Criminology with Psychology

Criminology with Psychology is a degree that draws two powerful and complementary disciplines into dialogue around questions of behaviour, harm, and social response. Criminology examines what crime is, who defines it, why it occurs, and how the criminal justice system responds, analysing these questions through the lens of sociology, politics, law, and social theory. Psychology brings a different perspective, asking how individual cognitive processes, emotional development, personality, and psychological vulnerability relate to criminal behaviour, victimisation, and responses to justice.

Together they produce a broader and more nuanced picture than either discipline alone.

At Teesside University, this three-year, full-time degree develops academic skills, knowledge, and understanding across both disciplines, building your capacity to search for and critically evaluate evidence, think carefully about complex problems, and communicate your conclusions clearly. You will explore the causes and consequences of crime and deviance from both sociological and psychological perspectives, examining how structural factors and individual psychological processes interact in the real world of criminal behaviour and justice. The programme develops the transferable skills, including critical thinking, evidence evaluation, information retrieval, and academic writing, that employers and postgraduate programmes value.

Graduates are well placed for careers in the criminal justice system, including probation, youth offending services, and victim support, as well as in social care, mental health services, public health, research, and journalism. The psychological dimension of the degree also opens routes into roles in forensic settings and, for those who go on to postgraduate training, clinical or forensic psychology. Postgraduate study in criminology, psychology, forensic psychology, or social work is a natural next step for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.