Criminology - BSc (Hons) *

This module is designed to develop your understanding of the emergence and development of key theories of punishment through an exploration of the history of penal theory and its contemporary challenges and controversies. Furthermore, this module seeks to refine and expand upon traditional theoretical perspectives of punishment and the current reliance upon imprisonment as a dominant form of punishment in England and Wales. In doing so, it will require you to critically engage with some of the strengths and limitations of such an approach and consider possible alternatives. 

This module will help you to acquire numerous employability skills, such as critical thinking and reflective practice. Vocationally it is linked to a range of potential criminal justice professions in the statutory, voluntary and non-governmental sectors, building your knowledge and understanding of core functions and debates in the prison and punishment realms.

Traditionally criminology has focused on those who perpetrate harm and given far less attention to those who experience harm, and this module seeks to address this discrepancy. This module will give some consideration as to why some events which cause harm are formally labelled and treated as crimes when others are not, and in doing so we will consider the impact of this upon those who experience these harms. This module will support you to develop a critical understanding of victimology and equip you to question the label 'victim'. Furthermore, we will consider how many of those who experience harm will frequently be the least powerful and the most vulnerable in society, increasing the need for effective responses (both inside and outside of the Criminal Justice System) to repair the harm done.   

This module is taught by lectures and seminars and is assessed by an essay. The module is ideal if you who wish to work with victims of crime/experiencers of harm in your future carer, or if you want to gain a more holistic understanding of harm prior to working with those who perpetrate said harms. Furthermore, this module will also enable you to enhance your communication and critical thinking skills which are transferable to employment. 

This module is designed to help you explore Criminology‑related career pathways and begin developing your professional identity. It provides structured support to help you understand how the knowledge and skills gained through your degree can be applied in a wide range of professional contexts, both within and beyond the criminal justice system. It encourages you to connect Criminological theory to professional practice, strengthening your professional identity and preparing you for graduate employment. The module encourages you to think critically about different sectors, organisational cultures and ethical issues, and to consider where you see yourself working in the future. 

Through a combination of taught sessions, guided activities, and professional engagement, you will explore potential careers, develop employability skills, and reflect on your strengths, values and areas for development. The module is split into two parts: the first part comprises of taught sessions which focus on areas such as career exploration, skills mapping, professional conduct, reflective practice, and preparing effective examples for applications and interviews.  

The second part of the module encompasses a short period of professional engagement where you will be encouraged to connect your academic learning with professional experiences, and to articulate the transferable skills developed through your degree. This engagement is intended to be exploratory and flexible, allowing you to gain early exposure to professional or civic settings and to generate real experiences that can inform your learning and career planning. You will choose one of four pathways:  

The module provides you with the opportunity to apply the learning from your Criminology degree to the world of work. It is designed to enhance your ability to critically self-reflect and to strengthen your employability skills, professional awareness and further applied learning opportunities. If who wish to gain more extensive professional experience may choose to progress to the optional Semester 2 placement module, where they can continue to undertake their placement or a deeper and more sustained placement experience can be undertaken for an additional 20 credits.  

By the end of the module, you will have greater confidence in your employability skills, a clearer understanding of possible career routes, and a stronger foundation for making informed decisions about your future. 

This module is designed specifically to make you a confident social researcher, prepare you for writing an undergraduate dissertation, and enhance your employability, particularly project management skills. You will have a chance to engage with major and emerging methods of researching criminological, policing and security issues. The module will encourage you to think critically about choosing appropriate research approaches, ensuring ethical conduct, designing and using data collection tools, analysing data, communicating and disseminating your research, and managing projects. All these skills are what employers expect from criminology graduates. 

The module is assessed based on coursework, which involves preparation of a research proposal. The teaching is designed around preparing you to meet the learning outcomes and helping you design your own project. Methods will include lectures and interactive resources. You will also be able to apply your knowledge in practice by participating in seminar activities and designing your own research proposal for the assessment. We will provide examples of completed small and large research projects, discussing their design and methodology. Readings will include chapters from methodology textbooks, as well as articles reporting findings from completed studies. 

The module will help you strengthen the following competences: developing a research project; project management; conducting data analysis; addressing ethical issues; reviewing literature; academic writing; and referencing. 

This module offers a rigorous and critical examination of one of the most pressing security challenges of the contemporary world: the convergence of international terrorism and transnational organized crime. You will explore how these two phenomena, long treated as distinct fields of inquiry, have increasingly overlapped, merged, and mutually reinforced one another in the post-Cold War era, giving rise to hybrid threat actors that defy traditional analytical categories. 

Drawing on criminological theory, security studies, and empirical case studies, the module interrogates the structural conditions that enable dark alliances to form and flourish, from ungoverned spaces and state fragility to globalised financial systems and illicit commodity chains. Students will critically assess the evidence base for the terror-crime nexus, engaging with debates around whether convergence represents a genuine strategic shift or a contextual and opportunistic phenomenon. 

Key topics include: the financing of terrorism through drug smuggling, human trafficking, and arms dealing; the ideological tensions and pragmatic accommodations that shape cooperation between criminal and terrorist networks; and the role of diaspora communities, corrupt officials, and licit business fronts in facilitating these alliances. Regional case studies drawn from contexts such as the Sahel, the Western Balkans, Latin America, and South and Southeast Asia ground abstract theory in concrete operational realities. 

By the end of this module, you will be equipped to critically evaluate competing theoretical frameworks, analyse primary intelligence and policy documents, and assess the effectiveness of counter-strategies deployed by state and international actors. The module develops transferable skills in analytical reasoning, source evaluation, and evidence-based argument construction, with direct relevance to careers in law enforcement, policy, security consulting, and academic research. 

In this module we will take a critical look at crime, social contexts, and the impact of space and place as linked to the urban city as a social milieu. We will also investigate the nature of contemporary city living and how this is experienced across intersections of identity, and what this means for vulnerabilities to being victims of crime or being led into criminal pathways. We will also look in detail at forms of criminological theory and consider newer emergent aspects of cultural and critical forms of criminology.   

Topics covered will range from conventional forms of crime to more sophisticated phenomena often considered under the rubric of harm rather than crime. Key features of the module include the focus on social and spatial factors on crime, as well as how city spaces facilitate crime, and what this means for the policing of city spaces. Subsequent inequities across a range of intersectional dynamics of identity are integral to the module, and it is a specific requirement that these wider contextual factors are drawn upon in the assessment. Other specific requirements include regular and consistent attendance, commitment to reading around topics covered in the module, and actively contributing to student-led discussions in seminars. The mode of assessment is a group presentation (20 minutes) to be accompanied by an individual written brief (1500 words) outlining the student’s contribution to the group work.  

Employability skills acquired throughout the module include time management, effective teamworking, decisive decision making, secondary research skills, and presentation skills around engagement and effective verbal communication. The module will encourage you to think about issues in your  

immediate locality and beyond, using both theoretical and empirical research material and personal reflection. 

Youth Crime and Justice aims to equip you with a sound theoretical knowledge of juvenile offending and justice. In essence, the understanding of the complex relationship between young people and criminality fits within the wider aims of the course and associated pathways as it draws on sociological and criminological understandings, furthering your ability to understand and problematise crime and its causes.  

The module also recognises that the separate and distinct administration of criminal justice to young people is a topic worthy of consideration in its own right, and considers important debates around justice, welfare, education, and the construction of youth and childhood. It takes both a contemporary and historical focus, considering how the nexus of crime, control, and youth have variously been considered during different historical periods. 

This module will equip you will the knowledge and understanding of current policy issues and responses to youth justice, essential for a career in the Criminal Justice System working with young people. The module is delivered in a lecture/seminar format and is assessed by an individual presentation. Furthermore, this module will enable you to enhance your oral communication and presentation skills which are transferable to employment. As well as giving you a working knowledge of employment within the youth justice industry. 

This module considers the role of forensic science in criminal investigations. You will examine a variety of methods and practices of forensic science, including crime scene analysis, DNA evidence and blood spatter analysis, and will discuss how these are interpreted to solve criminal cases. You will explore the theories and academic debates surrounding current practice.  

Teaching on this module is carried out by way of lectures and seminars, with individual guidance and assistance being available to you in the research and preparation of your work. The lectures will provide a basic framework and background to the subject and need to be supplemented by reading from the core texts and further reading. Seminar topics have been carefully chosen to promote discussion, through class debates, group exercises, and the use of selected media, therefore, you are strongly recommended to prepare for seminars by doing background reading and research where indicated. Emphasis is placed throughout on active and participatory learning in small groups. The module is assessed by an essay.   

Furthermore, the module will provide you with a critical understanding of the forensic sciences and their use within criminal investigation. As such, this module delivers an important background knowledge and comprehension to those seeking a career in policing or other spheres involving investigation, or in areas of employment that require the critical understanding of the conclusions that might be drawn from investigatory processes.  

Black theoretical perspectives and debates on crime, criminal justice, and criminology are seldom heard, seen, or referred to, within so called ‘mainstream criminology’. A possible explanation for this ‘invisibility’ could be as a consequence of implicit biases within the discipline itself. It is argued that these implicit biases further reproduce and reinforces privilege of some perspectives, whilst at the same time subordinating others. Russell (2002) calls for the development of a ‘black criminology’, Phillips and Bowling (2003) further call for the need to develop ‘minority perspectives’ in criminology, whilst Glynn (2018) sees the need for a Critical Race Criminology to transcend the current subordinate status of non-white criminological perspectives.   

Key features of the module include a focus on racialisation and ‘race’ and what these mean for inequities in criminal justice, and for the wider social marginalisation of racialised groups in white majority societies. The ‘call to context’ is another key feature of the module, and the module will explore how processes of racialised marginalisation can lead to elevated vulnerabilities around exposure to, and exploitation within, criminalised spaces. The module also critically interrogates master-narratives around ‘race’ and crime, and offers critical counter-narratives as another key feature of the module.   

Specific requirements for the module include regular and consistent attendance, commitment to reading around topics covered in the module and actively contributing to student-led discussions in seminars. The mode of assessment is a group presentation accompanied by an individual written brief on the student’s contribution to the group work. 

Employability skills acquired throughout the module include critical thinking, the ability to deconstruct ‘race neutral’ narratives in institutional and organisational settings, time management, effective teamworking, decisive decision making, secondary research skills, and presentation skills around engagement and effective verbal communication.  

This module provides you with an opportunity to critically engage with key aims of your course by examining contemporary debates that surround the phenomenon of homicide. You will be introduced to various theoretical perspectives and case studies, focusing on both historical and contemporary examples of homicide, in order to achieve an informed understanding of this unique form of offending. By presenting both a theoretical discussion and real-life cases, you will be able to develop knowledge and a critical understanding of criminology and related disciplines both in theory and practice.  

You will be assessed by an individual video presentation in which you will be expected to engage with criminological theory in order to explain your chosen case study. You should be able to demonstrate solid knowledge and understanding of theory and key concepts, the ability to apply theory to individual case studies and critically evaluate your conclusions. You should also be able to critically discuss the media representations of homicide cases and the extent to which they offer valuable insights in relation to this type of crime. 

This module will help equip you with key employability skills such as problem-solving, teamwork, communication and presentation skills. 

This module enables you to examine the nature of both illegal and legal drugs. Within this remit the evolving and ever-changing nature of both how substances are supplied and consumed will be discussed. How such substance use/misuse is linked to various forms of deviancy and crime will be considered. To give you a rounded perspective of the subject, the content will be global in scale, with the development of the ‘war on drugs' and related criminal justice policies included. Finally, contemporary issues in both supply, demand, official policy and practice will be at the fore, raising questions around the nature of illicit substance usage. 

You will be asked to critically consider current and future drug policy in relation to harms caused, impact upon vulnerable communities, and the motivations of substance use. You will consider this from an global perspective which acknowledges the power dynamics at play in relation to international drug trafficking. The module considers not only addiction and recreational drug use, but the political motivations of policing and the ‘War on Drugs’ and possible alternatives including decriminalisation and harm reduction policies. You will be encouraged to consider intersectionality, the broader socio-political context, and the use of drugs by those who have experienced personal and systematic victimisation. 

Sport occupies a unique cultural and economic space in contemporary society, one increasingly implicated in serious organised crime, political manipulation, and the abuse of power. This module applies a critical lens to the world of sport, examining how global sporting institutions have become vehicles for money laundering, illicit financial flows, and state-sponsored sportwashing.  

You will analyse the role of gambling industries and match-fixing networks, the complicity of governing bodies such as FIFA and the IOC, and the use of sport by authoritarian regimes and populist political elites as a tool of legitimacy and soft power.  

The module also interrogates the failures of regulatory and criminal justice institutions to hold elite actors to account. Through case studies ranging from Gulf state investment in European football to doping scandals and corruption in Olympic bidding processes, students will develop a sophisticated understanding of how sport both reflects and reproduces broader structures of power, inequality, and impunity. 

Through a combination of theoretical engagement and analysis of contemporary case studies, you will develop critical thinking skills that allow you to evaluate various interpretations of people’s behaviours. The module emphasises the importance of understanding wider sociocultural factors when considering how and why people do what they do.  

You will have the opportunity to pursue an assessment on topics that align with their own interests, developing their ability to synthesise academic literature and construct well-evidenced and nuanced arguments. These skills — critical analysis of complex social issues, evaluating multiple perspectives, and presenting reasoned arguments — are highly valued in diverse professional contexts including policy development, advocacy work, education, and research

This module explores British imperialism from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. It focuses on the historic entanglements between colonial oppression and racial hierarchies, which have been made possible through citizenship regimes. The module also considers rights-based struggles that assume an anti-imperialist and anti-racist character. Learning is situated within the political sociology strand of curriculum provision. The module engages with themes of statehood, power, activism, identity, and the postcolonial. 

Over the course of the module, the modern notion of citizenship - equality, liberty, solidarity - is critically examined. These legal, political, and cultural dimensions of citizenship are probed in terms of their role in creating or undoing hierarchical differentiation between (as well as within) British metropole and colonial populations. British imperialism is then examined through post-1945 citizenship contexts. Our contemporary politics of nationality, culture, and migration is discussed in terms of its (dis)continuities with earlier imperialist discourse. 

The module develops students understanding of histories of the present, which is an integral part of the ‘sociological imagination’ (Mills, 1959) and ‘connected sociologies’ (Bhambra, 2014). In doing so, the module contributes to an intellectual and professional research craft that: prioritises conceptual and evidence-based argumentation; navigates historiographical issues; and contests anti-historical approaches to contemporary politics or policy. Workshops consist of lectures, seminars, and student-led “show and tell” presentations. 

This module is designed to help you explore Criminology related career pathways and begin developing your professional identity. It provides structured support to help you understand how the knowledge and skills gained through your degree can be applied in a wide range of professional contexts, both within and beyond the criminal justice system. It encourages you to connect Criminological theory to professional practice, strengthening your professional identity and preparing you for graduate employment. The module encourages you to think critically about different sectors, organisational cultures and ethical issues, and to consider where you see yourself working in the future. 

Through a combination of taught sessions, guided activities, and professional engagement, you will explore potential careers, develop employability skills, and reflect on your strengths, values and areas for development. The module is split into two parts: the first part comprises of taught sessions which focus on areas such as career exploration, skills mapping, professional conduct, reflective practice, and preparing effective examples for applications and interviews.  

The second part of the module encompasses a short period of professional engagement where you will be encouraged to connect your academic learning with professional experiences, and to articulate the transferable skills developed through your degree. This engagement is intended to be exploratory and flexible, allowing you to gain early exposure to professional or civic settings and to generate real experiences that can inform your learning and career planning. You will choose one of four pathways below.  

The module provides you with the opportunity to apply the learning from your Criminology degree to the world of work. It is designed to enhance your ability to critically self-reflect and to strengthen your employability skills, professional awareness and further applied learning opportunities. Students who wish to gain more extensive professional experience may choose to progress to the optional Semester 2 placement module, where they can continue to undertake their placement or a deeper and more sustained placement experience can be undertaken for an additional 20 credits.  

By the end of the module, you will have greater confidence in your employability skills, a clearer understanding of possible career routes, and a stronger foundation for making informed decisions about your future. 

Crime does not occur randomly. It is always embedded within particular social and environmental contexts. This module takes this as its starting point, examining how crime is produced through the interaction of community structure, informal social control, and the built environment. The focus throughout is on understanding why crime occurs in particular places and how such incidences of crime can be analysed and addressed. 

The module begins by introducing you to place-based approaches to crime. Attention is given to neighbourhood structure and social organisation and disorganisation, drawing on the work of the Chicago School of Sociology, alongside the role of informal social control and collective efficacy in shaping community responses to crime. These perspectives are then extended through environmental criminology, including routine activity and crime patterns theory, to show how crime is structured through everyday movement, opportunity, and urban design and planning. Building on this, the module turns to mechanisms of crime prevention. Students are introduced to Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), as well as the contributions of Jane Jacobs and Oscar Newman, before examining community-based, developmental, and situational approaches to crime prevention. The emphasis is on how these approaches operate at different levels, and how they can be combined, to produce effective crime control interventions. 

Assessment has been designed to be integral to the module. You will work in groups to design a fictional neighbourhood, analyse the issues within it, and develop a set of crime prevention strategies. This culminates in a group presentation and a written report, ensuring that students engage with both the diagnosis of crime problems within their neighbourhoods and the development of applied, theoretically informed, solutions. 

Green and environmental issues are an emergent, and vital, area of study for sociologists and concern for wider society, with intensifying ecological collapse and climate change reported daily. This module will introduce you to the exciting and vital research agendas that exist under the rubric of Environmental Sociology. It will highlight how classical and contemporary social theorists have variously highlighted, socially constructed and marginalised the role of nature and ecology in social organisation, development, stratification and conflict. It will centre these debates in the context of an intensifying climate crisis that threatens human, animal and plant life. This will form publicly engaged focus that explores the role of power in understanding who and what is protected from the worst effects of environmental degradation and who is victimised. This will involve reflecting on how environmental degradation accelerates pre-existing inequalities and resistance along the lines of class, ethnicity, gender, and indigeneity on a local, national and planetary scale.  

Using the physical and digital library resources you will access reports from important commentators such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and development organisations like Oxfam. The classes will consist of lectures and discussion workshops with a multidisciplinary reading list encompassing sociology and cognate disciplines, scientific reports and global and local policymaking bodies. 

Speakers from relevant NGOs will be invited to discuss career trajectories focusing on environmental issues and sustainable development. Employability development will be a feature. Participants will gain essential skills to assist future employers with conceptualising and assessing the contemporary challenges that environmental breakdown, particularly climate change, will present for every sector of society. The Assessment will have a significant employability component as well. It will consist of a conference-ready research poster presenting a critical sociological account of a scenario of environmental injustice in the Global North or South with an accompanying 2,000 word essay. This will build your presentation, advocacy and analytical faculties around this urgent area of inquiry. 

This module offers an in-depth exploration of how criminological theories help you understand why individuals engage in criminal behaviour and the factors that influence their pathways toward desistance. Building directly on the foundational criminological theory introduced at Level 4 and 5, the module extends your theoretical knowledge and applies it to real-world contexts through critical analysis and case-based learning. 

You will critically examine the social, structural, and interpersonal factors that contribute to offending, including inequality, marginalisation, victimisation, peer influence, and life-course events. Alongside this, the module introduces key debates surrounding how and why people cease offending, exploring concepts such as identity transformation, social bonds, rehabilitation, and policy-driven approaches to supporting desistance. Central to the module is the application of life-course criminology, drawing on the work of Glen H. Elder, Robert J. Sampson and John H. Laub, and Terrie Moffitt. You will critically examine how individual life trajectories are shaped by structural conditions, social bonds, and developmental pathways. 

A core feature of the module is the use of life-history material and case studies to illuminate how criminological theory operates in practice. Through these narratives, you will critically interrogate patterns of offending and desistance, situating individual experiences within broader social, political, and economic contexts. 

You will be taught using a range of innovative and interactive methods to deepen understanding and demonstrate the practical application of theory. You will be encouraged to consider how theory shapes real-world criminal justice responses and how early intervention, support services, and targeted policy initiatives may prevent long-term involvement in crime. 

Assessment will take the form of a written, in-depth case study analysis that allows you to apply theoretical and conceptual knowledge to a concrete example. This assignment is designed to strengthen your analytical skills, enhance your understanding of lived experiences of crime, and prepare you for potential career pathways in youth services, probation, policing, prisons, and wider community and voluntary sectors.  

By the end of the module, you will have developed a nuanced understanding of the trajectories into and out of crime and an appreciation of how criminological theory can be used to inform effective, evidence-based practice across the criminal justice system. 

This module provides you with the opportunity to carry out a self‑directed, critical investigation of a specific topic relating to Criminology. You will produce a substantial independent piece of work, which may be empirical, policy‑based, or theoretical in nature. Building on the skills developed at Level 4 in Applied Research Methods in Criminology and Level 5 in the Research Proposal module, you will draw on your developing knowledge, interests, and methodological competence to conduct an in‑depth dissertation in an area of your choosing. 

Guidance will be provided through taught sessions scheduled across the academic year, alongside supervision tailored to your individual dissertation. You will be allocated a supervisor who will offer small‑group and/or one‑to‑one supervision at key stages of the research process. Assessment for the module takes the form of a written dissertation, with opportunities to submit up to three formative patches for feedback. A series of writing retreats will also be offered, enabling you to work in a supportive and collaborative environment with peers and supervisors. 

The module is geared towards enhancing your employability by equipping you with a range of competencies necessary for graduate-level work and further study, including research design, project management, analytical skills, ethical awareness, and report writing skills. 

Crimes of the Powerful encompasses the damaging and victimising behaviours perpetrated by privately or publicly operated corporations, as well as the state facilitated legalistic and political responses to these activities. Within criminology and wider academia, we generally fail to scrutinise those who operate within the highest levels of society – those individuals or institutions with much economic and cultural capital. This module will address such deficiencies by providing a nuanced and holistic overview of the actions of such individuals, organisations and State actors.  

By utilising critical criminological theories and critical notions of violence underpinned by zemiology (the study of social harm), this module will highlight the contradictions in conventional state and academic approaches to criminality, whilst also demonstrating that some of the most significant harms and dangers we currently face – both in the UK and abroad - are interwoven into very fabric of normality. Specifically, we will look at how many of the harms produced by the powerful are engrained and proliferated within the globalised context of neo-liberal capitalism and consumer ideology.   

By presenting both theoretical discussions and real-life cases, you will be provided an opportunity to develop knowledge and critical understanding of criminology and related disciplines both in theory and in practice. You will also be exposed to one of the areas of excellence of our research centre and the research specialisms of staff. 

This module will provide you with a comprehensive and critical introduction to these topics and encourages you to actively research areas of interest through the development of an assessed case study, culminating in an essay. The assessment will assist in the development of key employability skills including written communication, critical analysis, problem-solving, and ethical and social awareness.