criminology phd europe

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PhD in Criminology

• MPhil Courses

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Admissions Enquiries

For further details about the PhD course please contact the Graduate Administrators : Ms Charlotte Dove and Mrs Faith Payne

The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. PhD candidates benefit from close links with the Institute's six dedicated research centres, providing them with unrivaled opportunities and the support to develop as independent researchers, while being part of an integrated community of criminologists working at different levels and through multidisciplinary approaches. The Cambridge PhD is a structured, yet flexible course of study, which supports individual development for becoming a professional researcher. It will help students develop the core skills needed by an arts, humanities or social sciences professional researcher of the future, which are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired the skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related professions.

PhD in Criminology Course

Training, support and development programme .

The Institute runs a comprehensive training, support and development programme for its PhD students. Frequent seminars are designed to develop research skills, technique and thinking. While you are likely to be starting the PhD course with a background of suitable research training which you undertook before admission, e.g. through your Masters or MPhil degree, during your time at Cambridge you can broaden this as much as you wish with the number of different opportunities available. You are advised to discuss your training needs with your supervisor and record any training undertaken.

• Researcher Development Programme: The School of Arts and Humanities organises a Researcher Development Programme covering a range of topics from PhD skills training, to language training and writing and editing skills.
• Social Sciences Research Methods Programme (SSRMP): The Social Sciences Research Methods Programme is an interdisciplinary initiative offering high-quality research methods training to postgraduate students. The courses offered by the SSRMC cover skills relevant across the social sciences in a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, from basic training to advanced statistical analysis.​
• Seminars and Events: The Institute holds weekly seminars and events, and PhD students are strongly encouraged to participate in the wider research culture of the Institute. These include the 'Brown Bag' seminars (aimed at criminologists at all levels of career progression within the Institute), guest speaker seminars and MPhil teaching seminars.
• Personal and Professional Development: The University's Skills Portal provides information on the transferable skills PhD students may wish to cultivate and enhance, and lists training opportunities available across the University, together with links to useful resources outside the University.
• The Language Centre supports the teaching and learning of languages throughout the University and is an excellent resource for academic purposes, whether you need to improve your language skills to help with your research or before undertaking fieldwork.

Supervisors and PhD Research Topics

If you are confident that your proposed research is a good fit with your nominated supervisor, we recommend that you contact them in advance. If no potential supervisor is expressly stated in your application, the Admissions Panel will try to match applicants with willing supervisors based on academic interests and area of expertise, but there is no guarantee that this will always be possible.

If you have any questions about whether your topic is a good fit with your potential supervisor’s interests, you may email them, attaching both a CV with details of the degrees you have taken and the marks you have obtained, and a brief research proposal (1-2 pages max).

• Include in the main text of your message a short statement about your background (what you have studied so far, your degree result or grade average, any relevant experience) and research interests.
• Indicate why you wish to work with that member of staff, in particular (not just Cambridge in general), and what you can bring to the research group. Demonstrate your awareness of their research and how it aligns with your research interests.
• It is helpful to include information on your funding situation and plans.
• There is no need to attach references or transcripts.

Please be aware that our PhD supervisors receive large numbers of enquiries, and therefore cannot give detailed feedback on your proposal.

Postgraduate PhD applicants are required to nominate a supervisor as part of their application. 

Please consult the list below to see which members of staff are available to supervise PhD students starting in October 2023. Availability depends on several factors, including sabbatical leave arrangements, contractual arrangements, and the number of students already being supervised by each member of staff. Each listing includes a few words outlining research/supervision interests. When choosing your nominated supervisor, it is important that there is some overlap with your own research interests or approach. You can find more detailed information by clicking through to supervisors’ research profiles. If you have any questions about whether your topic is a good fit with your potential supervisor’s interests, you may email them, attaching both a CV with details of the degrees you have taken and the marks you have obtained, and a brief research proposal (1-2 pages max). Also:

Please note: No preference will be given to applicants who have made informal contact before applying. Please be aware that our PhD supervisors receive large numbers of enquiries, and therefore cannot give detailed feedback on your proposal.

The application portal for 2024/25 is now live.

Academic requirements, new admissions.

We expect (full-time and part-time) PhD applicants from outside the University of Cambridge to have a  Master's degree, with a distinction or close to distinction or equivalent, preferably in a social science discipline although applicants from other disciplines will also be considered.

Continuing from MPhil to PhD (current Cambridge students)

Both the Institute's MPhil courses provide excellent preparation for doctoral study, and many of our MPhil students choose to stay at Cambridge to pursue a Cambridge PhD. However, we do recommend that current MPhil students considering applying to study for a PhD should complete the MPhil in Criminological Research.  Continuation from the MPhil course is subject to a MPhil student achieving at least 74% overall. 

How to Apply

Full-time and part-time applications for the PhD in Criminology must be made through the University's Postgraduate Admissions Office Applicant Portal . Only applicants have access to their application(s) on the application portal. The Institute is not able view (or amend) an application until it is complete.  Please note the following:

Completing your online Application Form (Full-time and Part-time applicants)

When will i receive a decision.

• Full-time and part-time PhD applications are considered on a rolling basis (as they are received) up until each Term's application deadline.
• We aim to assess and make a decision for all applications within twelve weeks of receiving a complete application form (which includes two academic references).  As part of the decision making process, you may be invited to attend an interview with your prospective supervisor and another members of the admissions panel. Interviews maybe conducted in person, or via Zoom / Teams. [ Part-time applications : If the department decides to make you an offer the applicant will also be interviewed by their proposed supervsior to establish a five-year research plan, which will set out your attendance requirements for training and seminars, frequency of supervisions and progress stages.]

Admission Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Postgraduate Admissions Office has a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions relating to the applications process. Please refer to these while making your application and throughout the process of applying.

Funding your Studies

If you wish to be considered for University based funding you must submit your PhD application in full by 4 January 2024, or 11 October 2023 if you are a USA citizen resident in the USA and wish to be considered for Gates funding .

The Postgraduate Admissions website provides full details on  course fees and living costs, and their finance overview tool will help you calculate your costs. They also provide information on possible funding opportunities at Cambridge University, and there is also a  funding search tool   which will help you identify possibly funding opportunities.

The Institute also has several funding opportunities, details of which can be found on our  funding page .

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The PhD in Criminology is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral examination (viva voce). The primary purpose of the PhD is the preparation and presentation of a substantial piece of independent and original academic research. Completion usually requires three to four years of full-time study, and five years if studying part-time, which includes a probationary period.

• Full time students are required to be resident in Cambridge during their studies.
• Part-time students have no residence requirements, but are required to attend the University on a regular basis as prescribed by their Degree Committee. In general, we expect part-time research students to be in Cambridge for around 45 days per year, spread throughout the year.

The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. PhD candidates benefit from close links with the Institute's six dedicated research centres, providing them with unrivalled opportunities and the support to develop as independent researchers, while being part of an integrated community of criminologists working at different levels and through multidisciplinary approaches. 

Every PhD student in the Institute of Criminology is supported by a supervisor. Supervisors are experts in their field of study and support students throughout the PhD.  PhD candidates will also benefit from the advice and support of other academic members of staff who will be involved in progression through the various stages of the PhD; from the registration assessment exercise at the end of the first year through to the completion of the thesis. All students are allocated a thesis adviser once they start their PhD; this is a decision that is made jointly by the supervisor and each student.

As well as specialist supervision, the Institute provides a comprehensive training, support and development programme for its PhD students. Frequent seminars are designed to develop research skills, technique and thinking. The School of Arts and Humanities organises a Researcher Development Programme covering a range of topics from PhD skills training, to language training, and writing and editing skills. 

The Institute welcomes applications from suitably qualified applicants of all nationalities. Proposals for doctoral research on any criminological topic will be considered. Applicants might wish to contact potential supervisors before submitting a formal application, and are advised to consult supervisor profiles for details on their research interests. Prospective students are advised to reflect carefully on which staff member best matches their academic interests. 

Learning Outcomes

The Cambridge PhD is designed as structured, flexible and individual preparation for becoming a professional researcher. It will help students develop the core skills needed by an arts, humanities or social sciences professional researcher of the future, which are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired the skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related profession.

The Institute's MPhil programmes provide excellent preparation for doctoral study and many of our MPhil students choose to stay at Cambridge to pursue a Cambridge PhD.

Continuing applicants are advised to complete the MPhil in Criminological Research. Continuation from the MPhil course is subject to a MPhil student obtaining an overall mark of at least 74. 

The Postgraduate Virtual Open Day usually takes place at the end of October. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics, explore the Colleges virtually, and to find out more about courses, the application process and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

See further the  Postgraduate Admissions Events  pages for other events relating to Postgraduate study, including study fairs, visits and international events.

Key Information

3-4 years full-time, 4-7 years part-time, study mode : research, doctor of philosophy, institute of criminology, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, lent 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Easter 2024 (Closed)

Michaelmas 2024 (closed), easter 2025, funding deadlines.

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

Similar Courses

• Criminological Research MPhil
• Criminology MPhil
• Applied Criminology, Penology and Management MSt
• Applied Criminology and Police Management MSt

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Criminology PhD

Course detail, entry requirements.

• Fees & funding
• Study & career progression

A PhD in Criminology offers one of the leading areas of research at the University of West London (UWL), as recognised in the rating of our work in Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 .

Criminological research at UWL spans a range of topics and areas from policing to sentencing, security studies, transnational crime and terrorism, socio-legal studies and judicial processes.  

Our supervisors have strong research backgrounds, often with a focus on key groups that fall under the heading of diversity and inclusion.  Our supervisors also have extensive links with criminal justice agencies,  voluntary groups and a range of think tanks and research organisations.

Applications are invited for research in the areas indicated below. We are committed to providing access and maintaining a high standard of support for students. Our recent doctoral graduates have gone on to lectureships at universities and successful careers in related fields of work.

Criminology and criminal justice

• Criminal justice policy and politics
• Comparative criminal justice
• Socio-legal studies
• Gender and Crime
• Criminology theory
• Social justice
• Youth studies and youth justice
• Security studies

Criminology, law and legal processes

• Drug Policy
• Terrorism and Extremism
• Bail, Sentencing, Imprisonment and Indeterminate Sentences
• The Parole Board and Probation Service

Law, criminology and social sciences

• Transitional justice
• Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
• Human Rights and  International criminal justice
• Criminal justice and the Arts
• Justice architecture
• Courtroom procedure and Criminal evidence
• Sexual and Domestic Abuse
• Migration, refugees and crime

Criminal justice and policing

• Police governance, accountability and complaints
• Policing ethics
• Evidence and procedure
• Investigative interviewing
• Safeguarding (Children and Adults)
• Cyberdeviance
• Cyber bullying / harassment
• Policing, racism and diversity

See a list of potential PhD supervisors and read about their expertise, in the 'Supervisors' section lower down the page. 

Select your desired study option, then pick a start date to see relevant course information:

Start date:

If your desired start date is not available, try selecting a different study option.

Why study Criminology with us?

What our students say…

The staff members that I encountered were warm, welcoming and supportive of my studies. The relatively small size of the University’s postgraduate school created a close family/communal environment for both staff and students. This provided a good support system as I could quickly grow acquainted with the postgraduate team and other Doctoral research candidates.

Research article by Dr Maya Flax

Loss and disillusionment of being shunned from the Jehovah’s Witness community and its impact

Research article by Professor Alison Wakefield

Private Investigation and Policing

Research article by Professor Karim Murji

Stuart Hall as a criminological theorist-activist

Research article by Dr Rashid Minhas

When law enforcement interview witnesses and write their statements

You will have a supervisory team made up of a Director of Studies with expertise in your chosen field, a further supervisor and, where appropriate, an additional adviser. Your research will be judged through the presentation of a thesis or artefact and a viva voce for academic assessment. We provide a stimulating and supportive environment where you will benefit from: 

• peer feedback and discussion   
• a series of master classes and lectures from industry figures   
• support by a supervisor and a second supervisor suited to your project. 

About PhD study

This course is available for you to study either on a full-time or part-time basis and you have the flexibility to switch should you need to.

A PhD is founded on independent research.  You will undertake a systematic and in-depth exploration of your chosen topic to produce a substantial body of knowledge and make an original and important contribution to the subject area.  

The support provided by your supervisory team will be vital to your student experience and scholarly advancement.  You and your supervisors will have regular one-to-one meetings which will provide you with opportunities to develop your research topic and discuss your progress.

School of Health and Human Science's Research Centres

Our School is closely involved in the  Cybersecurity and Criminology Centre .

The Cybersecurity and Criminology Centre investigates crime and security as part of the complex challenge that face citizens, governments and businesses in London and beyond.

Our research record

View our  academic journal 'New Vistas'   to see the work of students and academics who are making an impact both locally and globally through their research findings. 

Based in the heart of Ealing, west London, you can make use of the excellent transport links to travel to the the capital or further afield - ideal for attending research meetings and networking events.

Got a question?

If you would like guidance or more information about studying for a research degree, you can contact Professor Karim Murji . 

To enable you to enhance your professional profile, we support you throughout your research degree by:

• providing research seminars
• organising doctoral events and activities
• facilitating networking and collaboration opportunities
• encouraging and supporting publication and dissemination of your research
• offering opportunities to gain teaching expertise and experience.

We provide structured research training, expert supervision, and an environment where you can discuss your research with other PhD students and researchers.

We run seminars in research methods from the Graduate Centre, as well as an ongoing series of events and activities organised by Schools and Colleges. Specialist help with academic English for students for whom English is not their first language is available.

Crime scene rooms

The crime scene room enables students on criminology, policing and forensics courses to learn from scenarios based on real-life police investigations.

Our Biopac tools allow us to measure physiological indicators such as heart rate, sweat responses, and electromyography (EMG).

Cantab Cognitive Research Software

The software helps us measures cognitive functions in  correlation to neural networks. It allows us to understanding the role of specific brain functions across a range of disorders and syndromes.

Observation room

Our observation room has the look and feel of a domestic setting but consists of wall mounted cameras and live video feed.  These are managed from the control room which has recording facilities.

The Paul Hamlyn Library

The Paul Hamlyn Library provides an extensive range of books, journals and digital resources, PC and Mac workstations and a variety of study spaces. Find out more about what the  Paul Hamlyn Library has to offer .

We contribute to national and international initiatives and promote collaboration and networking opportunities. We also encourage and support you to publish and disseminate your research in academic journals and via presenting papers at conferences.

We run an annual conference for doctoral students, where you are encouraged to present a paper about your research. As well as being an opportunity to discuss your work with other students, the conference is a chance to gain valuable experience in presenting your research and participating in open discussions with academic peers.

You will also find other opportunities such as postgraduate student seminars and forums within your specific subject area.

Once you start a PhD course at UWL, you become part of our research community. You will have access to a postgraduate common room, located at our Ealing campus on St Mary’s Road, where you will meet fellow researchers from other subject disciplines offering scope for collaborations or simply to discuss ideas, allowing you to be part of a vibrant research environment.

• Requirements: UK
• Requirements: International

The minimum entry requirements for a research degree are:

• a good first degree (First Class or Upper Second Class), or equivalent qualification in a relevant field
• a Masters Degree (MA, MSc, MBA or MRes) with Merit, or equivalent postgraduate or research experience.

We look for students with:

• a passion for their chosen subject.

You will also have a well thought through and persuasive proposal.

• Competence in written and spoken English is a pre-requisite for entrance to this programme. An IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 6.5 (with no element under 6.0).

Fees & funding

• Funding: UK
• Funding: International

The fee above is the cost per year of your course.

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront.

Government regulation does affect tuition fees and the fees listed for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year are subject to change.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

Funding your studies

Funding for postgraduate students usually comes from one or more of a range of key sources:

• research councils
• charities and trust funds, including those funded by the UK government
• higher Education institutions
• overseas governments (international students only)
• professional and career development loans
• self-funding (including family funds).

Find out more about funding opportunities. Examples of most of these types of funding are included on the postgraduate studentships website , (with the exception of funding you may be able to obtain from your employer and self-funding).

Bursaries and scholarships

We offer generous bursaries and scholarships to make sure your aspirations are your only limit. See our PhD scholarships , scholarships and bursaries .

For any overseas students, your first port of call should be grant-awarding bodies in your own country (eg The Ministry / Department of Education) and your local (or nearest) office of the British Council.

The British Council manage a small number of international studentship grants in some countries and should be able to tell you what other awards may be available to you - they also produce the Sources of funding for international students guide.

Supervisors

Dr maya flax.

Dr Rashid Minhas

Dr Allan T Moore

Professor Karim Murji

Professor Alison Wakefield

Study & career progression

Studying for a PhD enables you to develop an area of specialism that will give you an edge whether you are planning to work in industry or to develop expertise to teach in academia.

Many of our research graduates find success in academic careers, both in the UK and internationally. Others carve out paths in non-governmental organisations, local authorities, specialised think tanks, government departments, charities, media production, and market research.

By the end of your PhD degree, you'll have gained the skills, experience, and knowledge to step into postdoctoral work, be it in research and teaching or another related profession.

How to apply

• How to apply: UK
• How to apply: International

To apply for one of our research courses, click the green 'apply now' link shown below to complete an online application form. You will need to attach the following documentation to your online application form:

• research proposal outline (5000 words maximum)
• transcript of your highest qualification.

The research proposal outline, or statement of research interests, enables us to assess your suitability for higher degree work including:

• viability of the topic as a research study
• the most appropriate supervisor(s) to be appointed.

Click here  for more information on applying for a PhD.

Apply for this course

Next steps after making your application.

We aim to make a decision on your application as quickly as we can. If we need any more information about your qualifications, we will be in touch.

In the meantime, come and visit us and find out more about what studying at UWL is like. Sign up for an  open day  or join a campus tour .

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Talk to our tutors and find out about our courses and facilities at our next open day or join a campus tour.

We're here to help

Any questions about a course or studying at UWL? We're here to help - call us on 0800 036 8888 (option 2, Monday – Friday 10am-4pm) or email us on [email protected].

To apply for one of our research courses, click the green 'apply now' link shown below to complete an online application form.  You will need to attach the following documentation to your online application form:

• research proposal outline

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Testimonials - our students or former students provided all of our testimonials - often a student from the course but sometimes another student. For example, the testimonial often comes from another UWL student when the course is new.

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What do you want to do?

Find our about our research in criminology.

• Criminology PhD

Find a supervisor

Mode of study

3 years full-time

6 years part-time

International   £21,260

UK   £4,786

Entry requirements

Research profile.

The Division of Criminology and Criminal Justice is made up of an exciting, diverse and intellectually curious community of researchers. Together, we are the forefront of criminological study in a range of spaces including: mental health and crime; street cultures; online sexual commerce and deviance; young people and crime; gender; race and ethnicity; immigration; the criminalisation of marginalised communities; legal decision-making and the criminal justice system; ‘high-risk offenders’, gambling, and immigration.

Collectively, we have a range of theoretical and methodological expertise to help you on your doctoral journey. We have experience and expertise in a number of research methods, including mixed methods, policy analysis, ethnography, narrative/life history methods, and media analysis. Across the department we have good experience of undertaking research in a range of spaces, including policing, the legal system, imprisonment, forensic mental health services, probation and more. We also have good experience of working with different funders and research councils including the Ministry of Justice, Department of Health, and Howard League for Penal Reform. We have close links with the policing programme at Brunel University and benefit from being part of the Department of Social and Political Sciences, which comprises of experts from politics, sociology, anthropology and history. Across the university, we have links with many other disciplines including law and psychology.

By joining our innovative, supportive and critical research community you can hope to do the following:

• Join an expert interdisciplinary community that publishes innovative and world-leading research addressing contemporary criminological concerns and emerging social and cultural challenges.
• Be part of a thriving research culture where researchers have received regular grants from the Ministry of Justice, the NHS, and third sector criminal justice charities, including the Howard League for Penal Reform.
• Benefit from excellent multi-disciplinary supervisory teams to support your postgraduate study.
• Enjoy being part of a collegial and active research environment.

Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.  

Learn more about research in this area.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour .

Our researchers create knowledge and advance understanding, and equip versatile doctoral researchers with the confidence to apply what they have learnt for the benefit of society. Find out more about working with the Supervisory Team .

You are welcome to approach your potential supervisor directly to discuss your research interests. Search for expert supervisors for your chosen field of research.

While we welcome a wide range of topics in the areas of Criminology, here is an list of some potential research areas where we have specific expertise:

•      Health, crime and inequalities
•      Race, ethnicity and crime
•      Sex and crime
•      Mediated forms of sex work
•      Religion and crime
•      Street violence and street cultures
•      Illicit drug economies
•      Legal decision making
•      Policing
•      Imprisonment
•      Probation
•      CJS staffing, organisation, and occupational cultures
•      Desistance
•      Mental health and the criminal justice system
•      Gambling and crime
•      Violent and sexual offenders
•      The criminalisation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
•      Immigration
•      Narrative criminology
•      Ethnography and visual criminology
•      Psychosocial criminology

While these are some of the areas we have explicit expertise in, we are committed and interested in expanding our own understanding by supporting your areas of interest and development. We are confident in our ability to support emerging scholars in a range of criminological topics, and committed to supporting the development of new, critical and exciting areas of scholarship within our discipline.

While we welcome applications from student with a clear direction for their research, we can also provide you with some ideas. Search for PhD topics for your chosen field of research.

Research journey

A PhD involves demonstrating through original research or other advanced scholarship the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge at the forefront of an academic discipline or professional practice, the ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the general of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline.

This course can be studied 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time, starting in January. Or this course can be studied 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time, starting in October. Or this course can be studied 3 years full-time or 6 years part-time, starting in April.

Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here:  Research degree progress structure.

Research support

Excellent research support and training

The Graduate School provides a range of personal, professional and career development opportunities. This includes workshops, online training, coaching and events, to enable you to enhance your professional profile, refine your skills, and plan your next career steps as part of the Researcher Development Programme . The researcher development programme (RDP) offers workshops and seminars in a range of areas including progression, research management, research dissemination, and careers and personal development. You will also be offered a number of online, self-study courses on BBL, including Research Integrity, Research Skills Toolkit, Research Methods in Literature Review and Principles of Research Methods.

Library services

Brunel's Library is open 24 hours a day, has 400,000 books and 250,000 ebooks, and an annual budget of almost £2m. Subject information Specialists train students in the latest technology, digital literacy, and digital dissemination of scholarly outputs. As well as the physical resources available in the Library, we also provide access to a wealth of electronic resources. These include databases, journals and e-books. Access to these resources has been bought by the Library through subscription and is limited to current staff and students.

Dedicated research support staff provide guidance and training on open access, research data management, copyright and other research integrity issues.

Find out more: Brunel Library

Potential funding sources

TECHNE2 awards supporting outstanding innovative, interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on creativity and practice. The programme is delivered through a partnership between Royal Holloway, University of London, Brunel University London, Kingston University, Loughborough University, University of Brighton, University of Roehampton, University of the Arts London, University of Surrey and University of Westminster.

The Grand Union: Excellence and Innovation in Social Science Research Training is an ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership uniting Brunel University London, The Open University and the University of Oxford.

Careers and your future

You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.

In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.

Find out more.

Students with a particular interest in media are also able to undertake a National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ) at no extra cost alongside their doctoral studies.

UK entry requirements

The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1). 

An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.

Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement  and a research statement. Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement  here .   

EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by  UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list . This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT : 63% (min 58% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all) 

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our  English Language Requirements  page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our  Brunel Language Centre .

Please check our Admissions  pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

Fees and funding

2024/5 entry, international.

£21,260 full-time

£10,630 part-time

£4,786 full-time

£2,393 part-time

Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.

Some courses incur  additional course related costs . You can also check our  on-campus accommodation costs  for more information on living expenses.

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Scholarships and bursaries

• Brunel Graduate Discount

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Criminology

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Key information.

Duration: 4 years full time

Institution code: R72

Campus: Egham

UK fees * : £4,786

International/EU fees ** : £18,200

The multidisciplinary Department of Law and Criminology is home to applied, theoretical and doctrinal research across Criminology, Forensic Psychology, Law, Social Work, and Sociology. In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), 100% of our submission was assessed as world leading or internationally excellent for research impact.

The Department is home to about 50 research active staff and 50 PhD students. We offer a stimulating research environment in which PhD students are expected to be a part of the multidisciplinary research groups and contribute to PhD-led seminars and development activities. Our students benefit from opportunities for research methods training and we have a network of external organisations who are willing to support optional short-term placements and knowledge exchange opportunities.

You can find detailed  research profiles  of our staff here, by selecting the Departmental Research Group of most relevance to your proposed research and following the links to staff profile pages.

Alternatively, you can find a list of staff here (use the Criminology and Sociology drop down menu to locate Criminology staff).

Please note that by studying this degree your award title will not include the subject of study but will simply state you've completed a PhD. 

Research facilities and environment

Our activities are organised around the Departmental Research Clusters which cover interdisciplinary domains of Crime and Punishment, Families and Children, Health and Social Care, and Rights and Freedoms. Many staff and PhD students are members of more than one research group.

Research Clusters organise monthly seminars and annual research impact-related events with external stakeholders, which PhD students are invited to attend. During the academic year PhD students are expected to attend Departmental workshops and to attend research and professional development events organised by the College-wide Doctoral School. There are also opportunities for students to organise mini conferences or seminar series.

We understand the importance of fostering professional and transferable skills for doctoral students, and fully support presenting papers at academic conferences in the UK and abroad. We are committed to our students' success, providing mock vivas, annual reviews, and personal advice on issues such as managing time pressures, meeting deadlines, and career development.

Students register for an MPhil and then participate in an upgrade process before the 20 th  month of studies, if in full time study (40 th  month part time). The upgrade requires submission of thesis chapters for consideration by a panel of Departmental staff and a formal presentation to this panel. Following upgrade, students follow a PhD registration and are expected to submit the thesis by the end of their third year of full time study, or at the latest by the end of their fourth year (part time by the end of the 8 th  year).

Part of the training throughout the programme is attending internal and external seminars. In addition, we run a PhD seminar series where students present their on-going research and receive feedback from their peers and the faculty.

Entry requirements

Candidates for a place on the MPhil/PhD programme will have undergraduate and taught Masters degrees in a relevant subject. The Masters degree would typically have included training in advanced research methods, and be awarded with a Distinction or high Merit.

The Department welcomes applications from suitably qualified and highly motivated candidates. The application process for our postgraduate research programmes is interactive.

Please follow these steps for enquiring about and applying for a PhD in Criminology:

1. Make an informal enquiry before you apply

In the first instance, you should check the research interests of  members of academic staff  to see who is active in the area that you are interested in. Follow the drop-down menu for Criminology and Sociology to identify staff with relevant expertise. When you have identified a potential supervisor (with relevant expertise to your proposed research), send to them an outline research proposal and a CV, setting out your qualifications and experience. You should expect to have a series of discussions with this member of staff (by email, by telephone/MSTeams, or in person) about the project, options for funding, and your career aspirations. These discussions will help the member of staff decide whether or not they would be an appropriate supervisor for your proposed project, if they have availability for supervision.

2. Submit an application

When a member of staff has agreed in principle to supervise your project, you should then submit an application form using the  online application system . Ensure that you indicate the name of the proposed supervisor/s.

One of the most important aspects of your application is the research proposal. The purpose of the research proposal is two-fold: first, to help determine whether your topic corresponds with the interests and expertise of the proposed supervisor(s) and, second, to make clear how the research will make an original contribution to theoretical and applied knowledge in the field.

The proposal is important as it will allow the Department to assess your aptitude for doctoral-level research, to allocate supervision appropriately, and to ensure we are fully able to support the study you propose. Although you are required formally to submit the proposal with your application for doctoral study, it is a document you should develop in discussion with a member of staff in the Department of Law and Criminology before you submit this formally.

The proposal should be approximately 2,000 words in length (excluding the reference list) and include the following sections:

At this stage, a working title that summarises the proposed focus is more than adequate.

b. Introduction, Research Question and Rationale

The introduction should, in a succinct way, provide an overview of, and rationale for, the proposed project. You should explain the project focus, main research question and broad aims, and how it will make an original contribution to theory and practice. The introductory section needs to outline the basic argument the thesis intends to advance, as well as what it will aim to demonstrate. In simple terms, explain what the project is about, why it is innovative, why the project matters, why you are the right person to undertake it, and why the Department of Law and Criminology is the most appropriate place to be based.

c. Literature Review

Any proposed project should make clear how it relates to existing research on the topic (or related topics). In this section, you should summarise the current state of scholarship on your topic and explain the ways in which your project will draw from, and build on, that work. In this part of the proposal, you are demonstrating your knowledge of the field and the ways in which your project will make meaningful contributions.

d. Data and Methodology

Detail the sources of data (qualitative and/or quantitative) that you will require in order to answer your research questions and the specific methods you intend to apply in order to collect or generate those data. You should offer a clear explanation for your selection of research methods: Why one method rather than another?

This section should also offer an account of your analytical strategy. How will you make sense of your data? Will you require any specialist software to complete that analysis? Will your project involve fieldwork? If so, to where? How will that fieldwork be financed and supported?

Include a section on the ethical implications of your proposed topic. Which ethical issues are raised by your project? How do you intend to address them?

e. Proposed thesis structure and timeline

In this section you should outline the structure of your thesis and demonstrate that you have thought about how you are going to structure and organise the argument put forward in your thesis. Additionally, you should propose a timeline for your project, and demonstrate how you think you will organise your time in the three years you will work on your thesis.

f. Reference list

List here, using the citation system common to your discipline, the sources referred to in the proposal.

3. After applying

All applications are subject to review by a panel of academic members of staff in the Department of Law and Criminology. Applicants will be informed of the outcome as soon as the panel has met.

Further details

For further information concerning applications for postgraduate research in the department, please contact  Dr Caterina Nirta , Departmental Lead for Postgraduate Research.

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.

The scores we require

• IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
• Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
• Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.

Country-specific requirements

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see  here .

Our PhD programme is very successful and our alumni have gone on to undertake careers in a variety of roles, particularly in the criminal justice, education, and health and social care sectors. Our graduates have also gone on to have extremely successful careers in a variety of Universities including here at Royal Holloway, University of London, as well as at other institutions both inside and outside the UK.

The Department actively supports the placement of PhD students in external organisations that can enhance PhD research impact, employability skills, and knowledge exchange.

Fees & funding

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £18,200

Other essential costs***: There are no individual costs greater than £50 per item.

…How do I pay for it? Find out more about   funding options,   including loans, grants,   scholarships   and bursaries. 

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2024/25.

* Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home   tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry.   For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the   UKRI website.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2024/25.   

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually, based on the UK’s Retail Price Index (RPI). Please therefore be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. For further information, please see our  terms and conditions .

***   These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2024/25 academic year and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included. 

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Doctorate in Cultural and Global Criminology

Welcome to the DCGC programme

The Doctorate in Cultural and Global Criminology is a three-year interdisciplinary, collaborative PhD programme recognised as delivering a training of outstanding quality. The PhD programme combines the expertise and strengths of four universities with established reputations in the field.

• Find out about the DCGC programme .
• Find out about academic staff of the DCGC programme.
• Find out how to apply for the DCGC programme.

DPhil in Criminology

• Entry requirements
• Funding and costs

College preference

• How to apply

About the course

The DPhil Criminology is offered as either a full-time three to four year degree, or a part-time six to eight year degree. The DPhil entails researching and writing a thesis of between 75,000 and 100,000 words under the guidance of at least one supervisor who will be an acknowledged authority on your chosen topic. After three or at most four years (no later than eight years for the part-time pathway), you are expected to submit your final thesis. 

As a first-year full-time student, or in your first two years as a part-time student, you will follow courses of instruction in criminological research methods to develop your research skills, unless you have acquired sufficient methods training on a master's degree.

The Criminology DPhil programme is offered by the Centre for Criminology to develop academic and transferable skills. You must complete both modules during your DPhil and you can choose which term/academic year it would be most useful for you to take each.

Module One , Intellectual Foundations will help you think theoretically about criminological research and engage with the intellectual foundations of criminology in order to assist you in developing theoretical and conceptual frameworks for your own projects.

Module Two , Professional Development will help you with your professional development and to give you opportunities to present your own work ‘in progress’ and learn to critique the work of your peers.

The Faculty of Law and Social Sciences Division also offer skills training as appropriate to different stages of the graduate career. There are also opportunities to access advanced and specialist research methods training.

The areas in which members of the Centre for Criminology may be able to offer supervision include:

• policing and security
• crime and the family
• border control and the criminalisation of migration
• the death penalty
• the politics of crime and justice
• youth justice
• sociology of punishment
• psychology, law and criminal justice
• crime, risk and justice
• restorative justice
• public attitudes and responses to crime
• race and gender in crime and justice
• miscarriages of justice
• crime, criminology and social/political theory.

In addition to the DPhil Programme and methods training, you will be encouraged to attend the Oxford criminology and informal research seminars organised by the centre and get involved in the various criminology discussion groups. Research seminars bring you and other students together with academic and other research staff in the department to hear about ongoing research and provide an opportunity for networking and socialising.

Further information about studying part-time

The faculty's research degrees are not available by distance learning. Although there will be no requirement to reside in Oxford, part-time research students must attend the University on a regular basis (particularly in term-time: October and November, mid-January to mid-March, and late April to mid-June) for supervision, study, research seminars and skills training. This is also to ensure a comprehensive integration into the faculty's and University's research culture and with your full-time peer groups. In addition, you will sometimes ‘meet’ with their supervisors online. As a part-time student you will be required to attend classes in research methods (unless completed as part of the MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice), doctoral seminars, supervision meetings and other obligations in Oxford. There will be some flexibility in the dates and pattern of attendance which will be determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor. Attendance will be required during and outside of term-time on dates to be determined by mutual agreement with your supervisor. You will have the opportunity to tailor your part-time study and skills training in liaison with your supervisor and agree your pattern of attendance.

Supervision

The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Centre for Criminology and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Centre for Criminology.

It is expected that you will have at least two substantial supervisions in each term (or for part-time students, at least one each term) and students and their supervisors tend to have other online or in person contact in addition to this, especially when the student is preparing for ‘milestone’ assessments.

All students will be initially admitted to the status of Probationer Research Student (PRS). Within a maximum of four terms as a full-time PRS student (eight terms for part-time pathway), you will be expected to apply for, and achieve, transfer of status from Probationer Research Student to DPhil status. This application is normally made by the third term for full-time students (sixth term for part-time pathway) and involves submitting a research outline and a substantial piece of written work. These are assessed by two members of the Centre for Criminology, who will also interview you about your work. A similar exercise then takes place in your sixth term (twelfth term for the part-time pathway) when you will apply for Confirmation of DPhil status to show that your work continues to be on track.

After three or at most four years (no later than eight years for the part-time pathway), you are expected to submit your original final thesis. Your thesis of between 75,000 and 100,000 words will be read by two appointed examiners who conduct an in-depth oral examination with you, known as a viva voce. On the basis of their report, you will either be awarded the DPhil Criminology or referred back to make revisions to the thesis.

Graduate destinations

Recent graduates of the DPhil Criminology have pursued careers in the following areas:

• professional careers in criminal justice agencies and the law
• university research and teaching in academic criminology and law schools
• research careers
• government departments
• voluntary organisations in the crime and justice field.

Changes to this course and your supervision

The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made in circumstances of a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.

Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.

For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.

Entry requirements for entry in 2024-25

Proven and potential academic excellence.

The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. 

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:

• a master's degree with an average mark of 67% or above ;  and
• a first-class or a strong upper second class (usually a minimum weighted average of 67%) undergraduate degree with honours.

The qualifications above should be achieved in one of the following subject areas or disciplines:

• social policy
• history; or
• another social science or humanities subject relevant to criminology.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

Applicants will normally have:

• a broad, deep, advanced, and integrated understanding of a subject relevant to criminology such as law, sociology, economics, politics, psychology, social policy or history;
• outstanding analytical abilities, the ability to separate speedily the relevant from the irrelevant, and the ability to develop and sustain complex arguments under pressure; capacities for accurate observation and insightful criticism, including willingness and ability to engage with other social science disciplines; originality and creativity of thought, open-mindedness, and capacity for lateral thinking; excellent powers of synthesis and economy of thought;
• willingness and ability to express highly complex ideas clearly and effectively in English, with a particular eye to finesse and economy and an aspiration to professional standards of style and organisation in scholarly writing.

Potential applicants should identify any relevant publications which may enhance their application. Publications are not expected. They may, in certain circumstances, advantage an application but it is appreciated that the opportunity to publish may vary considerably depending on factors such as the stage the student has reached in their graduate career and the structure of the course(s) they have studied. Consequently, a lack of publications will not be assessed negatively.

Further guidance for part-time applicants

Part-time applicants will usually have some experience of working in criminal or social justice professions or in the law. In their applications, they will also be expected to show evidence of the ability to commit time to study and, if applicable, an employer's commitment to make time available to study, to complete coursework, and attend course and University events and modules. Where appropriate, evidence should also be provided of permission to use employers’ data in the proposed research project.

English language proficiency

This course requires proficiency in English at the University's  higher level . If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.

*Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) † Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)

Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides  further information about the English language test requirement .

Declaring extenuating circumstances

If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.

You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Supporting documents

You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The  How to apply  section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.

Performance at interview

Interviews are not normally held as part of the admissions process, though prospective supervisors may contact you for an online meeting to discuss your research plans before the Admissions Board meets to review applications. 

How your application is assessed

Your application will be assessed purely on your proven and potential academic excellence and other entry requirements described under that heading.

References  and  supporting documents  submitted as part of your application, and your performance at interview (if interviews are held) will be considered as part of the assessment process. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed.

An overview of the shortlisting and selection process is provided below. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide  more information about how applications are assessed . 

Shortlisting and selection

Students are considered for shortlisting and selected for admission without regard to age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, race (including colour, nationality and ethnic or national origins), religion or belief (including lack of belief), sex, sexual orientation, as well as other relevant circumstances including parental or caring responsibilities or social background. However, please note the following:

• socio-economic information may be taken into account in the selection of applicants and award of scholarships for courses that are part of  the University’s pilot selection procedure  and for  scholarships aimed at under-represented groups ;
• country of ordinary residence may be taken into account in the awarding of certain scholarships; and
• protected characteristics may be taken into account during shortlisting for interview or the award of scholarships where the University has approved a positive action case under the Equality Act 2010.

Processing your data for shortlisting and selection

Information about  processing special category data for the purposes of positive action  and  using your data to assess your eligibility for funding , can be found in our Postgraduate Applicant Privacy Policy.

Admissions panels and assessors

All recommendations to admit a student involve the judgement of at least two members of the academic staff with relevant experience and expertise, and must also be approved by the Director of Graduate Studies or Admissions Committee (or equivalent within the department).

Admissions panels or committees will always include at least one member of academic staff who has undertaken appropriate training.

Other factors governing whether places can be offered

The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:

• the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the  About  section of this page;
• the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
• minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.

Offer conditions for successful applications

If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our ' After you apply ' pages provide more information about offers and conditions . 

In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:

Financial Declaration

If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a  Financial Declaration  in order to meet your financial condition of admission.

Disclosure of criminal convictions

In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any  relevant, unspent criminal convictions  before you can take up a place at Oxford.

As a new full-time DPhil student you will be offered a desk at the Centre for Criminology, however it may not be possible to accommodate every student who requests a desk, and the centre cannot guarantee the availability of workspace in future years.

Within the Faculty of Law, there is a dedicated graduate reading room available in the Bodleian Law Library. This includes 50 study spaces, many of which are equipped with an Ethernet socket. Wireless access is also available.

You will have access to the Bodleian Law Library and Bodleian Social Science Library (in addition to other University libraries, and the centrally provided electronic resources). Training on how to use the library’s legal and journal database is jointly provided by the Faculty of Law and the Bodleian Law Library.

You will have the opportunity to attend a variety of skills training sessions and you will be required to successfully complete research methods training provided by the centre, as a condition of your transfer/admission to DPhil student status. There are also opportunities to access advanced and specialist research training provided through the Social Sciences Doctoral Training Centre.  The Social Sciences Division also organises an academic and professional development programme covering a range of relevant generic transferable skills which you will be encouraged to attend.

You will be encouraged to attend the Oxford criminology and informal lunchtime seminars organised by the centre and you will also have the opportunity participate in the criminology discussion group, criminological research workshops, and other relevant discussion groups which are held during term time. You will also have access to seminars organised by the Faculty of Law as well as other faculty discussion groups.

Oxford’s Faculty of Law, one of the largest in the UK, offers you the opportunity to study alongside some of the best law graduates of your generation, under the direct supervision of some of the world’s leading legal scholars.

Oxford's reputation for master's-level legal education has few equals. All of the courses on offer involve intensive work to a very high academic standard, and the BCL and MJur are exceptional in their use of tutorials as a principal means of course delivery. Both of these programmes offer an extensive variety of options and the opportunity to specialise in certain fields or to select a diverse combination of courses. For those with more specialist interests, the faculty also offers the MSc in Law and Finance, the MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice, the MSc in Taxation, and the Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law and Practice, the MSc in Intellectual Property, and the MSc in International Human Rights Law (formerly known as the MSt in International Human Rights Law and offered by the Department of Continuing Education).

For its research students, the faculty offers a wider range of legal and interdisciplinary specialisms corresponding to the diverse interests of faculty members. For many research students the ultimate goal will be a DPhil, the Oxford term for a doctoral qualification, but the faculty also offers a one-year MPhil course which can either be taken in its own right or as a route into the DPhil. As a research student, you can expect to work closely with a specialist supervisor who will help you develop your ideas and pursue your thesis to a successful conclusion.

Research students play a central role in the intellectual life of the faculty, collaborating in numerous discussion groups and colloquia and participating in many BCL, MJur and MSc course seminars.

Centre for Criminology Pursuing an innovative programme of criminological research and delivering high quality education.

The Centre for Criminology is an independent unit of the University’s Faculty of Law. The centre is dedicated to pursuing an innovative programme of criminological research and to delivering high-quality graduate education in criminology. It has a vibrant programme of research, aimed principally at fostering and developing clusters of research activity around seven substantive areas:

• security, rights and justice
• penal culture, policy and practice
• politics, legitimacy and criminal justice
• psychology, criminal justice and law
• victims and victimisation
• criminal justice, citizenship and migration.

Members of the centre are committed to:

• connecting criminological work to the broader concerns of the social sciences;
• thinking comparatively about crime and punishment;
• bringing together sociological and normative approaches to the analysis of crime and justice; and
• working at the intersections between criminology and public policy.

These approaches to the study of crime and criminal justice inform teaching and doctoral supervision in the centre. They create an intellectually stimulating and collaborative environment to pursue your study in criminology.

Centre for Socio-Legal Studies At the forefront of multidisciplinary research into the nature and role of law in society.

The Centre for Socio-Legal Studies (CSLS) brings together scholars with diverse academic backgrounds and ambitions, who pursue their own research topics and are also encouraged to collaborate widely and develop multifaceted research programmes. Researchers address fundamental questions about the nature of law, its relations with morality, religion, and justice, and its role in regulation, government and community, the nature of rules and legalistic thought, the development of laws, legal systems and legal cultures, and the social character of the rule of law.

The CSLS welcomes students who wish to pursue research in any aspect of socio-legal studies, broadly defined. The centre's staff have a range of expertise in socio-legal research and methodologies and draw on a range of cognate fields, including anthropology, jurisprudence, political science, regulation studies, economics and sociology. Supervision can be offered in most areas of social-legal studies.

The CSLS has a community of around thirteen full-time research staff and thirty-three graduate research students. Links with leading scholars in Oxford’s Faculty of Law and throughout the University enhance the breadth of the centre’s research and the resources made available to students.

Courses offered by the faculty

View all courses   View taught courses View research courses

The University expects to be able to offer over 1,000 full or partial graduate scholarships across the collegiate University in 2024-25. You will be automatically considered for the majority of Oxford scholarships , if you fulfil the eligibility criteria and submit your graduate application by the relevant December or January deadline. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential. 

For further details about searching for funding as a graduate student visit our dedicated Funding pages, which contain information about how to apply for Oxford scholarships requiring an additional application, details of external funding, loan schemes and other funding sources.

Please ensure that you visit individual college websites for details of any college-specific funding opportunities using the links provided on our college pages or below:

Please note that not all the colleges listed above may accept students on this course. For details of those which do, please refer to the College preference section of this page.

Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the faculty's website.

Annual fees for entry in 2024-25

Full-time study.

Further details about fee status eligibility can be found on the fee status webpage.

Part-time study

Information about course fees.

Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year, please be aware that fees will usually increase annually. For details, please see our guidance on changes to fees and charges .

Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional information below.

Continuation charges

Following the period of fee liability , you may also be required to pay a University continuation charge and a college continuation charge. The University and college continuation charges are shown on the Continuation charges page.

Where can I find further information about fees?

The Fees and Funding  section of this website provides further information about course fees , including information about fee status and eligibility  and your length of fee liability .

Additional information

There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees (or, after fee liability ends, continuation charges) and living costs. However, please note that, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Please note that you are required to attend in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year, and you may incur additional travel and accommodation expenses for this. Also, depending on your choice of research topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur further additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.

Living costs

In addition to your course fees, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.

For the 2024-25 academic year, the range of likely living costs for full-time study is between c. £1,345 and £1,955 for each month spent in Oxford. Full information, including a breakdown of likely living costs in Oxford for items such as food, accommodation and study costs, is available on our living costs page. The current economic climate and high national rate of inflation make it very hard to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. When planning your finances for any future years of study in Oxford beyond 2024-25, it is suggested that you allow for potential increases in living expenses of around 5% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation. UK inflationary increases will be kept under review and this page updated.

If you are studying part-time your living costs may vary depending on your personal circumstances but you must still ensure that you will have sufficient funding to meet these costs for the duration of your course.

Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs). 

If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief  introduction to the college system at Oxford  and our  advice about expressing a college preference . For some courses, the department may have provided some additional advice below to help you decide.

The following colleges accept students for full-time study on this course:

• Balliol College
• Blackfriars
• Brasenose College
• Campion Hall
• Christ Church
• Corpus Christi College
• Exeter College
• Green Templeton College
• Harris Manchester College
• Hertford College
• Keble College
• Kellogg College
• Lady Margaret Hall
• Linacre College
• Lincoln College
• New College
• Oriel College
• Pembroke College
• Reuben College
• St Anne's College
• St Antony's College
• St Catherine's College
• St Cross College
• St Hilda's College
• Wadham College
• Wolfson College
• Worcester College
• Wycliffe Hall

The following colleges accept students for part-time study on this course:

Before you apply

Our  guide to getting started  provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application. You can use our interactive tool to help you  evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive .

If it's important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under a December or January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance . Check the deadlines on this page and the  information about deadlines and when to apply  in our Application Guide.

Application fee waivers

An application fee of £75 is payable per course application. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:

• applicants from low-income countries;
• refugees and displaced persons; 
• UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and 
• applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.

You are encouraged to  check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver  before you apply.

Readmission for current Oxford graduate taught students

If you're currently studying for an Oxford graduate taught course and apply to this course with no break in your studies, you may be eligible to apply to this course as a readmission applicant. The application fee will be waived for an eligible application of this type. Check whether you're eligible to apply for readmission .

Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?

Supervision is arranged by the department at the point of admission and you do not need to contact potential supervisors before an offer is made. However, you are encouraged to visit the relevant departmental webpages to read any further information about your chosen course.

Completing your application

You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents .

For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application .

If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.

Proposed field and title of research project

Under the 'Field and title of research project' please enter your proposed field or area of research if this is known. If the department has advertised a specific research project that you would like to be considered for, please enter the project title here instead.

You should not use this field to type out a full research proposal. You will be able to upload your research supporting materials separately if they are required (as described below).

Proposed supervisor

It is not necessary for you to identify a potential supervisor in your application.

Referees: Three overall, academic preferred

Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.

Academic references are strongly preferred, provided by individuals familiar with the applicant's academic performance but a professional reference will be accepted as long as you also provide two academic references. Part-time applicants can submit two professional references but should also include an academic reference where possible.

Your references will support exceptional academic motivation; capacity for sustained and intense work; developed ability to organise time and set own agenda for study; and an intrepid attitude towards investigation and learning.

Official transcript(s)

Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.

More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.

Research proposal: A minimum of 1,000 words to a maximum of 2,000 words

Your proposal should give details of the topic you propose to investigate, why it is legally or sociologically significant, and how you would carry out the research. It should also reflect the research interests and expertise of academics in the centre (see the list of areas in which members of the centre are able to offer supervision in About the Course). The proposal should be written in English, and the word limit does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes. 

This will be assessed for:

• the coherence of the proposal
• the originality of the project
• understanding of the proposed area of study
• the ability to present a reasoned case in English
• the feasibility of successfully completing the project in the time available for the course
• preliminary knowledge of research methods.

It will be normal for your ideas subsequently to change in some ways as you investigate the evidence and develop your project. You should nevertheless make the best effort you can to demonstrate the extent of your research question, sources and methods at the time of application.

Your proposal should focus on the proposed research project rather than personal achievements, interests and aspirations. However, you can make reference to any directly relevant personal achievements, interests or experiences that speak to the feasibility of the proposed project and to your motivations for research.

Written work: Two essays, a maximum of 2,000 words each

Academic essays or other writing samples from your most recent qualification, written in English, are required. Applicants for part-time study may include a report, or sections of a report, or other relevant document, they have written in their professional roles. Extracts from longer pieces are welcome but should be prefaced by a note which puts them in context and it should be indicated with square brackets which elements have been omitted from the original piece of work.

Ideally the works should relate to the proposed area of study. The word count does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes.

If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.

This will be assessed for a comprehensive understanding of the subject area, an understanding of problems in the area, an ability to construct and defend an argument, your powers of analysis and powers of expression.

Start or continue your application

You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please  refer to the requirements above  and  consult our Application Guide for advice . You'll find the answers to most common queries in our FAQs.

Application Guide   Apply - Full time   Apply - Part time

ADMISSION STATUS

Closed to applications for entry in 2024-25

Register to be notified via email when the next application cycle opens (for entry in 2025-26)

12:00 midday UK time on:

Friday 19 January 2024 Latest deadline for most Oxford scholarships Final application deadline for entry in 2024-25

*Three-year average (applications for entry in 2021-22 to 2023-24)

Further information and enquiries

This course is offered by the Centre for Criminology within the  Faculty of Law

• Course page  and FAQs on the faculty's website
• Funding information from the faculty
• Academic and research staff  in Criminology
• Research at the  faculty  and centre
• Social Sciences Division
• Residence requirements for full-time courses
• Postgraduate applicant privacy policy

Course-related enquiries

Advice about contacting the department can be found in the How to apply section of this page

✉ [email protected] ☎ +44 (0)1865 274444

Application-process enquiries

See the application guide

Visa eligibility for part-time study

We are unable to sponsor student visas for part-time study on this course. Part-time students may be able to attend on a visitor visa for short blocks of time only (and leave after each visit) and will need to remain based outside the UK.

Security and Crime Science MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

UCL Security and Crime Science is widely recognised for the impact of its research on real-world crime problems. The Department has long-standing links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence and security organisations in the UK and internationally.

A PhD with us allows you to pursue original research and make a distinct and significant contribution to your field.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

• Entry requirements

Evidence of graduate research experience, for example a Master's degree, and a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applicants must also consider whether the Department of Security and Crime Science has the relevant expertise available to offer sufficient supervision in their chosen area of research. You will be expected to identify two UCL academics to supervise your research before applying. Ideally you will have contacted them before applying to ensure they are able to support your application. Following consideration of applications at the department's Graduate Research Committee, students may be requested to attend an interview with prospective supervisors (either in person or by telephone).

The English language level for this programme is: Level 3

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The Department of Security and Crime Science is organised into five centres of excellence:

• Geographical analysis
• The "Designing Out Crime" group
• The crime policy and evaluation group
• Terrorism and organised crime
• Forensic science

Staff and students work across these groups, across UCL and in the wider research community, which includes active international collaborations.

Who this course is for

Security and Crime Science is a multi-disciplinary subject, drawing on expertise in psychology, social science, statistics, mathematics, architecture, forensic sciences, design, geography and computing. This is reflected in our students, who come from a variety of backgrounds. This makes the department an interesting and stimulating environment in which to study.

We seek graduates from all disciplines who want to solve real-world security and crime problems.

What this course will give you

UCL Security and Crime Science is devoted specifically to reducing crime through teaching, research, public policy analysis and by the dissemination of evidence-based information on crime reduction. Our mission is to change crime policy and practice.

At UCL Security and Crime Science, we are committed to the quality and relevance of the research supervision we offer. As an MPhil/PhD student, you will work with academics at the cutting edge of scholarship. You will also be an integral part of our thriving and collaborative research community, in the department and more widely at UCL.

The foundation of your career

This PhD programme is a well-established programme that draws in students from around the world who have gone on to exciting careers in security and crime sectors.

Graduates from our research programmes go on to research careers and to take up lecturing posts in academic institutions. Others have taken up policy-related positions in the public and private security sectors.

Employability

This is the first Phd programme of its kind to combine a multidisciplinary crime or security doctoral degree with a programme of taught modules (focusing on the application of scientific method to crime reduction) and professional skills training. 

Our aim is to produce a new generation of crime and security practitioners with the skills to tackle modern and evolving crime threats. With over 60 partners in industry and the public sector and some of the world's leading academics at UCL working in these areas, we provide excellent supervision and career prospects.

We have long-established links with police forces, policy makers at all levels, academic research centres of excellence and security organisations in both the UK and internationally

The department attracts leading figures in the field to our extensive programme of events which inform debates around crime prevention. Regular events include the Women in Security showcase, annual International Crime Science conference, regular seminars and outside speakers.

These events provide a platform for students to connect with crime science practitioners and researchers across academia, government, and industry, offering a chance to learn from their expertise and establish valuable contacts.

Collaborative working at UCL is also an important aspect of our multidisciplinary research programme.The MPhil/PhD in Security and Crime Science gives students the opportunity to mix with peers from backgrounds including architecture, computer science, statistics, electronic engineering, chemistry, forensic sciences, psychology, philosophy, ethics and laws.

Teaching and learning

The initial registration on the programme will be on an MPhil basis. In order to progress to the PhD, students are required to pass an ‘upgrade’. The purpose of the upgrade is to assess your progress and ability to complete your PhD programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) consists of a piece of supervised research, normally undertaken over a period of three years of full-time or five years of part-time study. Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

You should meet frequently with your supervisors and engage with the departmental and UCL communities more widely through events, training, and networking opportunities.

The PhD is examined by a viva committee comprising two experts in the field, an external examiner, and an internal examiner. Your supervisor nominates suitable examiners during your final year, in consultation with you, and the nominations are scrutinised by UCL’s examinations office who may approve or reject them. You should not have had prior contact with either examiner. The viva usually takes two to three hours.

As a full-time student you are expected to devote at least 35 hours per week to your studies for the full duration of your programme. If you are studying part-time, you should expect to spend at least 17.5 hours per week.

As a research student, your principal supervisor will establish a timetable of regular meetings where all matters relating to your work can be discussed.

These meetings should take place at least once per month. Subsidiary supervisors should stay acquainted with the progress of your work and be present at annual supervisory meetings, as a minimum.

Research areas and structure

The department has five main research groups:

• Counter-terrorism: situational prevention of terrorism; technology for counter-terrorism; transferable training between crime and terrorism
• Crime mapping: innovation in crime mapping methods; prospective crime mapping
• Crime policy analysis and evaluation: evaluation of crime prevention schemes; knowledge transfer
• Designing out crime: role of design in crime prevention; environmental design; crime risk and administrative procedure design
• Forensic sciences: forensic science reconstruction; interpretation of evidence; trace evidence dynamics (including DNA, residues/particulates, environmental evidence etc.).

UCL Security and Crime Science hosts the UCL Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (UCL SECReT), an international centre for PhD training in security and crime science.

We offer an integrated PhD programme for students wishing to pursue multi-disciplinary security or crime-related research degrees. We expect their research to be interdisciplinary and to involve some 'hard science' element. Our research is underpinned by a methodology combining science and engineering expertise with expertise from wider disciplines including the social sciences. We see four research 'domains' which can interact:

• Science and technology innovation: to create the next generation of security technologies
• People factors: understanding and incorporating human factors (via behavioural science, decision-making techniques, etc.) into the development of security solutions
• Process factors: enhancing security processes by increasing our understanding of the operational processes of activities, organisations or infrastructures under threat
• Policy: contributing to the development of government policy through research findings.

Research environment

Our department has a distinctly interdisciplinary outlook on the prevention of crime, terrorism and organised crime. We have long-established links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence, and security organisations in the UK and internationally. 

The department has a successful track record of working closely with practitioners and is widely recognised for its knowledge transfer and exchange activities, as well as the impact of its research on real world crime problems.  

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise, the department’s research environment was deemed to be 87.5% ‘world-leading' and 12.5% ‘internationally excellent’, placing it 6th in this area of REF assessment.

As a Security and Crime Science MPhil/PhD student, you will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, this thriving research culture.

The length of registration for ourresearch degree programmes is three years for full-time study and five years for part-time study.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 9-18 months after initial registration.

Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may start a writing period called Completing Research Status (CRS), within which you write up your thesis.

To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to submit a piece of writing demonstrating sufficient theoretical, conceptual, and methodological development as well as a clearly articulated plan to finish the thesis.

You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 24 months after initial registration.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing team .

Online - Open day

Security and Crime Science PhD Open Evening

Join our open event series to learn more about our PhD programme, future career opportunities and what it's like to be part of our fantastic community. There are also questions for our academics, admission tutors and current students.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .

Additional costs

There are no additional costs associated with this programme.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship

Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme) Criteria Based on academic merit Eligibility: EU, Overseas

If you meet the entry requirements, you will need to identify at least two UCL academics with the expertise needed to assess your technical skills and act as your supervisors. To support with this, we suggest you check our departmental website to identify the interests and areas of expertise of current academics.

Before applying, please ensure you focus on a research proposal of approximately 3000 words which introduces the research questions and hypotheses you would like to investigate, and the research methods you would like to apply in your work. Clearly indicate how the required data will be obtained, and what resources you need for your project. You can find guidance on writing a research proposal online.

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements, so please check with the department or academic unit before applying to see if you need to consider these. In most cases, you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application.

For more information see our How to apply page and ensure you visit our website.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

Got questions get in touch.

Security and Crime Science

[email protected]

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Department of Criminology

Research Program

The Department of Criminology strives to be a source of novel ideas that help drive the field forward and to be a global hub for interdisciplinary research. It currently hosts three researchers with prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grants: one ERC Consolidator Grant and two ERC Starting Grants. The research program is struc­tured along three different axes or key areas of scientific interest: 1) Theoretical Innovation, 2) Methodological Innovation & Technology, and 3) Putting Crime Science into Practice.

1. Theoretical Innovation

Drawing from different disciplines, the field of criminology is empirically vibrant and theoretically rich. Yet its greatest strength, diversity, may also be its Achilles’ heel due to the risk of theoretical and empirical fragmentation. One of the main challenges confronting criminology regards bridging one of its main divides—that between dispositional explana­tions, which attribute criminal behavior to stable individual differences, and sociogenic perspectives, which identify criminogenic environments and situational factors as the principal causes of crime. Cumulative evidence suggests that both are important. Hence, scientific perspectives that can link these findings are crucial for arriving at a comprehensive picture that encompasses the causes, development, and persistence of criminal conduct. This key area of interest is dedicated to developing theory from an integrative and interdisciplinary perspective—for example, by examining the interrelation between contextual factors and individual-level factors in the explanation of crime. Research in this area draws from rich empirical and theoretical traditions in criminology, yet extends them by also drawing from other fields such as evolutionary and personality psychology, behavioral economics, and computer science, which, in spite of their potential, have seen only limited application in criminology to date.

2. Methodological Innovation & Technology

Carefully constructed questionnaires, cleverly designed observation and interview schemes, and large-scale registration and longitudinal data have long been the commanding approaches to data collection in empirical criminology. The field has made tremendous progress in improving our understanding of criminal conduct through the use of such meth­ods and has reached an impressive degree of both qualitative and quantitative sophistication. However, the traditional meth­ods of data collection are particularly suited to study factors relating to characteristics of delinquents that propel them into and out of crime, such as their dispositions, the families and neighborhoods they come from, their social networks, and their educational and criminal trajectories. But by design they offer little insight into offender behavior and the decision-making that underlies it.

Importantly, the field’s emphasis on these largely retrospective methods has led to a fundamentally skewed knowledge base. We know a lot about offender characteristics, life events that contribute to criminal careers, what predicts the choice for crime, how criminals journey to their crimes and what makes them desist, but we still know comparatively little about the offending process itself. Research in this key area of interest is premised on the assumption that advanc­ing our understanding of crime and its prevention may require not more of the same but rather the exploration of novel approaches. Technologies such as virtual reality, intelligent machines, sensors, smartphones, and the Internet are quickly becoming an increasingly influential part of people’s daily lives. Despite often being highly accessible and rele­vant for research, these technologies are rarely utilized by criminologists. To fill the current hiatus in the field, this key area of interest is dedicated to the application of new technologies and innovative methods in crime research.

3. Putting Crime Science into Practice

There is an important disconnect between theory and practice in criminology. Crime research and theorizing regularly proceed without taking much notice of what happens “on the ground.” Criminal justice and rehabilitation practices on the ground in turn often pay little heed to evidence-based interventions or theory. Following Kurt Lewin’s maxim that there is nothing as practical as a good theory, the third key area in the Department of Criminology seeks to connect theory, innovative methods, and technology to policy and practice. Ultimately, criminology is an applied science seeking to understand not only the occurrence of crime but also to provide concrete input as to how to prevent it from happen­ing and to minimize its harmful consequences. Research in this area applies state-of-the-art knowledge to generate solutions of an applied nature, for example by providing input for the training of practitioners in the criminal justice system (e.g., police, youth care workers, probation services, magistrates), developing tools for crime prevention, and devising evidence-based rehabilitation instruments.

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Higher Education Compass

International criminology part time, full time, executive master of arts in journalism.

Master Degree

4 semesters

Standard period of study (amount)

July 2024 (Germans and inhabitants)

July 2024 (EU), July 2024 (Non-EU) Please enquire

Overview and admission

Admission semester.

Winter Semester only

Area of study

• Sociology, Social Science
• International Law

Target group

Social scientists, lawyers; persons who wish to research questions of crime and deviance

Admission modus

selection by the HEI

Admission requirements (Link)

Admission requirements

https://www.uni-hamburg.de/onTEAM/studiengaenge/iInternationale-kriminologie.pdf

Lecture period

• 04.04.2023 - 15.07.2023
• 14.10.2024 - 01.02.2025

Application deadlines

Winter semester (2024/2025), deadlines for international students from the european union.

01.06.2024 - 15.07.2024

15 February to 31 March of each year for international Master's degree courses

Deadlines for international students from countries that are not members of the European Union

Application deadline for germans and inhabitants.

Registration only for degree courses with open admission within regular application deadlines. 15 February to 31 March of each year for international Master's degree courses

Languages of instruction

Main language, further languages.

Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V. Kennedyallee 50 53175 Bonn

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Discover more about Criminology at Manchester

PhD Criminology / Careers

Year of entry: 2024

• View full page

Career opportunities

Successful graduates are able to progress within a wide variety of roles in academia and other criminological professions and associated fields. 

The University also has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a PGR and for two years after you graduate.  

At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help support you with your goals for the future.

Best Universities for Forensic Science in Europe

Updated: February 29, 2024

• Art & Design
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Environmental Science
• Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
• Mathematics

Below is a list of best universities in Europe ranked based on their research performance in Forensic Science. A graph of 266K citations received by 12K academic papers made by 119 universities in Europe was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of Leicester

For Forensic Science

2. University of Lausanne

3. University of Copenhagen

4. University College London

5. Ghent University

6. University of Santiago de Compostela

7. Charite - Medical University of Berlin

8. Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main

9. Leiden University

10. King's College London

11. University of Liverpool

12. University of Zurich

13. University of Oslo

14. Humboldt University of Berlin

15. University of Cambridge

16. University of Bern

17. University of Nottingham

18. University of Innsbruck

19. Queen Mary University of London

20. University of Milan

21. University of Helsinki

22. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

23. University of Reading

24. University of Cologne

25. University of Hamburg

26. University of Manchester

27. University of Porto

28. Polytechnic University of Bari

29. University of Oxford

30. University of Munster

31. University of Bonn

32. University of Edinburgh

33. University of Strathclyde

34. University of Bari

35. Medical University of Innsbruck

36. University of Munich

37. University of Amsterdam

38. Catholic University of Leuven

39. Uppsala University

40. University of Freiburg

41. University of Central Lancashire

42. Karolinska Institute

43. University of Aberdeen

44. University of Wurzburg

45. Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

46. University of Leeds

47. University of Hohenheim

48. University of Padua

49. Heidelberg University - Germany

50. University of Bristol

51. University of Barcelona

52. University of Florence

53. Adam Mickiewicz University

54. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

55. University of London

56. University of Verona

57. Complutense University of Madrid

58. Cardiff University

59. Free University of Brussels

60. Lund University

61. University of Dundee

62. Imperial College London

63. University of Birmingham

64. Queen's University Belfast

65. University of Coimbra

66. Linkoping University

67. University of Turin

68. University of Leipzig

69. Medical University of Lodz

70. Erasmus University Rotterdam

71. University College Dublin

72. University of Gottingen

73. University of Glasgow

74. University of Vienna

75. Sapienza University of Rome

76. University of Huddersfield

77. Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin

78. Wageningen University

79. Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg

80. Free University Amsterdam

81. Teesside University

82. University of Giessen

83. University of Ljubljana

84. University of Liege

85. Radboud University

86. Northumbria University

87. University of Wales

88. Jagiellonian University

89. Kiel University

90. University of Granada

91. University of Murcia

92. University of Zagreb

93. University of Surrey

94. Maastricht University

95. University of Southampton

96. Federico II University of Naples

97. Utrecht University

98. University of Alcala

99. Claude Bernard University Lyon 1

100. University of the Basque Country

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences subfields in Europe