Criminology and Sociology

Criminology and sociology form one of the most coherent and intellectually productive joint programmes available in the social sciences. Sociology provides the theoretical tools for understanding how societies are structured, how inequalities are produced and reproduced, and how institutions shape the conditions in which people live. Criminology applies those tools to the specific domain of crime and criminal justice, asking why certain behaviours are defined as criminal, who is most likely to be criminalised, and whether the institutions of policing, prosecution, and punishment achieve their stated purposes.

Together, they develop graduates who can think critically and empirically about some of the most contested questions in contemporary public life.

At the University of Nottingham, you will study both disciplines over three years full-time, engaging with sociological theory and criminological perspectives across a range of topics including offending behaviour, victimology, social inequality, policing, sentencing, and criminal justice reform. Research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, are a core component of the programme, equipping you to work with evidence and conduct your own social research. The programme includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement provision, giving you substantial professional experience and international exposure before you graduate.

The typical entry tariff is 136 UCAS points.

Graduates work across criminal justice, social policy, advocacy, and education. Probation, prison service, youth offending teams, victim support, and the police are among the criminal justice destinations. Social work, housing, community development, and charity sector roles draw others.

Policy analysis, research, journalism on social affairs, and equality and diversity roles are further options. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in criminology, social policy, social work, or law.