About this course
Explore the relationship between social behaviour and crime with this fusion of 2 fascinating disciplines. On this BSc degree, you’ll examine our perception of what is right or wrong, and how this changes over time and between cultures. You’ll learn from expert tutors who are consulted by the government, criminal justice agencies and the media. A wide range of rewarding sociology and criminology-related careers await, including social and police work.
This programme is highly flexible, allowing you to develop your own specialist research interests in both sociology (examining the identities, relationships and practices within our world) and criminology (the study of crime, law enforcement and the criminal justice system).
You’ll find many optional modules to choose from, including:
- Criminological Psychology
- Race and Ethnicity
- Violent and Sexual Offenders
Your core modules will help you develop key knowledge and skills in areas such as:
- theoretical approaches and perspectives in sociology and criminology
- the relationship between individuals, groups and institutions
- research methods in social sciences, including quantitative and qualitative research
As part of your degree you can:
- take an active part in seminars, workshops and lectures at our interdisciplinary hub, the Institute of Criminal Justice Research
- develop your leadership skills and make a difference in our Social Impact Lab
- study complementary modules from other areas, such as languages, anthropology or sustainability
- study a semester abroad with one of our partner universities in Brazil, Canada or China
We regularly review our courses to ensure and improve quality. This course may be revised as a result of this. Any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Find out why, when, and how we might make changes.
Our courses are regulated in England by the Office for Students (OfS).
Learn more about this subject area
Course location
This course is based at Highfield.
Awarding body
This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.
Entry requirements
For Academic year 202425
A-levels
ABB
A-levels additional information
Offers typically exclude General Studies and Critical Thinking.
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. The contextual offer for this programme is BBB.
International Baccalaureate Diploma
Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level
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.
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
Additional information
For BTEC Extended Diplomas, we can only consider these subjects along with specific modules:
Health and Social Care but only if you are taking these 3 modules (Psychological Perspectives/Sociological Perspectives/Policy in Health and Social Care),
Forensic and Criminal Investigation (no specific modules needed)
Uniformed Protective Services/Public Services but please check with us which modules you are taking before applying.
We strongly suggest BTEC applicants doing these subjects contact us before applying to check if you are doing the required modules.
Access to HE Diploma
60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit
Irish Leaving Certificate
Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2017)
H1 H2 H2 H2 H3 H3
Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2016)
A1, A1, A1, A1, A2, A2
Scottish Qualification
Offers will be based on exams being taken at the end of S6. Subjects taken and qualifications achieved in S5 will be reviewed. Careful consideration will be given to an individual’s academic achievement, taking in to account the context and circumstances of their pre-university education.
Please see the University of Southampton’s Curriculum for Excellence Scotland Statement (PDF) for further information. Applicants are advised to contact their Faculty Admissions Office for more information.
Cambridge Pre-U
D3 M2 M2 in three Principal subjects
Cambridge Pre-U additional information
Cambridge Pre-U's can be used in combination with other qualifications such as A Levels to achieve the equivalent of the typical offer
Welsh Baccalaureate
ABB from 3 A levels or AB from two A levels and B from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate
Welsh 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.
T-Level
There are no T levels accepted for this programme.
Other requirements
GCSE requirements
Applicants must hold GCSE English language (or GCSE English) (minimum grade 4/C) and mathematics (minimum grade 4/C)
Find the equivalent international qualifications for our entry requirements.
English language requirements
If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English. You'll need all of the following scores as a minimum:
IELTS score requirements
- overall score
- 6.5
- reading
- 6.0
- writing
- 6.0
- speaking
- 6.0
- listening
- 6.0
We accept other English language tests. Find out which English language tests we accept.
You might meet our criteria in other ways if you do not have the qualifications we need. Find out more about:
- our Access to Southampton scheme for students living permanently in the UK (including residential summer school, application support and scholarship)
- skills you might have gained through work or other life experiences (otherwise known as recognition of prior learning)
Find out more about our Admissions Policy.
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 study a mixture of core and optional modules across sociology and criminology.
Each year you’ll also have the chance to choose modules from other courses at the University. This will give you valuable opportunities to expand your knowledge and create an impressive CV.
Year 1 overview
Your core modules will prepare you for successful study in both disciplines. Topics include:
- Understanding Everyday Life
- Introduction to Criminology
- Criminal Justice Studies
- Social Problems and Social Policy
- Transformations of the Modern World
- Foundations of Social and Anthropological Thought
- Introduction to Quantitative Methods
Optional modules will allow you to delve deeper into some of the most relevant topics of our time. Choose from subjects like:
- Population and Society
- Global Health
- Human Origins
Year 2 overview
Go broader and deeper into key areas, with core modules including:
- Perspectives in Criminology
- Social Theory
- Research Methods in the Social Sciences
- Qualitative Research: Foundations, Principles and Skills
Optional modules allow you to explore subjects that generate news coverage and debate, including:
- Gender and Society
- Criminological Psychology
- Race and Ethnicity
- Criminology: Policy and Practice
- Globalisation, Inequalities and Power
Year 3 overview
You’ll put your research skills into practice by investigating and writing a 10,000-word dissertation on a subject of your choice.
You’ll also consider the most important processes of social change taking place today in a core module in comparative sociology. Your last core module explores historical and contemporary issues in law enforcement and social control.
Prepare for your chosen career or onward study by selecting modules such as:
- The Deserving and Undeserving: Victims and Scroungers in Criminology and Social Policy
- Sexuality and Intimacy
- Violent and Sexual Offenders
- Global Crime and Justice
Want more detail? See all the modules in the course.
Modules
The modules outlined provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our course to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Find out why, when and how we might make changes.
Year 1 modules
You must study the following modules in year 1:
Criminal Justice Studies
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 ...
Foundations in Social and Anthropological 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, anthropology, crimino...
Historical Perspectives in Social Science: Deviance, Conflict, Censure and Control
The module is concerned with the interrelationships between society, social change, and social censure. A central theme running throughout CRIM1005 is that we can only make sense of contemporary social change (and responses to it) today if we have an unde...
Introduction to Criminology
This module focuses on definitions and measurement of crime and deviance; it explores sociological theories and bio-psychological approaches of crime and deviance and it promotes critical thinking on the social construction of crime.
Introduction to Quantitative Methods
The aims of this course are to: • Introduce you to quantitative methods used in the social sciences, including both descriptive statistics and elementary inferential statistics • Enable you to use these methods and to understand other people’s use of ...
Social Problems and Social Policy
The module introduces students to the ways in which "social problems" come to be defined within societies and the factors shaping social policy responses to such problems.
Transformations of The Modern World
The module will look at key social transformations in the modern world and the way in which these have been analysed by social scientists.
Understanding Everyday Life
The module will look at the disciplines of sociology and criminology through an examination of key aspects of everyday life and the ways in which these have been analysed by social scientists. This module also includes a preparatory section, which prov...
Year 2 modules
You must study the following modules in year 2:
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...
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 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...
Crime and Criminal Justice: Historical Perspectives
The module is concerned with the interrelationships between society, crime and social change. A central theme running throughout CRIM2002 is that we can only make sense of crime (and responses to it) today if we have an understanding of the past. Neverthe...
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...
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...
Year 3 modules
You must study the following modules in year 3:
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...
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...
Collective Action and Social Change
In this module you will be able to examine a variety of organisations involved in social change, such as governmental and non-governmental organisations, voluntary organisations, social movement organisations and charitable organisations. You will be help...
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...
Crime Scene Investigation: Methods and Applications
Gender and Society
The module will introduce perspectives on gender drawn from social theory, and explore contemporary debates about gender and society.
Penology
Penology is the study of punishment in society. 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 justice systems has be...
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 explores the fascinating, interrelated areas of human sexuality and intimacy. We draw on sociological, criminological, anthropological approaches, amongst others. You'll be asked to critically draw on your own experience and knowledge as we co...
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 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? Can such peop...
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)
Course time
How you'll spend your course time:
Year 1
Study time
Your scheduled learning, teaching and independent study for year 1:
How we'll assess you
- dissertations
- essays
- individual and group projects
- oral presentations
- written exams
Your assessment breakdown
Year 1:
Year 2
Study time
Your scheduled learning, teaching and independent study for year 2:
How we'll assess you
- dissertations
- essays
- individual and group projects
- oral presentations
- written exams
Your assessment breakdown
Year 2:
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
This dual degree will lead to career opportunities across a range of sectors, including the management, planning and delivery of 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:
- government
- criminal justice
- social services
- research and education
- community development
- police
- social research
- academia
Students have also secured paid internships in government organisations, such as the Office for National Statistics.
Careers services at Southampton
We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. 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 £22,300.
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: LL63
- UCAS institution code: S27
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 2 to 6 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
to top