Criminology and Psychological Studies

Criminology and psychological studies is a combination that brings together two disciplines whose insights into human behaviour, social structures, and the institutions that respond to crime and deviance are mutually reinforcing. You will develop a critical understanding of the effects of victimisation and how we can improve prospects of healing and rehabilitation for victims and offenders involved in the criminal justice system. You will also analyse real-world events through a focus on criminological and psychological theories, learning about social justice and social change by understanding government and policy, and advocacy and activism.

Psychology provides the scientific understanding of how individuals think, feel, and behave, while criminology situates that understanding within the social and institutional contexts of crime, justice, and control.

At Birkbeck College, this three-year full-time programme is taught at an institution whose distinctive approach to higher education combines academic rigour with practical relevance and social purpose. Birkbeck is known for its commitment to widening access to higher education, and this programme reflects that ethos, developing the critical and analytical skills needed to engage with questions of crime, justice, psychology, and social change in ways that have genuine professional and societal value.

With a typical entry tariff of 104 UCAS points, this programme is accessible to students committed to understanding the psychological and social dimensions of crime and justice. Graduates pursue careers in the probation service, social work, victim support, youth offending, the prison service, community justice, counselling and therapeutic roles with offenders or victims, policy research, academic research, policing support, and the many roles in the voluntary and statutory sectors that work with people in the criminal justice system. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in criminology, psychology, social work, or forensic psychology.