Sociology and Criminology with Placement Year

Sociology and criminology is a pairing that makes immediate sense, because crime is a social phenomenon. Sociology provides the theoretical and empirical tools to understand how social structures, inequalities, institutions and cultures shape human behaviour. Criminology applies those tools specifically to questions of crime, deviance, punishment and social control, asking not just what crime is but why certain behaviours and people come to be defined as criminal, how the criminal justice system works and often fails, and what the consequences of punishment are for individuals and communities.

At the University of Reading, this four-year full-time programme includes a placement year in which you undertake sustained work experience in a relevant organisation, giving you a grounded understanding of how the theories and arguments you study in the classroom play out in real social and criminal justice contexts. The typical entry tariff for this programme is around 104 UCAS points, and Reading's location in Berkshire, between London and the South East, provides access to a range of placement organisations in the third sector, criminal justice and public services.

You will study sociological theory, social research methods, social stratification and inequality, race, gender and identity alongside criminological theory, crime statistics and measurement, policing, courts and sentencing, prisons and probation, and victimology. The programme encourages you to think critically about how knowledge about crime and deviance is produced and used, and to evaluate policy responses to crime in light of that critical understanding. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods are developed, giving you the skills to engage with empirical evidence across both disciplines.

Graduates of sociology and criminology programmes work in probation, youth offending teams, prison services, social work, police services, housing and support organisations, drug and alcohol services, community development and research. The critical thinking and research skills developed through the degree are valued in the civil service, policy analysis, journalism and academic research. The placement year at Reading provides professional experience that helps graduates navigate the graduate labour market.

Postgraduate study in sociology, criminology, social work, social policy or law is a well-established route for further development.