Criminology

Criminology is the scientific and critical study of crime as a social phenomenon. It asks why crime occurs, how it is defined and measured, who is most likely to commit it and be victimised by it, how societies respond to it through law, policing and punishment, and whether those responses are effective, fair and proportionate. It draws on sociology, psychology, law, philosophy and political science to produce a field that is both analytically rigorous and directly engaged with some of the most significant questions in contemporary public policy.

Goldsmiths, University of London has a distinctive tradition in the social sciences, known for taking social theory seriously and for asking critical questions about institutions, power and inequality. This three-year full-time criminology degree reflects that character, engaging with both the empirical evidence about crime and the theoretical and normative questions about how societies should respond. You will study criminological theory, including classical, positivist, sociological and critical approaches, alongside the sociology of deviance, penology, victimology, the policing of public order, youth justice and the political economy of punishment.

Goldsmiths' urban London setting provides a rich context for thinking about crime, inequality and urban social life.

Criminology develops the capacity for critical thinking about social institutions, the ability to evaluate research evidence across different methodological traditions, an understanding of how law and policy interact with social structures, and the communication skills to engage these questions with both academic and public audiences.

Graduates work in criminal justice, probation, the police service, social work, youth justice, the prison service, policy analysis, the charity and voluntary sector, journalism and academia. The analytical skills developed in criminology also transfer well into roles in the civil service, education and a range of other public and social sector contexts. Postgraduate study in criminology, social policy, law, social work or research methods is available for those wishing to develop further.