Law and Criminology

Law and criminology at Kent Law School brings legal study and social scientific analysis together in a way that reflects how the justice system actually operates. Law is concerned with the doctrine and structure of legal rules, the skills of legal reasoning, and the institutions through which law is administered. Criminology examines crime as a social phenomenon, asking why crime occurs, how it is measured, how the criminal justice system responds to it, and what the consequences of those responses are for offenders, victims, and communities.

Together the two disciplines give you a fuller picture of law in society than either provides alone, developing your critical and analytical skills through both a societal and a legal lens.

This programme at the University of Kent is offered on a part-time basis, making it accessible to students who are balancing their studies with work, family commitments, or other responsibilities. Kent Law School has a strong international reputation and a tradition of socially engaged legal scholarship that is well matched to the criminological dimension of this combined degree. You will study the core areas of English law alongside criminological theory and empirical research on crime and criminal justice, developing both the doctrinal knowledge expected of a law graduate and the broader analytical framework that criminology provides.

Graduates who complete an LLB in law and criminology are eligible to proceed to professional legal training as solicitors or barristers. The criminological dimension also opens routes into probation, criminal justice policy, social research, the voluntary sector, and academic research. The combination of doctrinal rigour and social scientific perspective is particularly well suited to roles in legal aid, criminal justice reform, victims' services, and public interest law.

Postgraduate study in law, criminology, or criminal justice is a further option for those wishing to specialise.