About this course

Crime, security and justice are endlessly fascinating subjects, for culture, society and the media. This popular BSc Criminology degree will let you explore how the nature of crime and punishment changes around the world and over time. Specialist modules will help you steer your degree to a range of professional careers.

Criminology at the University of Southampton is ranked 10th in the UK (The Times & Sunday Times, 2022)

Criminology is one of the oldest social sciences. It explores the origins and patterns of criminality, the reasons for committing crime, and the workings of the criminal justice system.

On this course, you’ll study criminology and criminal justice, covering topics such as:

criminal behaviour
victimisation
the socio-legal context of crime
the reaction of society
the future of social control

Our criminology courses are led by knowledgeable and passionate academics at the forefront of the field. We also underpin all our criminology modules with up-to-date research.

This course will open the door to further research, or careers in public service, criminal justice and beyond.

As part of your degree you can:

study a minor subject, such as psychology, alongside your main degree
learn to analyse criminal behaviour and the workings of the criminal justice system
examine cyber and international crime
study abroad for a semester in Brazil, Canada or China
challenge yourself and help make a difference with our Social Impact Lab
take specialist modules from other disciplines to unlock a range of career options

The University is also home to the Institute of Criminal Justice. You can take part in seminars, workshops and lectures, and explore the relationships between criminal justice scholarship, research, policy, and practice.

Course location

This course is based at Highfield.

Awarding body

This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.

Download the Course Description Document

The Course Description Document details your course overview, your course structure and how your course is taught and assessed.

Changes due to COVID-19

Although the COVID-19 situation is improving, any future restrictions could mean we might have to change the way parts of our teaching and learning take place in 2022 to 2023. This means that some of the information on this course page may be subject to change.

Find out more on our COVID advice page.

ODT

Download 2022-23 Course Description Document

Entry requirements

A-levels

ABB

A-levels additional information

Offers typically exclude General Studies and Critical Thinking.

More information about A-levels

A-levels with Extended Project Qualification

If you are taking an EPQ in addition to 3 A levels, you will receive the following offer in addition to the standard A level offer: BBB and grade A in the EPQ

A-levels contextual offer

We are committed to ensuring that all applicants with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise an applicant's potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme, as follows: BBB

or

International Baccalaureate Diploma

Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level

More information about International Baccalaureate Diploma

International Baccalaureate contextual offer

We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.

International Baccalaureate Career Programme (IBCP) statement

Offers will be made on the individual Diploma Course subject(s) and the career-related study qualification. The CP core will not form part of the offer. Where there is a subject pre-requisite(s), applicants will be required to study the subject(s) at Higher Level in the Diploma course subject and/or take a specified unit in the career-related study qualification. Applicants may also be asked to achieve a specific grade in those elements. Please see the University of Southampton International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) Statement for further information. Applicants are advised to contact their Faculty Admissions Office for more information.

or

BTEC

D in the BTEC National Extended Certificate plus AB from two A levels DD in the BTEC National Diploma plus B from one A-level DDM in the BTEC National Extended Diploma

RQF BTEC

We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.

Additional information

BTEC qualifications should be in Health and Social Care, Public Services, or Forensic and Criminal Investigation. Please check with us if your BTEC qualification is in a different subject before applying.

More information about BTEC

QCF BTEC

D in the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma plus AB from two A levels DD in the BTEC Diploma plus B grade from one A-level DDM in the BTEC Extended Diploma

We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.

or

Other requirements

UK students

International students

Other ways to qualify

GCSE requirements

Applicants must hold GCSE English language (or GCSE English) (minimum grade 4/C) and mathematics (minimum grade 4/C)

Got a question?

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

Course structure

You’ll take 8 modules per year, which consist of contact time (lectures, seminars, workshops), preparation for classes, and independent study.

In years 2 and 3, you can choose optional modules from related disciplines or other faculties. You can even learn a new language. You can also choose from a range of interdisciplinary modules, including Business Skills, Life in the Cosmos or Understanding Modern China. These are a great opportunity to expand your knowledge and create an impressive CV.

Year 1 overview

You’ll take core criminology modules, which introduce you to criminal behaviour and the workings of the justice system. You’ll also take modules on how social sciences understand everyday life and an introduction to quantitative methods.

Typical optional modules in this year include:

Transformations of the Modern World
Social Problems and Social Policy
Exploring Other Cultures
Foundations in Social and Anthropological Theory

Year 2 overview

You’ll study qualitative and quantitative research methods in detail. You'll also look at perspectives and policy in criminology.

You can also take 1 optional module in the first semester and 3 in the second. These include:

Criminological Psychology
Crime and Criminal Justice: Historical Perspective
Globalisation, Inequalities and Power
Gender and Society

Year 3 overview

You’ll put your research skills into practice by writing a dissertation on a subject of your choice.

You’ll study law enforcement, social control, and controversial issues like domestic violence and policing minority groups.

The rest of the year’s content consists of optional modules, including:

The Deserving and Undeserving: Victims and Scroungers in Criminology and Social Policy
Violent and Sexual Offenders
Penology
Global Crime and Justice

Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.

Modules

Changes due to COVID-19

Although the COVID-19 situation is improving, any future restrictions could mean we might have to change the way parts of our teaching and learning take place in 2022 to 2023. This means that some of the information on this course page may be subject to change.

Find out more on our COVID advice page.

For entry in Academic Year 2022-23

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

You must study the following modules in year 1:

Delivering Justice: Mapping the Criminal Justice System

In this module you will develop an understanding of the England and Wales criminal justice system, with a particular focus on its philosophies, institutional practices and processes and outcomes. You will gain an understanding of how the criminal justice ...

Historical Perspectives: Deviance, Conflict, Censure and Control

This interdisciplinary module is concerned with the interrelationships between society, social change, and social censure. A central theme running the module is that we can only make sense of contemporary social change (and responses to it) today if we ha...

Inequalities in Everyday Worlds

The module offers a firmly intersectional approach to inequality offering, week-on-week, multiple frames by which to consider experiences and meanings of inequality. By the end of the module, students will have been introduced to 8 key topics for understa...

Interrogating Crime: An Introduction to Criminology

This module provides you with an introduction to the field of criminology including its origins and how subject areas such as sociology and psychology inform criminological study and our understanding of crime. The module explores the different ways in wh...

Key Thinkers and Big Ideas: Foundations in Social Theory

The module introduces you to key thinkers and their contributions to social theory, their ideas about the social world and the way it works. These ideas provide the building blocks for your degree whether you are studying sociology or criminology. Differ...

Simple Liars, Damned Liars and Experts: the use of empirical research in social science

A key skill of a social scientist is to be able to assess the quality of evidence presented based on strong methodological foundations. We need to understand what constitutes evidence, including how it can be produced, agreed, disputed, disseminated and m...

Understanding the Social World

This module lays down the foundations for conducting social research in any discipline within the social sciences, focused around criminology, economics, international relations, politics, population sciences, social policy and sociology. The module will ...

What's the problem? Debating responses to Contemporary Social Challenges

The analysis of social problems is a key area of sociological and criminological investigation. However, not all problems experienced by individuals are recognised as social problems by society and not all publicly recognised social problems are also disc...

You must study the following modules in year 2:

Criminological Psychology

This module encourages you to take an in-depth look at the way psychology has been used to explain and control crime. We will explore the way psychological principles can be applied to such issues as violence, murder, serial killing and the role of the c...

Perspectives in Criminology

This module focuses upon the contemporary development of criminology as a discipline and the range of perspectives and theories that form part of it. These include traditional and more radical sociological and criminological theories. One of the pre-re...

Qualitative Research: Foundations, Principles and Methods

This module has two goals. First to teach students the foundations, principals and methods of qualitative research. Second to support students in identifying a topic and designing a research project for their third year dissertation. One of the pre-req...

Research Methods in The Social Sciences

This module builds upon the material learnt in the first year in STAT1003. It aims to increase your knowledge of social science research strategies and methods of collecting data (both quantitative and qualitative). It does this by covering the whole rese...

You must also choose from the following modules in year 2:

Children and Society

This module is designed to introduce you to some of the key concepts and debates surrounding children and childhood. It will provide you an opportunity to develop an analytical and critical understanding of the theoretical frameworks, research, policy and...

Class Inequality and Social Mobility

This module looks at the changing nature of class inequality and social mobility in the UK and internationally.

Comparative Youth Justice

The youth of today' has long been a source of curiosity to older generations, and sociologists and criminologists are no exception to this trend. Over the past 100 years, there have been attempts both to explain society's fascination with the younger gene...

Culture, Communication and Resistance

Anthropology actively studies people in real-life settings in order to investigate the crucial roles that culture and social organisation play in their lives. Sociology actively pursues strong theoretical perspectives which further explores the relationsh...

Gender & Society

The module will introduce sociological perspectives on gender and to contemporary debates about gender and society.

Race and Ethnicity in Society

This module will explore the issues of race, racism, racial conflict, and race relations in contemporary Britain and worldwide. Although we will mainly refer to Britain, global examples from Europe, the US, the Caribbean, Africa, and South America will be...

Social Theory

This module will look at some of the key terms, issues and debates within social theory. Key terms and concepts will be introduced via selected theories, theoretical issues and the ideas of specific writers who have attempted to explain social phenomena,...

You must study the following modules in year 3:

Dissertation

You will conduct small-scale, independent study of a chosen topic, within your particular degree pathway.

Issues in Law Enforcement and Social Control

This module considers a range of issues in the area of the sociology of the policy and policing and more broadly the sociology of social control - issues, include domestic violence, public order and policing minority groups.

You must also choose from the following modules in year 3:

Children and Society

This module is designed to introduce you to some of the key concepts and debates surrounding children and childhood. It will provide you an opportunity to develop an analytical and critical understanding of the theoretical frameworks, research, policy and...

Class Structure and Social Inequality

This module looks at the changing nature of material, social and cultural inequality in British society, and how it affects our everyday lives.

Comparative Sociology

This module is concerned with the development of modern societies and the nature of 'modernity'. It will draw on the writings of contemporary sociologists in order to consider what the most important processes of social change taking place are and how the...

Comparative Youth Justice

This module begins with the questions, what is youth, and, why have societies always positioned youth either as "troublesome" or "in trouble"? We go back to the 19th Century and the 'invention of adolescence' to explore the roots of the notion of youth as...

Penology

Penology is the study of punishment, in prison and in the community. Students are encouraged to think critically about the multiple purposes and debatable effectiveness of our contemporary modes of punishment, and to understand why this 'end product' of t...

Race and Ethnicity in Society

This module will explore the issues of race, racism, racial conflict, and race relations in contemporary Britain and worldwide. Although we will mainly refer to Britain, global examples from Europe, the US, the Caribbean, Africa, and South America will b...

Sexuality and Intimacy

This module is concerned with different anthropological and sociological approaches to studying two important areas of human experience, namely sexuality and intimacy. We explore the relationship between sex, love and intimacy, taking into consideration ...

The Deserving and Undeserving: Victims and Scroungers in Criminology and Social Policy

Societal sensitivity regarding victims in the UK has grown in recent decades. In the UK new policies and legislation have emerged at all levels in the criminal justice system with the aim of putting the victim at the centre of the criminal justice process...

Violent and Sexual Offenders

Would you like to understand why people - mostly men - are violent, or commit rape, or sexually abuse young children? Are people who do such things mentally ill? What might have happened to them in their lives that makes them commit such serious offences...

Learning and assessment

The learning activities for this course include the following:

lectures
classes and tutorials
coursework
individual and group projects
independent learning (studying on your own)

How you'll spend your course time:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Study time

Your scheduled learning, teaching and independent study for year 1:

20%

Scheduled learning & teaching

80%

Independent learning

How we'll assess you

dissertations
essays
individual and group projects
oral presentations
written exams

Your assessment breakdown

Year 1:

48%

Written exam

52%

Coursework

Academic support

You’ll be supported by a personal academic tutor and have access to a senior tutor.

Course leader

Paul Bridgen is the course leader.

Careers

You’ll develop the knowledge and skills required for criminological and psychology research, including:

methods and techniques
ethical principles
evaluation of results
communication
problem solving

This course can lead to management, planning and delivering social and public services and criminal justice. It also offers an excellent foundation for professional training or postgraduate study.

Our graduates embark on diverse career pathways including:

academia
community development
criminal justice
government
police
research and education
social services and welfare

Contact us to speak to a careers advisor.

Careers services at Southampton

We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers and Employability Service will support you throughout your time as a student and for up to 5 years after graduation. This support includes:

work experience schemes
CV and interview skills and workshops
networking events
careers fairs attended by top employers
a wealth of volunteering opportunities
study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds, is open to every student.

Work in industry

You’ll have the opportunity to take a Year in Employment, which is a paid work placement between your second and third year.

Fees, costs and funding

Tuition fees

Fees for a year's study:

UK students pay £9,250.
EU and international students pay £19,300.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fees pay for the full cost of tuition and all examinations.

Find out how to:

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. Explore:

Bursaries, scholarships and other funding

If you're a UK or EU student and your household income is under £25,000 a year, you may be able to get a University of Southampton bursary to help with your living costs. Find out about bursaries and other funding we offer at Southampton.

If you're a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be able to get a specific bursary.

Get in touch for advice about student money matters.

Scholarships and grants

You may be able to get a scholarship or grant to help fund your studies.

We award scholarships and grants for travel, academic excellence, or to students from under-represented backgrounds.

Support during your course

The Student Services Centre offers support and advice on money to students. You may be able to access our Student Support fund and other sources of financial support during your course.

Funding for EU and international students

Find out about funding you could get as an international student.

How to apply

When you apply use:

UCAS course code: L611
UCAS institution code: S27

Apply for 2023 entry

What happens after you apply?

We will assess your application on the strength of your:

predicted grades
academic achievements
personal statement
academic reference

We'll aim to process your application within two to six weeks, but this will depend on when it is submitted. Applications submitted in January, particularly near to the UCAS equal consideration deadline, might take substantially longer to be processed due to the high volume received at that time.

Equality and diversity

We treat and select everyone in line with our Equality and Diversity Statement.

Got a question?

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email: enquiries@southampton.ac.uk
Tel: +44(0)23 8059 5000

Related courses

Criminology (BSc) is a course in the Social studies, criminology and anthropology subject area. Here are some other courses within this subject area:

a

BA

Criminology (BSc)

About this course

Course location

Awarding body

Download the Course Description Document

Changes due to COVID-19

Entry requirements

For Academic year 202324

A-levels

A-levels additional information

A-levels with Extended Project Qualification

A-levels contextual offer

International Baccalaureate Diploma

International Baccalaureate contextual offer

International Baccalaureate Career Programme (IBCP) statement

BTEC

RQF BTEC

Additional information

QCF BTEC

Access to HE Diploma

Access to HE additional information

Irish Leaving Certificate

Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2017)

Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2016)

Scottish Qualification

Cambridge Pre-U

Cambridge Pre-U additional information

Welsh Baccalaureate

Welsh Baccalaureate additional information

Welsh Baccalaureate contextual offer

European Baccalaureate

Other requirements

GCSE requirements

Got a question?

Course structure

Year 1 overview

Year 2 overview

Year 3 overview

Modules

Changes due to COVID-19

For entry in Academic Year 2022-23

Year 1 modules

Delivering Justice: Mapping the Criminal Justice System

Historical Perspectives: Deviance, Conflict, Censure and Control

Inequalities in Everyday Worlds

Interrogating Crime: An Introduction to Criminology

Key Thinkers and Big Ideas: Foundations in Social Theory

Simple Liars, Damned Liars and Experts: the use of empirical research in social science

Understanding the Social World

What's the problem? Debating responses to Contemporary Social Challenges

Year 2 modules

Criminological Psychology

Perspectives in Criminology

Qualitative Research: Foundations, Principles and Methods

Research Methods in The Social Sciences

Children and Society

Class Inequality and Social Mobility

Comparative Youth Justice

Culture, Communication and Resistance

Gender & Society

Race and Ethnicity in Society

Social Theory

Year 3 modules

Dissertation

Issues in Law Enforcement and Social Control

Children and Society

Class Structure and Social Inequality

Comparative Sociology

Comparative Youth Justice

Penology

Race and Ethnicity in Society

Sexuality and Intimacy

The Deserving and Undeserving: Victims and Scroungers in Criminology and Social Policy

Violent and Sexual Offenders

Learning and assessment

Course time

Year 1

Study time

How we'll assess you

Your assessment breakdown