Law With Criminology

Law with Criminology is a combination that places legal study in direct conversation with the social and empirical analysis of crime. Law gives you precision in reading statutes and cases, in constructing legal arguments, and in understanding how the criminal justice system is structured and administered. Criminology brings the sociological, psychological, and critical perspectives that ask deeper questions: why is this conduct criminalised and not that?

Does punishment achieve what it claims? How do race, class, and gender shape who is prosecuted and how? Together the two disciplines give you a more rigorous and honest understanding of justice than either can provide alone.

At Edge Hill University, this three-year full-time programme includes a sandwich year with work placement opportunities and a year abroad, giving you practical legal experience and an international perspective alongside your academic studies. You will study criminal law, contract and tort, public law, and the foundations of the English legal system alongside criminological theory, the sociology of deviance, policing, penal policy, and victimology. Research methods in both disciplines are developed throughout, giving you the tools to engage critically with evidence and argument.

Graduates from Law with Criminology pursue a range of careers. Those who wish to practise as solicitors or barristers follow the standard professional qualification routes. Criminal justice careers in the probation service, Crown Prosecution Service, legal aid sector, victim support, and youth justice are also common.

Policy roles in government, think tanks, and advocacy organisations draw on the criminological dimension. Journalism, social research, and NGO work are further options. Postgraduate study in law, criminology, or social work allows graduates to deepen their expertise or convert to a specific professional qualification.