Criminology (BSc)

Criminology is the field of study which focuses on both processes of criminalisation and victimisation and responses to crime and disorder. It investigates how social groups or their behaviour is defined as 'criminal' or 'anti-social'; how different approaches to criminal justice balance protection, rehabilitation and control; and how victims are affected by their experiences.

You will have the opportunity to learn an interdisciplinary centre of Social Sciences staffed by leading Criminologists with strong links to local police, probation and criminal justice services.

Criminology at Cardiff

The degree is characterised by its focus on the 'criminological imagination' within the social sciences. It begins by examining how to approach problems of crime, justice and crime control as a social scientist before applying these research-driven disciplinary skills to 'real world' issues and debates.

The Criminology foundation modules focus on developing your capacity to think about problems of crime, justice and crime control as a social scientist. We place a strong emphasis on introducing students to the research methods involved in gathering criminological data and the relationships between this evidence and the theories developed within criminology. As you progress through the degree these core skills are developed through more specialised modules, increasingly interactive styles of learning and the critical interrogation of theory, method and evidence in specific policy domains.

Over the course, you will have the opportunity to build up a range of skills and substantive knowledge related to criminology. You will have front-line access to leading researchers and the criminological debates in which they are engaged. In addition, you will also take away a sophisticated and a highly specialised appreciation of the criminological research and the operation of criminal justice and crime control processes.

Single or Joint honours?

Whether you are studying for a single or joint honours degree in criminology you will be expected to take a number of core modules in each year. Single honours students then have the option of making up their remaining modules from a selection of those taught elsewhere in the School of Social Sciences. Joint honours students typically split their modules evenly between the two subjects and may have a greater number of core modules to include before choosing any options.

Whatever criminology scheme you choose, we hope to provide you with an apprenticeship in the craft and science of contemporary criminology. You will share in the in-depth specialist knowledge of our academic staff and development as number of important transferable skills.

Course structure

All degrees schemes within the Cardiff School of Social Sciences put great emphasis on the combination of theory and method that is needed to apply social science work to real world problems. Our degree schemes are developed with this in mind and provide a solid foundation in core concepts and methods before moving on to more independent and critical thinking about their application in specific contexts.

Single honours students will complete their programme of study with modules from the Education, Social Policy and Sociology schemes. Joint honours students will focus their remaining modules on those required by their partner subject.

In years two and three, students build upon the foundations of their first year and develop more sophisticated understandings of the relationships between offenders and victims and between crime and its control through formal and informal mechanisms. This critical engagement with academic research and policy is enabled by the study of theoretical and empirical work dealing with contemporary issues of crime and disorder in the UK and across the globe. These more specialist modules draw extensively on the research interests and expertise of Cardiff staff.

In addition, final year students have the opportunity to undertake dissertation project in which they will be able to design and conduct a small scale research project under the supervision of a member of academic staff. If you are enrolled on the single honours Criminology scheme, then the dissertation is compulsory.

Year one

Core modulesModule titleModule codeCreditsFoundations of Contemporary CriminologySI023820 creditsIntroduction To Social Science ResearchSI012420 creditsKey Ideas in Social ScienceSI016920 creditsOptional modules

Module titleModule codeCreditsLies, Damned Lies and StatisticsSI025820 creditsEducation and SocietySI000520 creditsIntroduction to Social and Public PolicySI023620 creditsSociology, Society and Social ChangeSI023720 creditsIntroduction to PsychologySI024220 creditsPhilosophy & Methodology of the Social SciencesSI025720 creditsYear two

Core modulesModule titleModule codeCreditsOffending and VictimisationSI020120 creditsSocial Research MethodsSI003020 creditsResponses To CrimeSI020220 creditsTheory and Method in Contemporary CriminologySI020020 creditsOptional modules

Module titleModule codeCreditsSocial Policy AnalysisSI006720 creditsGender Relations and SocietySI007220 creditsMigration, 'Race' and Ethnic RelationsSI023520 creditsCultural SociologySI023920 creditsCurrent Debates in Social PsychologySI024920 creditsPoverty & Social Security in the UKSI026020 creditsCognitive and Biological PsychologySI026120 creditsYear three

Core modulesModule titleModule codeCreditsDiversity, Crime and Criminal JusticeSI018420 creditsPolicing: Theory, Evidence and PolicySI026320 creditsCriminological PracticeSI020420 creditsDissertationSI013140 creditsPrisons and Community SanctionsSI020320 credits The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.