Law, Criminology and Criminal Justice

Law, criminology and criminal justice is a combination that gives you the legal framework to understand how the state regulates behaviour, the sociological and psychological tools to understand why crime occurs and how people experience it, and the policy and institutional knowledge to evaluate how the criminal justice system responds. Together these three perspectives produce a rounded and critical understanding of crime and justice that neither law nor criminology alone can provide.

At Teesside University, this part-time programme is accessible to students who need to balance their studies with working or other commitments, while maintaining the intellectual rigour and breadth of a full undergraduate degree. You will study core areas of English law including human rights, public law and the role of the state in relation to individuals and communities. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights are central themes, and you will examine how fundamental rights are protected and what remedies are available when the state fails in its duties.

The criminological and criminal justice content extends this into an examination of crime, offending, the criminal process and the institutions, from police and courts to prisons and probation, that constitute the criminal justice system.

Graduates of law, criminology and criminal justice programmes move into careers across the legal, criminal justice and social policy sectors. Roles in the police service, probation, the prison service, courts, victim support, social work, legal advice services and the charitable sector are all common destinations. Some graduates pursue postgraduate study with a view to qualifying as solicitors or barristers, while others go into policy research, journalism, advocacy or community development.

The combination of legal knowledge and criminological understanding is valued in any career that involves navigating or influencing the systems through which society responds to crime.