Sociology & Criminology

The combination of sociology and criminology provides one of the most searching lenses available for understanding contemporary society. Sociology supplies the theoretical toolkit for analysing social structures, institutions, and inequalities, asking how social life is organised and why it takes the forms it does. Criminology focuses those questions on crime, deviance, punishment, and justice, exploring not just what counts as crime and who commits it, but how criminal justice systems are constructed, who they serve, and what effects they have on individuals and communities.

Together the two disciplines reveal the deep connections between social inequality and the experience of crime and punishment.

At Nottingham Trent University you will study this four-year full-time programme, with a typical entry tariff of 104 points. NTU's strong connections to professional practice in the region enrich the programme with applied perspectives alongside the theoretical core. You will engage with classical and contemporary sociological theory, developing a critical vocabulary for understanding social life, and alongside this you will study criminological theory, research on crime and victimisation, the operation of police and courts, incarceration, youth justice, and emerging issues such as hate crime, cybercrime, and restorative justice approaches.

Research methods in both quantitative and qualitative traditions are a central part of the curriculum, equipping you to evaluate evidence and design your own enquiries.

Graduates from this combined programme go on to work in the police, probation, prison service, social work, youth justice, community development, and the voluntary sector. The research and analytical skills developed during the degree are also valued in policy research, local government, the civil service, and journalism. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in criminology, social policy, law, social work, or related disciplines, whether to qualify for specific professional roles or to pursue research and academic careers.