Criminology and Sociology

Criminology and sociology are natural intellectual companions, each enriching the other's understanding of crime and social life. Criminology examines crime and deviance as social phenomena, asking what behaviours are defined as criminal, who has the power to make those definitions, what causes criminal behaviour, how criminal justice systems respond, and what effects those responses have on individuals and communities. Sociology provides the broader frameworks needed to situate crime within the social structures, cultural patterns, and power relations that shape human life, examining how factors such as class, race, gender, age, and economic inequality influence both the distribution of crime and the character of criminal justice responses to it.

At the University of Plymouth, this three-year full-time degree develops both disciplines across a structured programme that incorporates several features supporting professional development. A sandwich year with work placement provides direct experience in a criminological, social research, or related professional context, building applied competence alongside academic knowledge. The option of a year abroad extends your comparative perspective by engaging with different approaches to crime, social structure, and justice in another national and academic context.

Work placement is embedded as a core feature of the degree, reflecting the importance of applied experience in the professional fields that criminology and sociology graduates typically enter.

Graduates enter careers across criminal justice, social work, social research, policy analysis, education, the voluntary sector, and the public sector more broadly. The analytical, research, and communication skills developed by the degree are valued across a range of professional fields, including probation, youth justice, victim support, community development, housing, health promotion, and advocacy. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in criminology, sociology, social policy, social work, or law, building the specialist expertise needed for research, policy, or senior professional roles in these fields.