BA (Hons) Criminology

BA Criminology offers an exciting opportunity to study the cutting-edge discipline of criminology in the vibrant city of Manchester. It is aimed at students who want to study crime from a critical perspective to investigate the causes, patterns, consequences and responses to crime in a social context.

The first year introduces you to the building blocks of criminology: key concepts and theories explaining crime, key institutions of the criminal justice system, crime policy, law and practice. You will receive training in a wide range of research methods during the first two years, to become equipped to undertake your own independent research project in the final year.

Our large, multi-disciplinary department believes in offering an extensive optionality to study specific areas of criminology in depth. Throughout the degree, there is an emphasis on developing skills and experiences that are relevant to professional careers, including work experience, study-abroad schemes, and independent project work. If you wish, you can also study a foreign language as part of your degree and in the final year, you have the option of moving onto the BSc route, which means receiving extensive quantitative methods training and graduating with a BSc title.

BA Criminology allows you to think about and address a variety of questions, from what are the causes and consequences of crime, through to how are crime and law-breaking defined. The course provides you with an excellent understanding of national and global trends in contemporary British society and situates crime within this context.

You will be introduced to up-to-date and critical knowledge of the criminal justice processes and policies, as well as the key agencies operating within it, such as the police, courts and prisons. As you progress through this course, you will have increasing flexibility to pursue your own specific criminological interests through a range of optional units. The course is supported by the use of innovative teaching methods, particularly interactive learning, and you will develop a wide range of transferable skills, which will prove valuable for an array of graduate careers inside the criminal justice system and beyond.