Criminology and Law

Criminology and law is a combination that places the study of crime and justice within the broader legal framework that defines what crime is, how it is prosecuted, and what consequences it carries. Criminology asks why crime occurs, how it is distributed across society, how victims are affected, and how criminal justice institutions respond, while law examines the rules and principles that constitute the legal system and the analytical skills needed to apply and evaluate them. Studied together, they produce graduates who understand both the sociological and legal dimensions of crime and justice at a level that neither discipline alone provides.

At Liverpool Hope University, this programme takes seriously the multiple perspectives the combination requires. You will explore how crime is defined, who makes those decisions and why, what drives people to commit crimes, and what happens in the criminal justice system, alongside the legal frameworks that govern police powers, criminal procedure, sentencing, and the rights of suspects and defendants. The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement, giving you professional experience in legal or criminal justice contexts before you complete your studies.

Graduates from criminology and law programmes are well placed for careers in the legal profession (following the SQE or Bar Practice Course), probation, the prison service, the police, victim support, social work, legal research, criminal justice policy, and community justice. The combination of criminological insight and legal analytical competence is valued across all of these fields. Further study at postgraduate level in criminal law, criminology, social work, or forensic psychology is a natural route for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.