Psychology with Criminology

Psychology and criminology is a pairing that reflects a fundamental truth: crime is a human behaviour, shaped by cognition, emotion, social environment, and circumstance, and understanding it properly requires the tools that psychology provides. Psychology gives you the scientific basis for understanding how the mind works, how behaviour is influenced, and how mental health intersects with social outcomes. Criminology applies those insights to crime, deviance, justice, and the institutions that respond to them.

Together they form a degree with both scientific rigour and direct relevance to some of society's most pressing challenges.

At Hull this four-year full-time programme includes a foundation year at the start, which provides the academic preparation needed before the main degree. Across the four years you will study the theoretical and empirical foundations of psychology, including cognitive, developmental, social and forensic psychology, alongside criminological theory, the sociology of crime, criminal justice policy, policing, and punishment. The degree develops your ability to think critically about human behaviour, to evaluate research evidence, to design and conduct studies, and to apply psychological principles in criminal justice and related contexts.

Graduates of psychology with criminology are well placed for a range of careers. The psychology component, combined with research methods training, provides a foundation for work in clinical, forensic, occupational, or educational psychology, though many clinical routes require further postgraduate study. Criminology opens paths in the police service, probation, prison service, youth justice, social work, and policy research.

Many graduates combine elements of both fields, working in forensic mental health services, rehabilitation programmes, victim support, or organisations that use psychological approaches in justice settings. Postgraduate study in clinical psychology, forensic psychology, criminology, or social work is common.