in the UK for criminology (Guardian University Guide 2022)
- You are taught by the staff who conduct the research and write the books.
- We pioneered sociologically informed approaches to criminology.
Structure
Course structure
We offer a flexible course structure with a mixture of core/compulsory modules, and optional modules chosen from lists.
Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The course content is therefore reviewed on an annual basis to ensure our courses remain up-to-date so modules listed are subject to change.
Teaching and learning disclaimer
Following the impact of the pandemic, we made changes to our teaching and assessment to ensure our current students could continue with their studies uninterrupted and safely. These changes included courses being taught through blended delivery, normally including some face-to-face teaching, online provision, or a combination of both across the year.
The teaching and assessment methods listed show what is currently approved for 2022 entry; changes may be necessary if, by the beginning of this course, we need to adapt the way we’re delivering them due to the external environment, and to allow you to continue to receive the best education possible safely and seamlessly.
Placement
On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.
Year abroad
On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree Our Programme Specification gives more detail about modules on your year abroad.
Teaching
- Teaching is arranged to allow a lot of freedom in how you organise your learning experience, with a focus on discussion and problem-solving
- Lab sessions to improve technical research skills
Assessment
- Assessed through a combination of written coursework and end-of-year examinations
- Weighting is 50% coursework and 50% examinations
- Complete a supervised dissertation on the topic that most inspires you