phd criminology online uk

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Discover more about Criminology at Manchester

PhD Criminology / Overview

Year of entry: 2025

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Bachelor's (Honours) degree in a cognate subject at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); and
Master's degree in a relevant subject - with an overall average of 65% or above, a minimum mark of 65% in your dissertation and no mark below 55% (or overseas equivalent)

Full entry requirements

Apply online

Please ensure you include all required supporting documents at the time of submission, as incomplete applications may not be considered.

Application Deadlines

For consideration in internal funding competitions, you must submit your completed application by 1 December 2024.

If you are applying for or have secured external funding (for example, from an employer or government) or are self-funding, you must submit your application before the below deadlines to be considered. You will not be able to apply after these dates have passed.

For September 2025 entry: 30 June 2025
For January 2026 entry: 30 September 2025

Programme options

	Full-time	Part-time	Full-time distance learning	Part-time distance learning
PhD	Y	Y	N	N

Programme overview

Pursue state-of-the-art doctoral research investigating a diverse array of social and criminological issues.
Work in an environment that supports intellectual and personal development.
Receive extensive research support and training.

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To find out what studying on a postgraduate research programme at Manchester is like, visit our Open days and study fairs page and explore our virtual open week or future on-campus and international events.

We will be conducting our Humanities PGR virtual open week in October 2024. Find out more about future events and postgraduate research sessions by signing up for our email alerts.

Fees for entry in 2025 have not yet been set. For reference, the fees for the academic year beginning September 2024 were as follows:

PhD (full-time) UK students (per annum): £4,786 International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,500
PhD (part-time) UK students (per annum): £2,393 International, including EU, students (per annum): £10,750

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

Scholarships/sponsorships

There are a range of scholarships, studentships and awards available to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers, details of which can be found via the links below.

To apply University of Manchester funding, you must indicate in your application the competitions for which you wish to be considered. The deadline for most internal competitions, including School of Social Sciences studentships is 1 December 2024.

All external funding competitions have a specified deadline for submitting your funding application and a separate (earlier) deadline for submitting the online programme application form, both of which will be stated in the funding competition details below.

You will need to be nominated by your proposed supervisor for a number of our scholarships. Therefore, we highly recommend you discuss these funding opportunities with your supervisor first, so they can advise on your suitability and ensure you meet nomination deadlines.

For more information about funding, visit our funding page to browse for scholarships, studentships and awards you may be eligible for.

ESRC North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP) PhD Studentships - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
School of Social Sciences PhD Studentships 2024 Entry
AHRC North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership (NWCDTP) PhD Studentships - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
China Scholarship Council - The University of Manchester (CSC-UoM) Joint Scholarship Programme - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships 2024 Entry
PhD Studentship with the Stuart Hall Foundation (Social Sciences) - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (High Income Countries)
Humanities Doctoral Academy Humanitarian Scholarship 2024 Entry
Commonwealth PhD Scholarships (Least Developed Countries and Fragile States)
President's Doctoral Scholar (PDS) Awards - Competition Closed for 2024 Entry

Contact details

See: School Subjects

Programmes in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of programmes in related subject areas.

Criminology

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You can find regulations and policies relating to student life at The University of Manchester, including our Degree Regulations and Complaints Procedure, on our regulations website .

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Criminology PhD

Key information.

1st in the UK for our research impact in Sociology in REF 2021 (Times Higher Education)
8th in the UK for Sociology (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023)

Sussex is an exciting place to pursue a PhD in Criminology. We’re an active, research-intensive team of criminologists, and our work is influencing public and policy debates worldwide. Our faculty have specific expertise in:

crime and violence
drugs, alcohol and crime
gender and crime
criminological theory
terrorism and extremism
technology and crime
surveillance
crime and public policy
prisons and punishment
historical criminology
race and criminal justice.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities described in this prospectus. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to government or regulatory requirements, or unanticipated staff changes, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Masters and P h D events

Meet us on campus or online

Book your place

Entry requirements

UK requirements
International requirements

Degree requirements	You’re normally expected to have a Masters degree and an upper second-class (2.1) undergraduate honours degree.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.

Please select your country from the list.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado/Titulo with a final mark of at least 7.5-8.5 depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with second-class upper division.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Magistr or Specialist Diploma with an average mark of at least 4 or 81%
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with CGPA 3.0/4.0 (Grade B).
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	A 4-year Bachelor degree with GPA of at least 3.3/4.0
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bacharel, Licenciado or professional title with a final mark of at least 7.5 or 8 depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors (Honours) degree with second class upper division or CGPA 3.1/4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with CGPA 3.3/4.0 (grade B+).
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 5-5.5/7 depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall mark of at least 72%-85% depending on your university. Sussex uses the Shanghai Best Chinese Universities Ranking to inform offer levels. As evidence of completing your degree you must provide both a Degree Certificate and Graduation Certificate.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado with ‘Acreditacion de alta calidad' and a CGPA of 3.5.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree or Ptychion with a final mark of at least 7.5.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall mark of at least 7 (Good Performance).
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 17/20.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree from a university with an overall grade of at least 70-75% depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licence with mention bien or Maîtrise with a final mark of at least 13.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree or Magister Artium with a final mark of 2.4 or better.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree from a public university with second-class upper division.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Ptychion from an AEI with a final mark of at least 7.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors (Honours) degree with second-class upper division.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall mark of at least 55-70% depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree from an 'A' accredited university with CGPA 3.0/4.0. Bachelors degree from a 'B' accredited university with CGPA 3.2/4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree (Licence or Karshenasi) with a final mark of at least 15.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Diploma di Laurea with an overall mark of at least 105.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a minimum C/GPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or 80%.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall mark of 4 or better (on a scale of 1-5)/CGPA 3,33.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors (Honours) degree with a second-class upper division.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or B+.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA 3.5/4.0 or 14/20.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Masters degree, depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 8/10.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a second-class upper division or CGPA of at least 3.0-3.49/4.0, 3.5-4.49/5.0 or 4.6-5.9/7.0
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall grade of B.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA of at least 3.3/4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Four-year Bachelors degree with an overall mark of at least 65%-70% or CGPA 2.6 - 2.8 depending on your university. Masters degree following a 3-year Bachelors degree with an overall mark of at least 65%-70% or CGPA 2.6 - 2.8 depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with at least 80% or CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors with a final mark of at least 7.5/10.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 13/20 from a public university or 15/20 from a private university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Philippines

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Masters degree with 1.5/5.0 (where 1 is the highest) or 3.7/4.0
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall CPGA of at least 3 (on a scale of 4).
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bakalavr or Specialist Diploma with an average mark of at least 4.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Saudi Arabia

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA of 3.5/5.0 or 3/4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors (Honours) degree with a second-class upper division or CAP 4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

South Africa

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors (honours) degree with a second-class division 1.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

South Korea

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with a CGPA of at least 3.3/4.5 or 3.1/4.3 or B+
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 2/4 or 7/10.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors Special degree with an upper second honours.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Switzerland

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Licence or Diplôme with 5/6 or 8/10.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with an overall mark of at least 67%-80% depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with CGPA of at least 2.8 - 3.0/4.0 or equivalent depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Lisans Diplomasi with CGPA of at least 2.8 - 3.0/4.0 or equivalent depending on your university.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

United Arab Emirates

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree with CGPA of at least 3.3/4.0.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Bachelors degree (with a Graduate Thesis/research component) with CGPA of at least 3.3/4.0 or 7.5/10. As evidence of completing your degree you must provide both proof of graduation in addition to your transcript.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

Masters degree requirement	You’re normally expected to have the equivalent of a UK Masters degree, which will mean having completed some academic study beyond your Bachelors degree.
Undergraduate degree requirement	Masters degree with GPA of 2.0/2.5 or equivalent.
Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.
Please note	Our entry requirements are guidelines and we assess all applications on a case-by-case basis.

My country is not listed

If your country is not listed, you need to contact us and find out the qualification level you should have for this course. Contact us

Subject-specific requirements	Your qualification should be in criminology or a related subject area but you may still be considered for the degree if you have a qualification in a different subject area. In certain circumstances, you may also be considered for the degree if you have other relevant professional qualifications or relevant research experience of equivalent standing.

English language requirements

Ielts (academic).

High level (6.5 overall, including at least 6.0 in each component).

IELTS scores are valid for two years from the test date. You cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of the test. Your score must be valid when you begin your Sussex course. Find out more about IELTS

We accept IELTS One Skills Retake.

We do not accept IELTS Online.

Check full details of our English Language requirements and find out more about some of the alternative English language qualifications listed below

Alternative English language qualifications

Proficiency tests, cambridge advanced certificate in english (cae).

169 overall, including at least 162 in each skill.

We would normally expect the CAE test to have been taken within two years before the start of your course.

You cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of the test. Find out more about Cambridge English: Advanced

Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE)

We would normally expect the CPE test to have been taken within two years before the start of your course.

You cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of the test. Find out more about Cambridge English: Proficiency

LanguageCert Academic SELT

High level (70 overall, including at least 65 in each component).

LanguageCert Academic SELT scores are valid for two years from the test date. Your score must be valid when you begin your Sussex course. Find out more about LanguageCert Academic SELT

We only accept LanguageCert when taken at SELT Test Centres.

We do not accept the online version. We also do not accept the non-SELT version.

LanguageCert International ESOL SELT

High level (International ESOL SELT B2 with a minimum of 39 in each component)

LanguageCert International ESOL scores are valid for two years from the test date. Your score must be valid when you begin your Sussex course. Find out more about LanguageCert SELT

We only accept LanguageCert when taken at SELT Test Centres. We do not accept the online version.

Pearson PTE Academic

High level (62 overall, including at least 59 in all four skills)

PTE (Academic) scores are valid for two years from the test date. You cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of the test. Your score must be valid when you begin your Sussex course. Find out more about Pearson (PTE Academic)

We do not accept the PTE Academic Online test.

TOEFL (iBT)

High level 88 overall, including at least 20 Listening, 19 in Reading, 21 in Speaking, 23 in Writing.

TOEFL (iBT) scores are valid for two years from the test date. You cannot combine scores from more than one sitting of the test. Your score must be valid when you begin your Sussex course. Find out more about TOEFL (iBT)

We do not accept TOEFL (iBT) Home Edition.

The TOEFL Institution Code for the University of Sussex is 9166.

English language qualifications

As/a-level (gce).

Grade C or above in English Language.

Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination (HKALE)/ AS or A Level: grade C or above in Use of English.

GCE O-level

Grade C or above in English.

Brunei/Cambridge GCE O-level in English: grades 1-6.

Singapore/Cambridge GCE O-level in English: grades 1-6.

GCSE or IGCSE

Grade C or above in English as a First Language (Grade 4 or above in GCSE from 2017).

Grade B or above in English as a Second Language.

Ghana Senior Secondary School Certificate

If awarded before 1993: grades 1-6 in English language.

If awarded between 1993 and 2005: grades A-D in English language.

Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE)

Level 4, including at least 3 in each component in English Language.

Indian School Certificate (Standard XII)

The Indian School Certificate is accepted at the grades below when awarded by the following examination boards:

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) – English Core only: 70%

Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) - English: 70%

International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB)

English A or English B at grade 5 or above.

Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education

Grades A - C in English language

Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM) 1119/GCE O-level

If taken before the end of 2008: grades 1-6 in English Language.

If taken from 2009 onwards: grade C or above in English Language.

The qualification must be jointly awarded by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).

West African Senior School Certificate

Grades A1-C6 (1-6) in English language when awarded by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or the National Examinations Council (NECO).

Country exceptions

Select to see the list of exempt english-speaking countries.

If you are a national of one of the countries below, or if you have recently completed a qualification equivalent to a UK Bachelors degree or higher in one of these countries, you will normally meet our English requirement. Note that qualifications obtained by distance learning or awarded by studying outside these countries cannot be accepted for English language purposes.

You will normally be expected to have completed the qualification within two years before starting your course at Sussex. If the qualification was obtained earlier than this, we would expect you to be able to demonstrate that you have maintained a good level of English, for example by living in an English-speaking country or working in an occupation that required you to use English regularly and to a high level.

Please note that this list is determined by the UK’s Home Office, not by the University of Sussex.

List of exempt countries:

Antigua and Barbuda
New Zealand
St Kitts and Nevis
St Vincent and the Grenadines
The British Overseas Territories
Trinidad and Tobago
United Kingdom

** Canada: you must be a national of Canada; other nationals not on this list who have a degree from a Canadian institution will not normally be exempt from needing to provide evidence of English.

English language support

If you don’t meet the English language requirements for your degree, you may be able to take a pre-sessional course

Visas and immigration

If your qualifications aren’t listed or you have a question about entry requirements, contact us

How to apply

If you’d like to join us as a research student, there are two main routes:

browse funded projects in this subject area
browse our potential supervisors and propose your own research project.

Find out how to apply for a PhD at Sussex

Full-time and part-time study

Choose to work on your research full time or part time, to fit around your work and personal life. For details about part-time study, contact us at [email protected]

Our supervisors

Dr James Hardie-Bick

Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology

[email protected]

View profile of James Hardie-Bick

Dr Suraj Lakhani

Senior Lecturer

[email protected]

View profile of Suraj Lakhani

Dr Hannah Mason-Bish

Senior Lecturer In Sociology And Criminology

[email protected]

View profile of Hannah Mason-Bish

Dr Paul McGuinness

Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology

[email protected]

View profile of Paul McGuinness

Prof Lizzie Seal

[email protected]

View profile of Lizzie Seal

Dr Nicholas Sinclair-House

Lecturer in Criminology

[email protected]

View profile of Nicholas Sinclair-House

Prof Dean Wilson

Professor of Criminology

[email protected]

View profile of Dean Wilson

Funding and fees

How can i fund my course, funded projects and scholarships.

Our aim is to ensure that every student who wants to study with us is able to despite financial barriers, so that we continue to attract talented and unique individuals. Don’t miss out on scholarships – check the specific application deadlines for funding opportunities. Note that funded projects aren’t available for all our PhDs.

A number of ESRC-funded standalone PhD and PhD with Masters scholarships across the social sciences.

Find out more

A maintenance allowance for a Black home PGR student for 4 years starting at £19,237 in 2024-5 and UK PhD fees for 4 years

Applying for USA Federal Student Aid?

If any part of your funding, at any time, is through USA federal Direct Loan funds, you will be registered on a separate version of this degree which does not include the possibility of distance learning which is prohibited under USA federal regulations. Find out more about American Student Loans and Federal Student Aid .

Part-time work

We advertise around 2,500 part-time jobs a year so you can make money and gain work experience. We have a special scheme to employ students on campus, wherever possible.

Find out more about careers and employability

How much does it cost?

Fees for self-funding students.

Home students: Fees are not yet set for entry in the academic year 2025/26. Fees will become available once set by United Kingdom Research and Innovation.

Channel Islands and Isle of Man students: Fees are not yet set for entry in the academic year 2025/26. Fees will become available once set by United Kingdom Research and Innovation.

International students: £22,575 per year for full-time students

Home PhD student fees are set at the level recommended by United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI) annually, rising in line with inflation. Overseas fees are subject to an annual increase - see details on our tuition fees page

Additional costs

Empirical research costs.

On top of your PhD fees and living costs, you may also need to cover some research and training costs, relevant to your research project. These costs will depend on your research topic and training needs, but may include: - travel (to archives, collections or scientific facilities) - a laptop - overseas fieldwork costs (travel and accommodation, and language training) - conference costs (travel, registration fees and accommodation) - laboratory consumables and workshop materials - participant costs - transcription or translation costs - open-access publication costs. If you have a scholarship from one of the UK Research Councils, your scholarship should cover these types of costs. You'll receive details of how to claim this additional funding. If you're self funded, or if your scholarship doesn’t cover these costs, check with the Research and Enterprise Co-ordinator in your School for details of School or Doctoral School funding that may be available.

Living costs

Find out typical living costs for studying at Sussex

Find out about our terms and conditions

Explore our campus

Experience Sussex life in our virtual tour.

Start your virtual tour

PhD Information Sessions

Visit campus and chat to staff and students. Book your place

Online PhD Sessions

Join a live webchat. Book your place

International

Meet us in your country

Course enquiries

+44 (0)1273 876787

Send us a message

Admissions enquiries

If you haven’t applied yet:

+44 (0)1273 678655 lps@sussex.ac.uk

Find out about the School of Law, Politics and Sociology

After you’ve applied:

+44 (0)1273 877773 [email protected]

Find out how to apply

What do you want to do next?

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Criminology PhD

Course detail, entry requirements.

Fees & funding
Study & career progression

A PhD in Criminology offers one of the leading areas of research at the University of West London (UWL), as recognised in the rating of our work in Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 .

Criminological research at UWL spans a range of topics and areas from policing to sentencing, security studies, transnational crime and terrorism, socio-legal studies and judicial processes.

Our supervisors have strong research backgrounds, often with a focus on key groups that fall under the heading of diversity and inclusion. Our supervisors also have extensive links with criminal justice agencies, voluntary groups and a range of think tanks and research organisations.

Applications are invited for research in the areas indicated below. We are committed to providing access and maintaining a high standard of support for students. Our recent doctoral graduates have gone on to lectureships at universities and successful careers in related fields of work.

Criminology and criminal justice

Criminal justice policy and politics
Comparative criminal justice
Socio-legal studies
Gender and Crime
Criminology theory
Social justice
Youth studies and youth justice
Security studies

Criminology, law and legal processes

Drug Policy
Terrorism and Extremism
Bail, Sentencing, Imprisonment and Indeterminate Sentences
The Parole Board and Probation Service

Law, criminology and social sciences

Transitional justice
Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
Human Rights and International criminal justice
Criminal justice and the Arts
Justice architecture
Courtroom procedure and Criminal evidence
Sexual and Domestic Abuse
Migration, refugees and crime

Criminal justice and policing

Police governance, accountability and complaints
Policing ethics
Evidence and procedure
Investigative interviewing
Safeguarding (Children and Adults)
Cyberdeviance
Cyber bullying / harassment
Policing, racism and diversity

See a list of potential PhD supervisors and read about their expertise, in the 'Supervisors' section lower down the page.

Select your desired study option, then pick a start date to see relevant course information:

Start date:

If your desired start date is not available, try selecting a different study option.

Why study Criminology with us?

What our students say…

The staff members that I encountered were warm, welcoming and supportive of my studies. The relatively small size of the University’s postgraduate school created a close family/communal environment for both staff and students. This provided a good support system as I could quickly grow acquainted with the postgraduate team and other Doctoral research candidates.

Research article by Dr Maya Flax

Loss and disillusionment of being shunned from the Jehovah’s Witness community and its impact

Research article by Professor Alison Wakefield

Private Investigation and Policing

Research article by Professor Karim Murji

Stuart Hall as a criminological theorist-activist

Research article by Dr Rashid Minhas

When law enforcement interview witnesses and write their statements

You will have a supervisory team made up of a Director of Studies with expertise in your chosen field, a further supervisor and, where appropriate, an additional adviser. Your research will be judged through the presentation of a thesis or artefact and a viva voce for academic assessment. We provide a stimulating and supportive environment where you will benefit from:

peer feedback and discussion
a series of master classes and lectures from industry figures
support by a supervisor and a second supervisor suited to your project.

About PhD study

This course is available for you to study either on a full-time or part-time basis and you have the flexibility to switch should you need to.

A PhD is founded on independent research. You will undertake a systematic and in-depth exploration of your chosen topic to produce a substantial body of knowledge and make an original and important contribution to the subject area.

The support provided by your supervisory team will be vital to your student experience and scholarly advancement. You and your supervisors will have regular one-to-one meetings which will provide you with opportunities to develop your research topic and discuss your progress.

School of Health and Human Science's Research Centres

Our School is closely involved in the Cybersecurity and Criminology Centre .

The Cybersecurity and Criminology Centre investigates crime and security as part of the complex challenge that face citizens, governments and businesses in London and beyond.

Our research record

View our academic journal 'New Vistas' to see the work of students and academics who are making an impact both locally and globally through their research findings.

Based in the heart of Ealing, west London, you can make use of the excellent transport links to travel to the the capital or further afield - ideal for attending research meetings and networking events.

Got a question?

If you would like guidance or more information about studying for a research degree, you can contact Professor Karim Murji .

To enable you to enhance your professional profile, we support you throughout your research degree by:

providing research seminars
organising doctoral events and activities
facilitating networking and collaboration opportunities
encouraging and supporting publication and dissemination of your research
offering opportunities to gain teaching expertise and experience.

We provide structured research training, expert supervision, and an environment where you can discuss your research with other PhD students and researchers.

We run seminars in research methods from the Graduate Centre, as well as an ongoing series of events and activities organised by Schools and Colleges. Specialist help with academic English for students for whom English is not their first language is available.

Crime scene rooms

The crime scene room enables students on criminology, policing and forensics courses to learn from scenarios based on real-life police investigations.

Our Biopac tools allow us to measure physiological indicators such as heart rate, sweat responses, and electromyography (EMG).

Cantab Cognitive Research Software

The software helps us measures cognitive functions in correlation to neural networks. It allows us to understanding the role of specific brain functions across a range of disorders and syndromes.

Observation room

Our observation room has the look and feel of a domestic setting but consists of wall mounted cameras and live video feed. These are managed from the control room which has recording facilities.

The Paul Hamlyn Library

The Paul Hamlyn Library provides an extensive range of books, journals and digital resources, PC and Mac workstations and a variety of study spaces. Find out more about what the Paul Hamlyn Library has to offer .

We contribute to national and international initiatives and promote collaboration and networking opportunities. We also encourage and support you to publish and disseminate your research in academic journals and via presenting papers at conferences.

We run an annual conference for doctoral students, where you are encouraged to present a paper about your research. As well as being an opportunity to discuss your work with other students, the conference is a chance to gain valuable experience in presenting your research and participating in open discussions with academic peers.

You will also find other opportunities such as postgraduate student seminars and forums within your specific subject area.

Once you start a PhD course at UWL, you become part of our research community. You will have access to a postgraduate common room, located at our Ealing campus on St Mary’s Road, where you will meet fellow researchers from other subject disciplines offering scope for collaborations or simply to discuss ideas, allowing you to be part of a vibrant research environment.

Requirements: UK
Requirements: International

The minimum entry requirements for a research degree are:

a good first degree (First Class or Upper Second Class), or equivalent qualification in a relevant field
a Masters Degree (MA, MSc, MBA or MRes) with Merit, or equivalent postgraduate or research experience.

We look for students with:

a passion for their chosen subject.

You will also have a well thought through and persuasive proposal.

Competence in written and spoken English is a pre-requisite for entrance to this programme. An IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 6.5 (with no element under 6.0).

Fees & funding

Funding: UK
Funding: International

The fee above is the cost per year of your course.

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront.

Government regulation does affect tuition fees and the fees listed for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year are subject to change.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

Funding your studies

Funding for postgraduate students usually comes from one or more of a range of key sources:

research councils
charities and trust funds, including those funded by the UK government
higher Education institutions
overseas governments (international students only)
professional and career development loans
self-funding (including family funds).

Find out more about funding opportunities. Examples of most of these types of funding are included on the postgraduate studentships website , (with the exception of funding you may be able to obtain from your employer and self-funding).

Bursaries and scholarships

We offer generous bursaries and scholarships to make sure your aspirations are your only limit. See our PhD scholarships , scholarships and bursaries .

For any overseas students, your first port of call should be grant-awarding bodies in your own country (eg The Ministry / Department of Education) and your local (or nearest) office of the British Council.

The British Council manage a small number of international studentship grants in some countries and should be able to tell you what other awards may be available to you - they also produce the Sources of funding for international students guide.

Supervisors

Dr maya flax.

Dr Rashid Minhas

Dr Allan T Moore

Professor Karim Murji

Professor Alison Wakefield

Study & career progression

Studying for a PhD enables you to develop an area of specialism that will give you an edge whether you are planning to work in industry or to develop expertise to teach in academia.

Many of our research graduates find success in academic careers, both in the UK and internationally. Others carve out paths in non-governmental organisations, local authorities, specialised think tanks, government departments, charities, media production, and market research.

By the end of your PhD degree, you'll have gained the skills, experience, and knowledge to step into postdoctoral work, be it in research and teaching or another related profession.

How to apply

How to apply: UK
How to apply: International

To apply for one of our research courses, click the green 'apply now' link shown below to complete an online application form. You will need to attach the following documentation to your online application form:

research proposal outline (5000 words maximum)
transcript of your highest qualification.

The research proposal outline, or statement of research interests, enables us to assess your suitability for higher degree work including:

viability of the topic as a research study
the most appropriate supervisor(s) to be appointed.

Learn more about applying for a PhD.

Apply for this course

Next steps after making your application.

We aim to make a decision on your application as quickly as we can. If we need any more information about your qualifications, we will be in touch.

In the meantime, come and visit us and find out more about what studying at UWL is like. Sign up for an open day or join a campus tour .

Applying for an undergraduate course
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Visit us and see for yourself

Talk to our tutors and find out about our courses and facilities at our next open day or join a campus tour.

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Student life at uwl.

Seven reasons to study with us
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Important notes for applicants

* Modern universities - defined as higher education institutions that were granted university status in, and subsequent to, 1992.

** The National Student Survey 2023 and 2024 - Average of answers to all questions by registered student population. Excludes specialist institutions.

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Criminology

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Key information.

Duration: 4 years full time

Institution code: R72

Campus: Egham

UK fees * : £4,786

International/EU fees ** : £18,200

The multidisciplinary Department of Law and Criminology is home to applied, theoretical and doctrinal research across Criminology, Forensic Psychology, Law, Social Work, and Sociology. In the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021), 100% of our submission was assessed as world leading or internationally excellent for research impact.

The Department is home to about 50 research active staff and 50 PhD students. We offer a stimulating research environment in which PhD students are expected to be a part of the multidisciplinary research groups and contribute to PhD-led seminars and development activities. Our students benefit from opportunities for research methods training and we have a network of external organisations who are willing to support optional short-term placements and knowledge exchange opportunities.

You can find detailed research profiles of our staff here, by selecting the Departmental Research Group of most relevance to your proposed research and following the links to staff profile pages.

Alternatively, you can find a list of staff here (use the Criminology and Sociology drop down menu to locate Criminology staff).

Please note that by studying this degree your award title will not include the subject of study but will simply state you've completed a PhD.

Research facilities and environment

Our activities are organised around the Departmental Research Clusters which cover interdisciplinary domains of Crime and Punishment, Families and Children, Health and Social Care, and Rights and Freedoms. Many staff and PhD students are members of more than one research group.

Research Clusters organise monthly seminars and annual research impact-related events with external stakeholders, which PhD students are invited to attend. During the academic year PhD students are expected to attend Departmental workshops and to attend research and professional development events organised by the College-wide Doctoral School. There are also opportunities for students to organise mini conferences or seminar series.

We understand the importance of fostering professional and transferable skills for doctoral students, and fully support presenting papers at academic conferences in the UK and abroad. We are committed to our students' success, providing mock vivas, annual reviews, and personal advice on issues such as managing time pressures, meeting deadlines, and career development.

Students register for an MPhil and then participate in an upgrade process before the 20 th month of studies, if in full time study (40 th month part time). The upgrade requires submission of thesis chapters for consideration by a panel of Departmental staff and a formal presentation to this panel. Following upgrade, students follow a PhD registration and are expected to submit the thesis by the end of their third year of full time study, or at the latest by the end of their fourth year (part time by the end of the 8 th year).

Part of the training throughout the programme is attending internal and external seminars. In addition, we run a PhD seminar series where students present their on-going research and receive feedback from their peers and the faculty.

Entry requirements

Candidates for a place on the MPhil/PhD programme will have undergraduate and taught Masters degrees in a relevant subject. The Masters degree would typically have included training in advanced research methods, and be awarded with a Distinction or high Merit.

The Department welcomes applications from suitably qualified and highly motivated candidates. The application process for our postgraduate research programmes is interactive.

Please follow these steps for enquiring about and applying for a PhD in Criminology:

1. Make an informal enquiry before you apply

In the first instance, you should check the research interests of members of academic staff to see who is active in the area that you are interested in. Follow the drop-down menu for Criminology and Sociology to identify staff with relevant expertise. When you have identified a potential supervisor (with relevant expertise to your proposed research), send to them an outline research proposal and a CV, setting out your qualifications and experience. You should expect to have a series of discussions with this member of staff (by email, by telephone/MSTeams, or in person) about the project, options for funding, and your career aspirations. These discussions will help the member of staff decide whether or not they would be an appropriate supervisor for your proposed project, if they have availability for supervision.

2. Submit an application

When a member of staff has agreed in principle to supervise your project, you should then submit an application form using the online application system . Ensure that you indicate the name of the proposed supervisor/s.

One of the most important aspects of your application is the research proposal. The purpose of the research proposal is two-fold: first, to help determine whether your topic corresponds with the interests and expertise of the proposed supervisor(s) and, second, to make clear how the research will make an original contribution to theoretical and applied knowledge in the field.

The proposal is important as it will allow the Department to assess your aptitude for doctoral-level research, to allocate supervision appropriately, and to ensure we are fully able to support the study you propose. Although you are required formally to submit the proposal with your application for doctoral study, it is a document you should develop in discussion with a member of staff in the Department of Law and Criminology before you submit this formally.

The proposal should be approximately 2,000 words in length (excluding the reference list) and include the following sections:

At this stage, a working title that summarises the proposed focus is more than adequate.

b. Introduction, Research Question and Rationale

The introduction should, in a succinct way, provide an overview of, and rationale for, the proposed project. You should explain the project focus, main research question and broad aims, and how it will make an original contribution to theory and practice. The introductory section needs to outline the basic argument the thesis intends to advance, as well as what it will aim to demonstrate. In simple terms, explain what the project is about, why it is innovative, why the project matters, why you are the right person to undertake it, and why the Department of Law and Criminology is the most appropriate place to be based.

c. Literature Review

Any proposed project should make clear how it relates to existing research on the topic (or related topics). In this section, you should summarise the current state of scholarship on your topic and explain the ways in which your project will draw from, and build on, that work. In this part of the proposal, you are demonstrating your knowledge of the field and the ways in which your project will make meaningful contributions.

d. Data and Methodology

Detail the sources of data (qualitative and/or quantitative) that you will require in order to answer your research questions and the specific methods you intend to apply in order to collect or generate those data. You should offer a clear explanation for your selection of research methods: Why one method rather than another?

This section should also offer an account of your analytical strategy. How will you make sense of your data? Will you require any specialist software to complete that analysis? Will your project involve fieldwork? If so, to where? How will that fieldwork be financed and supported?

Include a section on the ethical implications of your proposed topic. Which ethical issues are raised by your project? How do you intend to address them?

e. Proposed thesis structure and timeline

In this section you should outline the structure of your thesis and demonstrate that you have thought about how you are going to structure and organise the argument put forward in your thesis. Additionally, you should propose a timeline for your project, and demonstrate how you think you will organise your time in the three years you will work on your thesis.

f. Reference list

List here, using the citation system common to your discipline, the sources referred to in the proposal.

3. After applying

All applications are subject to review by a panel of academic members of staff in the Department of Law and Criminology. Applicants will be informed of the outcome as soon as the panel has met.

Further details

For further information concerning applications for postgraduate research in the department, please contact Dr Caterina Nirta , Departmental Lead for Postgraduate Research.

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start.

The scores we require

IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.

Country-specific requirements

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please see here .

Your future career

Our PhD programme is very successful and our alumni have gone on to undertake careers in a variety of roles, particularly in the criminal justice, education, and health and social care sectors. Our graduates have also gone on to have extremely successful careers in a variety of Universities including here at Royal Holloway, University of London, as well as at other institutions both inside and outside the UK.

The Department actively supports the placement of PhD students in external organisations that can enhance PhD research impact, employability skills, and knowledge exchange.

Fees & funding

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £18,200

Other essential costs***: There are no individual costs greater than £50 per item.

…How do I pay for it? Find out more about   funding options,   including loans, grants,   scholarships   and bursaries. 

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2024/25.

* Please note that for research courses, we adopt the minimum fee level recommended by the UK Research Councils for the Home   tuition fee. Each year, the fee level is adjusted in line with inflation (currently, the measure used is the Treasury GDP deflator). Fees displayed here are therefore subject to change and are usually confirmed in the spring of the year of entry.   For more information on the Research Council Indicative Fee please see the   UKRI website.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2024/25. 

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually, based on the UK’s Retail Price Index (RPI). Please therefore be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. For further information, please see our terms and conditions .

***   These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2024/25 academic year and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included. 

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Criminology PhD

Key information, find a supervisor.

Mode of study

3 years full-time

6 years part-time

International £21,260

Entry requirements

Research profile

The Division of Criminology and Criminal Justice is made up of an exciting, diverse and intellectually curious community of researchers. Together, we are the forefront of criminological study in a range of spaces including: mental health and crime; street cultures; online sexual commerce and deviance; young people and crime; gender; race and ethnicity; immigration; the criminalisation of marginalised communities; legal decision-making and the criminal justice system; ‘high-risk offenders’, gambling, and immigration.

Collectively, we have a range of theoretical and methodological expertise to help you on your doctoral journey. We have experience and expertise in a number of research methods, including mixed methods, policy analysis, ethnography, narrative/life history methods, and media analysis. Across the department we have good experience of undertaking research in a range of spaces, including policing, the legal system, imprisonment, forensic mental health services, probation and more. We also have good experience of working with different funders and research councils including the Ministry of Justice, Department of Health, and Howard League for Penal Reform. We have close links with the policing programme at Brunel University and benefit from being part of the Department of Social and Political Sciences, which comprises of experts from politics, sociology, anthropology and history. Across the university, we have links with many other disciplines including law and psychology.

By joining our innovative, supportive and critical research community you can hope to do the following:

Join an expert interdisciplinary community that publishes innovative and world-leading research addressing contemporary criminological concerns and emerging social and cultural challenges.
Be part of a thriving research culture where researchers have received regular grants from the Ministry of Justice, the NHS, and third sector criminal justice charities, including the Howard League for Penal Reform.
Benefit from excellent multi-disciplinary supervisory teams to support your postgraduate study.
Enjoy being part of a collegial and active research environment.

Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.

Learn more about research in this area.

Browse the work of subject-relevant research groups

Our researchers create knowledge and advance understanding, and equip versatile doctoral researchers with the confidence to apply what they have learnt for the benefit of society. Find out more about working with the Supervisory Team .

You are welcome to approach your potential supervisor directly to discuss your research interests. Search for expert supervisors for your chosen field of research.

While we welcome a wide range of topics in the areas of Criminology, here is an list of some potential research areas where we have specific expertise:

Health, crime and inequalities
Race, ethnicity and crime
Sex and crime
Mediated forms of sex work
Religion and crime
Street violence and street cultures
Illicit drug economies
Legal decision making
Policing
Imprisonment
Probation
CJS staffing, organisation, and occupational cultures
Desistance
Mental health and the criminal justice system
Gambling and crime
Violent and sexual offenders
The criminalisation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Immigration
Narrative criminology
Ethnography and visual criminology
Psychosocial criminology

While these are some of the areas we have explicit expertise in, we are committed and interested in expanding our own understanding by supporting your areas of interest and development. We are confident in our ability to support emerging scholars in a range of criminological topics, and committed to supporting the development of new, critical and exciting areas of scholarship within our discipline.

While we welcome applications from students with a clear direction for their research, we can also provide you with some ideas. Search for PhD topics for your chosen field of research.

Research journey

A PhD involves demonstrating through original research or other advanced scholarship the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, a systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge at the forefront of an academic discipline or professional practice, the ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the general of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline.

This course can be studied undefined undefined, starting in undefined.

Find out about what progress might look like at each stage of study here: Research degree progress structure.

Research support

Potential funding sources

TECHNE2 awards supporting outstanding innovative, interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on creativity and practice. The programme is delivered through a partnership between Royal Holloway, University of London, Brunel University London, Kingston University, Loughborough University, University of Brighton, University of Roehampton, University of the Arts London, University of Surrey and University of Westminster.

The Grand Union: Excellence and Innovation in Social Science Research Training is an ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership uniting Brunel University London, The Open University and the University of Oxford.

Careers and your future

You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.

In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.

Find out more.

Students with a particular interest in media are also able to undertake a National Qualification in Journalism (NQJ) at no extra cost alongside their doctoral studies.

UK entry requirements

The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).

An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.

Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement. Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement here .

EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list . This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
BrunELT : 63% (min 58% in all areas)
TOEFL: 90 (min 20 in all)

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre .

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

Fees and funding

2024/5 entry, international.

£21,260 full-time

£10,630 part-time

£4,786 full-time

£2,393 part-time

Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.

Some courses incur additional course related costs . You can also check our on-campus accommodation costs for more information on living expenses.

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Scholarships and bursaries

Brunel Graduate Discount

Related courses

Intelligence and security studies phd, sociology and communication phd, politics and history phd.

School of Society and Culture

PhD Criminology

Duration
Course type	Full-time, Part-time route available
Study location	Plymouth

Most of our programmes comprise input from researchers, current practitioners, professional bodies, business and industry. This ensures they are current, relevant and stimulating, and enable you to develop practical skills sought by employers. You work on an advanced research project with a small supervisory team of academic experts under the Director of Studies. You are expected to fully engage with your personal skills development and to present your research in a range of scholarly contexts.

Course details

Programme overview.

Our themed research groups are: Health, Vulnerability and Inclusion; Environment, Harm and Culture; and, Global Instability and Society. This full time or part time doctoral programme is suitable for people who have a particular research question or topic in mind, and wish to explore this through independent study in order to produce an original contribution to the subject. If you aspire to a research career this is the most appropriate research degree to undertake. You will be guided by a small supervisory team of academic experts under the direction of a Director of Studies. You will be expected to fully engage with skills development and training and to present your research in a range of scholarly contexts. Your PhD will be assessed via submission of either a written thesis (up to 80,000 words), or one that combines critical writing with artistic, creative and/or professional practice, and a viva voce (an oral examination).

PhD student projects

1. Susanne Baggs, PhD Criminology Women and Online Gambling DOS: Oliver Smith Start date: 2017 2. Sarah Basnett, PhD Criminology 'An exploration into the perpetration of bias motivated (hate) behaviours from a critical perspective.' DOS: Zoe James Start date: 2021 3. Brendan Brookshaw, PhD Criminology What happened within the police service when the Government created the offence of “corrupt or improper practice” for police officers in Section 26 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015? DOS: Zoe James Start date: 2016 4. Ali Bouyamourn, PhD Criminology HMP Policies: Rehabilitation Inside Prison DOS: Julie Parsons Start date: 2019 5. Rebekah Gregory, PhD Criminology Man’s forgotten friend: dogs appointed as domesticated companions and the coronavirus pandemic DOS: Oliver Smith Start date: 2020 6. Josh Johnson, PhD Criminology Insidious Liberalism: A Zemiological investigation into the harms caused by neoliberal normality and how society reacts to the manifestation of neoliberal harms. DOS: Oliver Smith Start date: 2021 7. Christine Kennedy, PhD Criminology Consumer Culture and the Online Interaction of Minors DOS: Oliver Smith Start date: 2017 8. Rhea King, PhD Criminology Have the British police force been too heavily focused on combating discrimination as opposed to addressing prejudice? DOS: Iain Channing Start date: 2020 9. Alexandra Leaton, PhD Law With reference to Article 235 of the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention on responsibility and liability could a civil liability mechanism and compensation fund be effective in providing a mechanism by which to enforce the polluter pays principle and reduce marine plastic pollution? DOS: Jason Lowther Start date: 2019 10. Darren Levers, PhD Criminology An examination of the impact of professionalising the police through degree focused recruitment and effect on social distance between police and public. DOS: Dan Gilling Start date: 2022 11. Narissa MacLennan-Matthews, PhD Criminology Male Victims of 'Honour Crimes': A critical examination of the concepts of 'Honour' and the wider debates surrounding Honour-Based Violence and 'Hate Crime' DOS: Chris Pac-Soo Start date: 2020 12. Ellie Massie, PhD Criminology An exploration into the online framing of the environmental crisis and the potential impact on British Political behaviour and engagement. DOS: Dave Brockington Start date: 2021 13. Fernando Ruiz Molina, PhD Criminology A Critical Analysis of Hate Perpetration against Roma. DOS: Zoe James Start date: 2021 14. Janina Smietanka, PhD Criminology Exploring unwanted sexual attention in the LGBTQ+ night time economy’ DOS: Oliver Smith Start date: 2020 15. Emma Taylor, PhD Criminology 'The Commodification of Love - Market structures, Online Dating and Social Harm'. DOS: Oliver Smith Start date: 2020 16. Conni Tinmouth, PhD Criminology A system which supports children to become the best version of themselves' : The Reality Behind the Rhetoric of Child First. DOS: Katie McBride Start date: 2021 17. Caroline Watson, PhD Criminology Independent Academic Evaluation: A Safer Keyham DOS: Zoe James Start date: 2022

Entry requirements

Fees, costs and funding, how to apply.

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The Doctoral College is able to answer any questions you may have about applying for or undertaking a postgraduate research degree at the University of Plymouth: [email protected] or +44 1752 587640 .

Meet the team

Dr Sharon Beckett

Lecturer in criminology (education).

Dr Iain Channing

Lecturer in criminology.

Dr Daniel Gilling

Associate professor in criminal justice studies.

Dr Orlando Goodall

Dr Patricia Gray

Honorary research fellow.

Professor Zoe James

Professor of criminology.

Dr Sian Lewis

Mr Ken Livingstone

Lecturer in security management.

Dr Julie Parsons

Associate head of school for criminology, sociology, anthropology.

Dr Katie McBride

Associate head of school (marketing, admissions and schools liaison).

Dr Oliver Smith

Associate professor (reader) in criminology.

Dr Chris Pac-Soo

Barbed wire fence against a dramatic sky.

Our research community

Discover more about our research and researchers in law and criminology.

Funding for postgraduate research students

Coastal Processes Research Group Perranporth beach

Doctoral College

Find out more about the Doctoral College and the support it offers students, supervisors and examiners of postgraduate research at the University of Plymouth.

Postgraduate research students listening to a talk

Clearing is now open. Call to find your place: 01604 214808 .

What are you looking for?

Criminology PhD/PhD by Published works
Courses by subject

Postgraduate PG PhD

PhD: Full Time 2 years - 4 years or Part Time 3 years - 6 years PhD by Published Works: Part Time 1 year - 2 years

October, March

Updated 10/09/2024

Get in touch

For questions regarding study and admissions please contact us:

UK/EU STUDENTS ENQUIRIES

[email protected] 0300 303 2772

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ENQUIRIES

[email protected] 44 (0)1604 892134

If you are a graduate in Criminology or a similar discipline, this Criminology PhD / PhD by Published Works programme offers an excellent opportunity to expand your knowledge and research skills. The PhD in Criminology is an advanced research degree, awarded based on successful oral defence (viva voce) of the final thesis. A PhD is the highest qualification that any UK university can award. It will also offer researchers an excellent opportunity to develop their career in academia or move into higher management positions in the industry. Our faculty of Business and Law welcomes applications that fit with the specialisms of our research staff.

Find out more about the Institute for Public Safety, Crime and Justice (IPSCJ)  

The closing dates for applications for the October intake is 1 August, and for the March intake is 11 December.

Pursue innovative doctoral research investigating a diverse array of social and criminological issues
Work in an environment that supports intellectual and personal development 
Receive extensive research support and training
Work closely with Research Institutes and Centres which specialise in your research area
Regular research seminars, conferences and research activities led by our Research Centres and the Graduate School

Entry Requirements

Applicants for this course should have achieved or be studying one of the following:

Bachelor’s (Honours) degree in a cognate subject at 2:1 or above (or overseas equivalent); or
Master’s degree in a relevant subject (or overseas equivalent)

Students with lower-level qualifications, or qualifications in a different subject area but relevant experience, will also be considered on an individual basis. We accept a range of qualifications from different countries.

For your application to be successful, your academic credentials are important; we pay close attention to the suitability of our candidates for both the programme and for the research interest of our team of academics. PhD applicants are assessed based on their previous academic performance, the quality of their research proposal and the availability of supervisors for their proposed area of study.

All offers of a place on the programme are subject to:

successful interview by the University
availability of suitable member of staff to supervise the chosen research topic

Before you start your application, you should read all guidance thoroughly on our How to apply page , and familiarise yourself with the Postgraduate Research application process. Please also view the  guidance notes on how to write a proposal for a research degree .

If English is not your first language, you will need to demonstrate that you meet the IELTS test minimum score – 7.0 overall, 6.5 in writing and 6.5 in other sections (or equivalent). Please note that some English Language test results are only valid for two years, including IELTS. Applications with IELTS lower than 5.5 in all components will not be considered.

Course Content

This Criminology PhD programme is a way for you to develop your specialism and improve your skills in research, academic writing, presentation, and practice. While developing your research projects, you will initially receive general, and project-specific training so that you can conduct your research work effectively and independently. Normally, our PhD students are initially registered for an MPhil and within the first twelve months of their study, they are expected to transfer from the MPhil to a PhD programme. The transfer process requires students to produce a detailed research proposal and apply for ethics approval. Students will be required to present their written work to an academic audience and then proceed for the internal viva examination with an internal transfer viva examiner. The transfer viva process, appointment of an internal examiner, and approval of ethics documents are all subject to approval by the University’s research committees. All PhD students are assigned a supervisory team consisting of a Director of Study (DOS), and first and second supervisors. Our students are required to work independently on their research, under the advice and guidance of their supervisory team. Due to the nature of PhD study, our students spend a vast majority of their time studying and engaging in independent research. Students are required to attend regular supervision meetings to discuss their progress, their action plan for the next stages of their project, and to offer suggestions on improvements for the PhD programme.

Research areas

We can supervise topics including:

Violence (institutional, sexual, domestic)
Positivism, Ethnography, Feminist methodologies
Historical Criminology (eugenics), social movements, Criminologies of the military
Feminist criminological perspectives, Human Rights, Social movements
Institutional Corruption
Security, Peace and Conflict, Pacifist criminology
Offender identities
Prison culture
Critical military studies, Governance and Armed Groups
Social Justice

Fees and Funding

2024/25 tuition fees.

Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 2024/25 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

Doctor Of Philosophy Degrees

Including: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) practice based in the Arts, Master of Philosophy (MPhil)

UK – Full Time: £5,500
UK – Part Time: £2,775
International – Full Time: £15,950
International – Part Time: £7,450

Doctor of Philosophy Degrees by Means of Published Works

UK – Part Time: £3,500
International – Part Time: £7,650

Please visit the funding pages and our scholarship pages for more details on how to fund your study.

Fees quoted relate to study in the Academic Year 23/24 only and may be subject to inflationary increases in future years.

UK – Full Time: £5,340
UK – Part Time: £2,695
International – Full Time: £15,480
International – Part Time: £7,245
UK – Part Time: £3,400
International – Part Time: £7,460

Senior Lecturer in Criminology Faculty of Business and Law

Stephen Hallam

Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Mgmt Faculty of Business and Law

Ade Ige-Olaobaju

Paula Bowles

Head of Criminology Faculty of Health, Education and Society

Manos Daskalou

Paul Famosaya

Lecturer in Criminology Faculty of Business and Law

Sallek-Yaks Musa

Careers and employability.

Successful researchers can progress within a wide variety of roles in academia or move into higher management positions in the industry and other criminological professions and associated fields. The University of Northampton has an excellent Careers and Employability Service who are dedicated to equipping students with the skills to thrive, adapt and innovate in our ever-changing world.

Our PhD students have access to exceptional research facilities such as:

Dedicated PhD study area with computer and printer in the Learning Hub
Skills support for PhD students
Well-equipped library with access to academic e-books, journal articles and learning resources for on-site and off-site study
Spacious individual and group working space and discussion areas
Teaching and Research Assistant opportunities should you meet the requirement
Library and Learning support for PhD students
Opportunities for research collaboration with staff and students
Excellent social groups for student meetings and engagement

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Course type

Qualification, university name, phd degrees in criminology.

54 degrees at 33 universities in the UK.

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PhD Government and Politics
PhD Humanities
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Course title (A-Z)
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Price: high - low
Price: low - high

Criminology PhD

Birkbeck, university of london.

An PhD is an advanced postgraduate research degree that requires original research and the submission of a substantial dissertation of Read more...

4 years Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
7 years Part time degree: £2,500 per year (UK)

Law, Policing and Criminal Justice PhD

Canterbury christ church university.

Supervision for research at MA, MSc, MPhil, or PhD level is available for projects relating to the subject area expertise of our staff in Read more...

3 years Full time degree: £4,786 per year (UK)
5 years Part time degree: £2,872 per year (UK)

Criminology PhD,Mphil - Gender crime and violence

University of leicester.

Criminology at Leicester offers supervision for the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) - full-time and part-time Master of Philosophy Read more...

4 years Distance without attendance degree: £5,913 per year (UK)
6 years Part time degree: £2,393 per year (UK)

PhD Law and Criminology

Sheffield hallam university.

Course summary Your research will take place in the Department of Law and Criminology. We are a group of approximately 80 academics Read more...

4 years Full time degree: £4,786 per year (UK)
7 years Part time degree: £2,393 per year (UK)

Criminology and Policing PhD

University of gloucestershire.

What is Criminology and Policing Join our supportive and expert community of researchers as a student on our MSc by Research or PhD Read more...

4 years Full time degree: £5,100 per year (UK)
6 years Part time degree: £3,400 per year (UK)

Integrated PhD Criminology

University of essex.

Our four-year integrated PhD Criminology follows the MA Criminology programme for year 1 before beginning the PhD study programme within Read more...

University of Glasgow

A vibrant research community in criminology supports students to become excellent researchers who are theoretically informed, Read more...

5 years Part time degree: £2,393 per year (UK)

University of Hull

About our programmes By choosing Criminology as a postgraduate at Hull you will be joining a vibrant and supportive research community Read more...

University of Plymouth

The Doctoral College works with staff and students in all areas of the University’s research to ensure that our diverse community of Read more...

2 years Full time degree: £4,786 per year (UK)
4 years Part time degree: £3,030 per year (UK)

University of Strathclyde

Established in 2016 by the School of Social Work and Social Policy, this award offers students the opportunity to study for a PhD under the Read more...

variable - to suit the learner Full time degree: £4,786 per year (UK)

Criminology and Criminal Justice PhD

Bangor university.

The School provides a stimulating and supportive environment for postgraduate training. The emphasis is on small groups, close working Read more...

Socio-legal Studies - PhD

University of kent.

Our research students benefit immensely from a vibrant research community, a supportive environment and many opportunities to engage Read more...

Anglia Ruskin University

Our PhD research programmes will allow you to explore your own interests in criminology, supported by the expertise of our staff. This Read more...

2.5 years Full time degree: £4,786 per year (UK)
3 years Part time degree: £2,392 per year (UK)
3.5 years Part time degree: £2,392 per year (UK)

University of West London

A PhD in Criminology offers one of the leading areas of research at the University of West London (UWL), as recognised in the rating of Read more...

4 years Full time degree: £3,995 per year (UK)
6 years Part time degree: £2,000 per year (UK)

Aberystwyth University

Aberystwyth is a university with a welcoming culture, and a thriving, vibrant research community. We’ve been named Welsh University of the Read more...

3 years Full time degree: £4,712 per year (UK)
5 years Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

Criminology PhDs and MPhils (Distance Learning)

University of portsmouth.

If you want to take your existing knowledge in Criminology into postgraduate research, Portsmouth is the perfect place to do it. The nature Read more...

6 years Distance without attendance degree: £2,393 per year (UK)
3 years Distance without attendance degree: £2,393 per year (UK)

MPhil/PhD in Sociology and Criminology

Manchester metropolitan university.

Discover your research degree study options, including areas of expertise for our academic supervisors. Our research degrees will help you Read more...

3 years Distance without attendance degree
6 years Distance without attendance degree
6 years Part time degree

University of Brighton

Criminology research at the University of Brighton addresses challenges of social, health, psychological, spatial, and environmental Read more...

3 years Full time degree: £4,796 per year (UK)
7 years Part time degree: £2,398 per year (UK)

PhD Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology

University of birmingham.

In the School of Social Policy we offer much more than a degree. PhD students have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of events Read more...

6 years Distance without attendance degree: £2,389 per year (UK)
3 years Full time degree: £4,778 per year (UK)

Criminology, PhD

Swansea university.

When you join our thriving community of postgraduate research students, you’ll become part of a supportive and friendly environment Read more...

6 years Part time degree: £2,356 per year (UK)

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PhD Criminology

Ask a question
Get a prospectus

Entry requirements

Fees and funding.

What's next?

Criminology programmes are hosted within our Department of Sociology and Criminology . We offer supervision that covers a wide range of topics and we take a global approach to the subject, with particular expertise in diverse regional settings. You will work with a supervisor whose role is to guide you through the different stages of your research degree. In some cases, you may have joint supervision by two members of our staff and where appropriate with staff from other departments.

The Criminology group is the largest in the Department, with 11 full time members of staff who have particular research strengths in:

crime and the media
drug use and markets
women, crime and criminal justice
green criminology and crimes against the environment
organised crime
prisons and rehabilitation
sexual labour, regulation and human rights
histories of crime, punishment and victimisation
surveillance
terrorism and counter-terrorism

Reflecting this, the Department is home to the Centre for Criminology , as well as three other research centres: the Centre for Research in Economic Sociology and Innovation (CRESI), the Migration Research Centre, and the Centre for Intimate and Sexual Citizenship (CISC). The Centre for Criminology runs seminars throughout the year, both by itself and in collaboration with others such as the Human Rights Centre. It also works with others on local, regional and national conferences and events.

We pioneered sociologically informed approaches to criminology — Essex is where it all started
Our staff have worked with bodies including the Home Office, Amnesty International and the United Nations
We’re ranked 73rd globally and top 15 in the UK for sociology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024

Our expert staff

The support provided by your supervisor is a key feature of your research student experience and you will have regular one-to-one meetings to discuss progress on your research. Initially, your supervisor will help you develop your research topic and plan. Members of the team are:

Professor Eamonn Carrabine
Professor Pam Cox
Dr Alexandra Cox
Dr Isabel Crowhurst
Dr Anna Di Ronco
Professor Pete Fussey
Dr Johanna Römer
Dr Anna Sergi
Professor Nigel South
Dr Darren Thiel
Professor Jackie Turton

Specialist facilities

At Essex, our library holdings in criminology and sociology are very strong – criminology and the sociology of deviance have been taught here by academics such as Stanley Cohen and Ken Plummer since the early 1970s.

Within our Department of Sociology and Criminology, we have an ever-increasing range of open-access computing facilities available for your use and, to further assist you with your research, we have bibliographic and qualitative analysis packages available on some of these machines.

We have our own Student Resource Centre which provides a range of support for all our sociology students, including help with study skills.

Your future

Many of our postgraduates go on to successful academic careers, both in the UK and overseas. Others have established careers in non-governmental organisations, local authorities, specialist think tanks, government departments, charities, media production, and market research.

Our University is strong across the social sciences so, by studying with us, you gain the opportunity to work with and be taught by world-class scholars. We have strong interdisciplinary links which mean your studies can be informed by a variety of perspectives.

UK entry requirements

International & eu entry requirements.

We accept a wide range of qualifications from applicants studying in the EU and other countries. Get in touch with any questions you may have about the qualifications we accept. Remember to tell us about the qualifications you have already completed or are currently taking.

Sorry, the entry requirements for the country that you have selected are not available here. Please contact our Graduate Admissions team at [email protected] to request the entry requirements for this country.

English language requirements

Course structure.

A research degree doesn't have a taught structure, giving you the chance to investigate your chosen topic in real depth and reach a profound understanding. In communicating that understanding, through a thesis or other means, you have a rare opportunity to generate knowledge. A research degree allows you to develop new high-level skills, enhance your professional development and build new networks. It can open doors to many careers.

We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We'll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website and in line with your contract with us. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, we'll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose.

Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits.

In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available.

Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

100

The department or school the module will be taught by.

In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.

The module number.

The of the module.

A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course.

A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules.

A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.

The term the module will be taught in.

: Autumn term : Spring term : Summer term : Full year : Autumn and Spring terms Spring and Summer terms Autumn and Summer terms

COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY

View Sociology - Research on our Module Directory

COMPONENT 02: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS

Within our Department of Sociology and Criminology, the PhD is a structured three-year programme of advanced study and research. We also offer an M. Phil, which is a two year programme. If you wish to undertake a PhD but are not sufficiently qualified, you may be offered our MA/MSc and PhD (four-year programme), where progression to your PhD is conditional on successful completion of your MA/MSc.

We therefore offer two routes to a PhD. If you have a strong background in sociology, and/or related areas a well-formulated research proposal, you may be admitted directly to do supervised research and complete your PhD. Alternatively, we offer an Integrated PhD, where you follow one of our pathways in your first year, which provides you with Masters-level training, then undertake three years of PhD research.

Dissertation

Your thesis should be no longer than 80,000 words. We expect our PhD students to complete their PhD within four years of entering, so you will be regularly monitored through supervisory and other meetings to ensure that you complete your PhD on time.

You will meet your supervisor regularly and twice a year, you will have a Supervisory Board meeting, which provides a formal opportunity to discuss your progress and agree your immediate and future plans.

Home/UK fee

£4,786 per year

International fee

£18,750 per year

Fees will increase for each academic year of study.

Masters fees and funding information

Research (e.g. PhD) fees and funding information

What's next

We hold Open Days for all our applicants throughout the year. Our Colchester Campus events are a great way to find out more about studying at Essex, and give you the chance to:

tour our campus and accommodation
find out answers to your questions about our courses, graduate employability, student support and more
talk to our Fees and Funding team about scholarship opportunities
meet our students and staff

If the dates of our organised events aren’t suitable for you, feel free to get in touch by emailing [email protected] and we’ll arrange an individual campus tour for you.

2024 Open Days (Colchester Campus)

Saturday 21 September 2024 - September Open Day
Saturday 26 October 2024 - October Open Day

You can apply for this postgraduate course online . Before you apply, please check our information about necessary documents that we'll ask you to provide as part of your application.

We encourage you to make a preliminary enquiry directly to a potential supervisor or the Graduate Administrator within your chosen Department or School. We encourage the consideration of a brief research proposal prior to the submission of a full application.

We aim to respond to applications within four weeks. If we are able to offer you a place, you will be contacted via email.

For information on our deadline to apply for this course, please see our ‘ how to apply ' information.

A sunny day with banners flying on Colchester Campus Square 4.

Visit Colchester Campus

Set within 200 acres of award-winning parkland - Wivenhoe Park and located two miles from the historic city centre of Colchester – England's oldest recorded development. Our Colchester Campus is also easily reached from London and Stansted Airport in under one hour.

View from Square 2 outside the Rab Butler Building looking towards Square 3

Virtual tours

If you live too far away to come to Essex (or have a busy lifestyle), no problem. Our 360 degree virtual tour allows you to explore the Colchester Campus from the comfort of your home. Check out our accommodation options, facilities and social spaces.

At Essex we pride ourselves on being a welcoming and inclusive student community. We offer a wide range of support to individuals and groups of student members who may have specific requirements, interests or responsibilities.

The University makes every effort to ensure that this information on its programme specification is accurate and up-to-date. Exceptionally it can be necessary to make changes, for example to courses, facilities or fees. Examples of such reasons might include, but are not limited to: strikes, other industrial action, staff illness, severe weather, fire, civil commotion, riot, invasion, terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack (whether declared or not), natural disaster, restrictions imposed by government or public authorities, epidemic or pandemic disease, failure of public utilities or transport systems or the withdrawal/reduction of funding. Changes to courses may for example consist of variations to the content and method of delivery of programmes, courses and other services, to discontinue programmes, courses and other services and to merge or combine programmes or courses. The University will endeavour to keep such changes to a minimum, and will also keep students informed appropriately by updating our programme specifications . The University would inform and engage with you if your course was to be discontinued, and would provide you with options, where appropriate, in line with our Compensation and Refund Policy.

The full Procedures, Rules and Regulations of the University governing how it operates are set out in the Charter, Statutes and Ordinances and in the University Regulations, Policy and Procedures.

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Criminology

Criminology MPhil, PhD

Research ( full-time, part-time)

January, April, September

Distance-learning supervision available on this course.

This course is located in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Find out more about our research .

For application deadlines visit our how to apply page .

Our PhD research programmes will allow you to join one of our research projects or explore your own interests in Criminology, supported by the expertise of our staff.

Full description

You’ll be allocated two supervisors, with additional staff members available if necessary. Our supervisors are experienced in most areas of criminology, with particular strengths in youth justice, comparative criminology, organised crime networks, criminal and geographical profiling, violence, exploitation and crime mapping and the politics of surveillance and privacy.

We’ll provide you with a rich and stimulating research environment with strong links to research networks in Anglia Ruskin and the wider community, including the Citizen's Advice Bureau, the National Probation Service, Cambridgeshire Police and the Crown Court and Crown Prosecution Service. We contribute to many of our Faculty’s research groups, including the International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute (IPPPRI) and StoryLab research institute.

We also host and take part in many research events, including regular Faculty and departmental research seminars, which will allow you to present your research in a safe and supportive setting. These events, along with our online environment, will help you connect with other research students from a range of disciplines.

All your subject-specific studies will be enhanced and supported by our University-wide training sessions, where you’ll gain important research expertise in areas like ethics, presentations, intellectual property and digital scholarship.

Completion times MPhil: full-time 1-3 years, part-time 2-4 years.

PhD via progression from MPhil, including that period: full-time 2.5-5 years, part-time 3.5-6 years.

PhD: full-time 2-4 years, part-time 3-6 years.

For further guidance on the duration of research degrees please refer to the Research Degrees Regulations .

PhD project opportunities

in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, Education and Social Sciences

International Policing and Public Protection Research Institute

World-leading research at ARU

Supervision and support

Our permanent supervisory staff are recognised as international experts in their fields. They’ve produced a large number of influential books, journal articles and edited collections, and won funding for a number of prestigious research projects. Our criminology expertise includes:

Prof Sam Lundrigan : criminological geographic profiling systems; spatial behaviour of serial rapists; behaviour consistency of serial offenders.

Dr Anna Markovska : transitional countries; serious crime; corruption; drug abuse.

Colleen Moore : the treatment of victims in the criminal justice system; violence, sexual violence and exploitation; ‘justice’; identities and judgement; conflict resolution.

Vicky Gadd : prisons and imprisonment; prison management; prisoners and the experience of imprisonment; Prison staff and the role of the prison officer; justice theory; research methods.

Additional research expertise: Bill Tupman, Research Fellow. Available to supervise on policing, organized crime and terrorism.

Where you'll research

Your department and faculty.

At the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, we believe in thinking critically about the past, present and future to challenge perceptions and better understand communities and people.

With expertise from gender issues to literary analysis to exploring how the past has shaped our modern world, all our staff members are active researchers. This is reflected in our teaching, allowing us to support our students with the latest theories and practices, as well as essential employability advice.

Visit your department

Where can I study?

Lord Ashcroft Building on our Cambridge campus

Our campus is close to the centre of Cambridge, often described as the perfect student city.

Explore our Cambridge campus

Specialist facilities

You’ll have access to the world-famous University of Cambridge Library, our own campus library and other local archives. We also have a mock courtroom on campus, for staging debates and elements of the criminal justice process.

Our Faculty has a dedicated PhD room, where our doctoral students can all meet up to work and take an active part in our postgraduate student community.

Fees & funding

Course fees, uk students, 2024/25 (per year).

£4,786

UK students, 2024/25 (part-time, per year)

£2,392

International students, 2024/25 (per year)

£15,900

International students, 2024/25 (part-time, per year)

£7,950

In some cases extra costs known as bench fees will be charged for a postgraduate research degree. These are to cover additional/exceptional costs directly related to a specific research project.

Some examples of these costs are (the list is not exhaustive): equipment hire, access costs to specialist equipment/workshops, volunteer expenses, specialist tissue/cell culture, specialist reagents or materials, specialist software, access to specialist databases, data collection costs, specialist media, recording or digital storage needs.

We charge bench fees in bands. They may apply for every year of your course. These bands are the same for full- and part-time students.

If you have to pay bench fees this will be made clear at your interview, and stated in your offer letter.

For 2024/25 the bench fee bands are:

£1,200

£2,200
£4,500
£8,900

PhD by Published Work

Initial registration: £1,500 Full registration: £4,500

Writing up fees 2024/25

How do i pay my fees.

You can pay your fees upfront, in full or in instalments – though you won't need to pay until you've accepted an offer to study with us. Find out more about paying your fees .

For advice on the Doctoral Loan and other sources of funding, including ARU scholarships, visit our finance guide for postgraduate researchers .

You might also find The Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding helpful.

ARU research

ARU's academic excellence was recognised in 2021, as part of the Research Excellence Framework (REF), an exercise which assesses the quality of academic research. Sixteen areas of our work were classed as generating world-leading research . The results showed that we're making a significant impact on the societies we live in.

We’ll provide you with many opportunities for career development and training, in areas like writing up a paper for publication, placing an academic article, giving a conference paper, the doctoral writing style, updates on research methods and literature searches, internet training, editing skills for doctoral research, subsequent monograph publication and working with agents and publishers. You might also be able to take on teaching responsibilities in the department, or organise research events.

In conjunction with the University’s research support, you can request specific support for writing-up, conference papers, general research methods and other research skills if you need it.

Contact details

If you're interested in finding out more about research study opportunities in this area, please email [email protected]

MPhil or PhD with progression from MPhil: You’ll need a Bachelors degree or equivalent with first or upper second class honours, in a related subject area.

PhD: You’ll need a Masters degree or equivalent in a related subject area.

Please note we consider candidates for PhD with progression from MPhil in the first instance. If you want to be considered for direct entry to the PhD route then this can be discussed at interview if you are shortlisted. Please note you’ll also need to provide academic justification for this request.

If English is not your first language, you'll require a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, with a minimum of 5.5 in each component (or equivalent test). If you don't meet our English language requirements, we offer a range of courses which could help you achieve the level required for entry.

Important additional notes

Our published entry requirements are a guide only and our decision will be based on your overall suitability for the programme as well as whether you meet the minimum entry requirements. Contact our postgraduate research degree team for more information about studying a PhD, MPhil or Professional Doctorate at ARU.

You'll need a computer and reliable internet access to successfully engage with your research programme.

Suggested courses that may interest you

Full-time, part-time research ()

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01245 686868

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+44 1245 683680

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Criminology

Entry year 2024 or 2025
Duration Full time 3 - 4 years, Part time 4 - 7 years

Top reasons to study with us

6th in the UK for Research Impact (REF2021), 88% rated "outstanding"

Your gateway to a wide range of rewarding careers

Discover the latest specialist knowledge from our experts

We welcome applications for PhD research degrees in a wide range of criminological topics. For students who wish to study for a shorter period, we also offer a two-year MPhil research degree.

As a research student you will be supervised by one or more of our academic staff, meeting with them periodically to discuss your research and progress (supervision via video-conferencing is available for students who are not based in Lancaster). Your supervisors are also able to give you guidance on preparing for conferences and writing for publication, as well as advice on academic and other careers. You will also undertake Faculty based research training.

Criminology is researched and taught within Lancaster University Law School, which is a vibrant research environment where many colleagues are engaged in numerous aspects of criminological research. You will be invited to attend any guest lectures and seminars hosted by the School, as well as encouraged to join and participate in the activities of the Law School’s different research groups and centres. We also host student-led seminars, arranged by the research students themselves for the discussion of work in progress.

Please check our staff profiles for precise areas of expertise.

Your department

Law Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Entry requirements

Academic requirements.

Bachelor's degree: an upper second class honours degree (UK or equivalent) in any background

Master's degree: a good Master's degree in any background

We may also consider non-standard applicants, please contact us for information.

If you have studied outside of the UK, we would advise you to check our list of international qualifications before submitting your application.

Additional Requirements

As part of your application you will also need to provide a viable research proposal. Guidance can be found on our writing a research proposal webpage.

English Language Requirements

We may ask you to provide a recognised English language qualification, dependent upon your nationality and where you have studied previously.

We normally require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 5.5 in each element of the test. We also consider other English language qualifications .

If your score is below our requirements, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes .

Contact: Admissions Team +44 (0) 1524 592032 or email [email protected]

Fees and funding

Location	Full Time (per year)	Part Time (per year)
Home	£4,786	£2,393
International	£21,082	£10,541

General fees and funding information

Additional fees and funding information accordion

There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.

Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.

College fees

Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small College Membership Fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.

For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.

Computer equipment and internet access

To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.

The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.

For most taught postgraduate applications there is a non-refundable application fee of £40. We cannot consider applications until this fee has been paid, as advised on our online secure payment system. There is no application fee for postgraduate research applications.

For some of our courses you will need to pay a deposit to accept your offer and secure your place. We will let you know in your offer letter if a deposit is required and you will be given a deadline date when this is due to be paid.

The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status .

If you are studying on a programme of more than one year’s duration, tuition fees are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years .

Scholarships and bursaries

You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status and course. You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.

Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.

If you're considering postgraduate research you should look at our funded PhD opportunities .

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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.

Browse Lancaster University's scholarships and bursaries .

Similar courses

Criminal Justice and Social Research Methods MSc
Criminology and Criminal Justice LLM
Criminology and Criminal Justice MA
Criminology and Social Research Methods MSc

Important Information

The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information .

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies .

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Current PhD Topics

Prospective Students
Student Initiatives

Current PhD Students and Research Topics

	Consent and the Rape Law in India: Interrogating the Implications of Consent
	The association between family exposure to violence and the development of morality in early childhood.
	Risk Managing Demand for Differential Response: A Case Study in Evidence-Based Policing.
	Cyber Crime and Organised Crime; a Statistical Analysis of the Threat and What Works Against it.
	Predicting Cybercrime Pathways: A Textual Analysis.
	Understanding gender differences in adolescent dating violence victimisation: a longitudinal investigation of associated predictors and outcomes
	Motivation and Morality in Situational Action Theory: Moderating Intimate Partner Violence.
	How effective is police-led diversion
	An exploration of the modus operandi used by sex traffickers in the UK.
	Global trends in direct and indirect conflict-related mortality: towards targeted prevention and intervention.
	Child sexual exploitation networks in the UK: an analysis of how they operate.
	Legitimacy in prison-based forensic psychology practices.
	Unseen Walls: A Critical, Postcolonial and Pro-Feminist Approach to the Differential Impacts of State Policies on 'Irregular' Migrants' Access to Information during Journeys through Mexico and Algeria.
	How do people experience simultaneous family imprisonment in English prisons?
	'Reading for pleasure' in prisons in England and Wales: meaning and motives (working title).
	Why offender rehabilitation?
	Police Misconduct and Network Analysis
	Does a replicated Turning Point diversion study in NW London show similar or different reoffending results to the study in Birmingham and why?
	Exploring the utility of the fully immersive 360-degree video scenario method for the study of the situational causes of crime.
	Protecting the Protectors: What is next for police officers?
	An investigation into the barriers and facilitators guiding bystander decision-making in UK university students during situations of sexual misconduct.
	Getting Away With Rape: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Rape Charging Decisions in England and Wales
	: The abuse and exploitation of foreign domestic workers
	Institutionalizing Anti-Corruption Agencies: A Study of The Enforcement Process of Ghana's Office of The Special Prosecutor and Right to Information Act.
	The Symbiotic Harms of Incarceration: Political and Community Effects of the Incarceration of Black Women.
	Group criminality in the neighborhood: situating street gangs and social processes within communities in London
	: Victims’ Emotional Attachment to Their Perpetrators- New Perspectives
	Chinese juvenile offenders' experiences attitudes towards educational and correctional programmes.
	A Quantitative Network-Based Study in the Visualisation and Suppression of Illicit Drug Networks in the UK
	Targeting, testing and tracking of police interventions to reduce knife crime, focusing on the impact of knife crime prevention orders.
	: Restorative Policing in England and Wales
	: “Ransom here, there and everywhere”: Assessing the United Kingdom Response against the Ransomware Threat
	Prison pen-pals: The value of correspondence from laypeople
	Drug-related deaths under probation supervision following release from prison.
	Welfare as Punishment? Understanding Disadvantaged Mothers’ Lives Within the Neoliberal State
	Demand the Impossible: Criminology, Utopia & Abolition
	A Transcultural Study on the Association between Early Childhood Abuse CallousUnemotional Traits: Comparison between China and the UK
	Experiences of supervision: Men released on license and assessed as a high risk of perpetrating intimate partner violence
	The Prevent Profile: exploring the modern cyber-dependent offender
	Exploring the qualities and experiences of women’s open imprisonment: A semi-ethnographic study
	Exploring the ‘Copper’s Nose’ and the discourse surrounding its perceived existence, value and impact on policing in the UK
	Moral Quality and the Parole Process: understanding the role of prisoner identity, emotions, and ‘human vibrations’ in the parole system today
	The impact of release on mandatory life-sentenced prisoners' identities.
	An Exploration of the Expressive and Communicative Function of the Victim Personal Statement in Sentencing Hearings in England and Wales.
	An analysis of the solvability factors across all volume crime types to fill the gaps in solvability factor research, resolve the contradictions between previous studies and address the challenges to external validity arising from different datasets
	The impact of Behavioural Detection training on Stop and Search efficacy and delivering procedurally just encounters.
	The Effects of a Cadet Training Component on Police Attitudes: A Randomized Controlled Trial
	: Corruption victims: do people facing bribery requests report their case?
	Negotiating Love & Intimacy Behind Bars: Understanding women's imprisonment and resettlement experiences through the lens of intimate relationships
	Explore the Chinese Organised Drug Trafficking
Sinclair, Richard	: “Fraud Prevention, Who Listens and Can People Change Their Ways?”
	The Meanings, Nature and Experiences of Corruption among Police Officers in Ghana
	How do police leaders negotiate the technical and institutional environments in managing police performance?
	A qualitative study of how and why children in Czechia are told about their parent's imprisonment.
	: Deterring Police Misconduct: A randomised control trial of in-service strategies to reduce misconduct amongst officers with identified risk factor
	What is the role of private prosecution in the English criminal justice system?
Tripathi, Karan	Tech-panopticon Policing: Gendered Security, Citizenship, and Democracy in India’s “Safe City Project”
	Juvenile Delinquency in Hong Kong: Moral Education in the Context of Situational Action Theory
	: Corruption between morality and control: Applying Situational Action Theory to a bribery experiment
	Towards a Brave New World: Applying Artificial Intelligence to Public Safety via Algorithmic Analysis of Human Behavior
	Trauma and life imprisonment: How do men and women serving life sentences deal with and process experiences of trauma?
	: ‘We Want Justice!’ : How Media Shape and Are Shaped by Experiences of (In)Justice in Jamaica
	Dating violence and gaslighting experiences among university students
	: Children before court: young people’s encounters with the law

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Fees and Funding

Are you a UK or International Student?

A thriving community of postgraduate research students, key course details.

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 4,786

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 2,393

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 18,250

Start Date	Tuition Fees - Year 1
Oct 2024 or Jan, Apr or Jul 2025	£ 9,150

Course Overview

When you join our thriving community of postgraduate research students, you’ll become part of a supportive and friendly environment where we are dedicated to understanding some of society’s most challenging issues.

A research degree in Criminology gives you the chance to pursue a project based around your own passions and interests, leading to a qualification which can open the door to an academic career or boost employment prospects in a range of other fields.

Your research degree will typically last from three years (full-time) to six years (part-time) for a PhD, or two years (full-time) to four years (part-time) for an MPhil.

We have a wide range of expertise, and we invite applications for research degrees in the following areas:

Criminal justice in Wales
Cybercrime and terrorism
Digital technology in the criminal justice system
Gender based violence and violence against women domestic and sexual violence
Illegal and informal economies
Maritime security and crime
Policing, governance and political economy
Probation and offender management services
Organised crime
Sentencing and courts
Social harms
Sports-based violence and criminality
Violent and sex offenders
Youth justice

Entry Requirements

PhD./M.Phil

Applicants for Ph.D./MPhil study must normally hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University, and a master’s degree with an overall grade of ‘merit’. See Postgraduate European Entry Requirements and our Country Specific Postgraduate Entry Requirements.

English Language IELTS 6.5 Overall (with no individual component below 6.0) or Swansea University recognised equivalent. Full details of our English Language policy, including certificate time validity, can be found here.

As well as academic qualifications, Admissions decisions may be based on other factors, including (but not limited to): the standard of the research synopsis/proposal, performance at interview, intensity of competition for limited places, and relevant professional experience.

Reference Requirement

As standard, two references are required before we can progress applications to the College/School research programme Admissions Tutor for consideration.

Applications received without two references attached are placed on hold, pending receipt of the outstanding reference(s). Please note that any protracted delay in receiving the outstanding reference(s) may result in the need to defer your application to a later potential start point/entry month, than what you initially listed as your preferred start option.

You may wish to consider contacting your referee(s) to assist in the process of obtaining the outstanding reference(s) or alternatively, hold submission of application until references are sourced. Please note that it is not the responsibility of the University Admissions Office to obtain missing reference(s) after our initial email is sent to your nominated referee(s), requesting a reference(s) on your behalf.

The reference can take the form of a letter on official headed paper, or via the University’s standard reference form. Click this link to download the university reference form .

Alternatively, referees can email a reference from their employment email account, please note that references received via private email accounts, (i.e. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail) cannot be accepted.

References can be submitted to [email protected] .

How you are Supervised

Our Criminology research degrees give you the opportunity to learn from academics who are industry experts, with a wealth of academic and practical experience.

Our exceptional academic support includes:

Supervision from our world class faculty with a breadth of professional and academic knowledge;
State-of-the-art facilities;
An environment in which you can develop and enhance transferable skills such as problem solving, independent thinking, project management, and critical thinking;
The availability of structured training, interdisciplinary seminars, dedicated research facilities and software;
A student community, drawn from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, bringing a wide range of research interests and personal and professional backgrounds – enhancing the learning experiences of the whole student community.

PhD: A thesis of no more than 100,000 words is submitted, which demonstrates original research that contributes significantly to the subject area. This is then followed by an oral examination of the thesis (viva).

MPhil: A thesis of no more than 60,000 words is submitted, which demonstrates original research that contributes significantly to the subject area. This is then followed by an oral examination of the thesis (viva).

Welsh Provision

Tuition fees, ph.d. 3 year full time.

Start Date	UK	International
October 2024	£ 4,786	£ 18,250
January 2025	£ 4,786	£ 18,250
April 2025	£ 4,786	£ 18,250
July 2025	£ 4,786	£ 18,250

Ph.D. 6 Year Part Time

Start Date	UK	International
October 2024	£ 2,393	£ 9,150
January 2025	£ 2,393	£ 9,150
April 2025	£ 2,393	£ 9,150
July 2025	£ 2,393	£ 9,150

M.Phil. 2 Year Full Time

M.phil. 4 year part time.

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page .

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page .

International students and part-time study: It may be possible for some students to study part-time under the Student Visa route. However, this is dependent on factors relating to the course and your individual situation. It may also be possible to study with us if you are already in the UK under a different visa category (e.g. Tier 1 or 2, PBS Dependant, ILR etc.). Please visit the University information on Visas and Immigration for further guidance and support.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page .

Funding and Scholarships

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study.

Government funding is now available for Welsh, English and EU students starting eligible postgraduate research programmes at Swansea University. To find out more, please visit our postgraduate loans page.

To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Academi Hywel Teifi at Swansea University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offer a number of generous scholarships and bursaries for students who wish to study through the medium of Welsh or bilingually. For further information about the opportunities available to you, visit the Academi Hywel Teifi Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Additional Costs

Access to your own digital device/the appropriate IT kit will be essential during your time studying at Swansea University. Access to wifi in your accommodation will also be essential to allow you to fully engage with your programme. See our dedicated webpages for further guidance on suitable devices to purchase, and for a full guide on getting your device set up .

You may face additional costs while at university, including (but not limited to):

Travel to and from campus
Printing, photocopying, binding, stationery and equipment costs (e.g. USB sticks)
Purchase of books or texts
Gowns for graduation ceremonies

How to Apply

APPLICATION PROCESS STEPS AND ADVICE FOR APPLYING

Identifying a relevant research topic

Applicants are encouraged to explore the research expertise of the School to ensure a good fit between PhD proposals and potential supervisors. You are more than welcome to arrange a meeting with relevant staff in your field to discuss your proposal before submitting it.

Preparing your research proposals

After you have identified a relevant research topic please prepare a detailed research proposal to include with your application. Guidance on writing a research proposal is also available.

After you have completed preparing an appropriate research proposal, please apply for a place on our PhD programme online here.

Please note that it is advisable that you contact us before submitting your application. This will ensure we can identify appropriate supervisors, and where necessary work with you to refine your proposal. If you would like to do this, email: [email protected]

Applicants can expect to be interviewed following their application to discuss their topic of research and ensure they demonstrate the necessary level of commitment to their studies and training.

If you're an international student, find out more about applying for this course here.

Suggested Application Timings

In order to allow sufficient time for consideration of your application by an academic, for potential offer conditions to be met and travel / relocation, we recommend that applications are made before the dates outlined below. Please note that applications can still be submitted outside of the suggested dates below but there is the potential that your application/potential offer may need to be moved to the next appropriate intake window.

October Enrolment

UK Applicants – 15th August

EU/International applicants – 15th July

January Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th November

EU/International applicants – 15th October

April Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th February

EU/International applicants – 15th January

July Enrolment

UK applicants – 15th May

EU/International applicants – 15th April

EU students - visa and immigration information is available and will be regularly updated on our information for EU students page.

Phd Programme Specification


Award Level (Nomenclature)	PhD in Criminology
Programme Title	Criminology
Director of Postgraduate Research	Dr Mike Harrison
Awarding Body	Swansea University
School	School of Social Sciences
Subject Area	Criminology
Frequency of Intake	October, January, April, July
Location	Singleton Campus
Mode of Study	Full/Part time
Duration/Candidature	3/6 years
FHEQ Level	8
External Reference Points	QAA Qualification Descriptors for FHEQ Level 8
Regulations	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body Accreditation	N/A
	N/A
	English

This Programme Specification refers to the current academic year and provides indicative content for information. The University will seek to deliver each course in accordance with the descriptions set out in the relevant course web pages at the time of application. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision , either before or after enrolment.

Programme Summary

This PhD in Criminology at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 100,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The PhD is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva voce). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences. There may also be opportunities to develop your teaching skills through undergraduate tutorials, demonstrations and seminars.

Programme Aims

This PhD programme will provide doctoral researchers with:

The opportunity to conduct high quality postgraduate research in a world leading research environment.
Key skills needed to undertake advanced academic and non-academic research including qualitative and quantitative data analysis.
Advanced critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and independent judgement.

Programme Structure

The programme comprises three key elements:

Entry and confirmation of candidature
Main body of research
Thesis and viva voce

The programme comprises of the undertaking of an original research project of 3 years duration full time (6 years duration part time). Doctoral researchers may pursue the programme either full time or part time by pursuing research at the University at an external place of employment or with/at a University approved partner.

Doctoral researchers for the PhD in Criminology are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 100,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination (viva voce).

Doctoral Researcher Supervision and Support

Doctoral researchers will be supervised by a supervisory team. Where appropriate, staff from Schools other than the ‘home’ School (other Schools) within the University will contribute to cognate research areas. There may also be supervisors from an industrial partner.

The Primary/First Supervisor will normally be the main contact throughout the doctoral research journey and will have overall responsibility for academic supervision. The academic input of the Secondary Supervisor will vary from case to case. The principal role of the Secondary Supervisor is often as a first port of call if the Primary/First Supervisor becomes unavailable. The supervisory team may also include a supervisor from industry or a specific area of professional practice to support the research. External supervisors may also be drawn from other Universities.

The primary supervisor will provide pastoral support. If necessary the primary supervisor will refer the doctoral researcher to other sources of support (e.g. Wellbeing, Disability, Money Advice, IT, Library, Students’ Union, Academic Services, Student Support Services, Careers Centre).

Programme Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this programme, doctoral researchers should be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding

Demonstrate the systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of research through the development of a written thesis.
Create, interpret, analyse and develop new knowledge through original research or other advanced scholarship.
Disseminate new knowledge gained through original research or other advanced scholarship via high quality peer reviewed publications within the discipline.
Apply research skills and subject theory to the practice of research.
Apply process and standards of a range of the methodologies through which research is conducted and knowledge acquired and revised.

Attitudes and values

Conceptualise, design and implement a project aimed at the generation of new knowledge or applications within Criminology.
Make informed judgements on complex issues in the field of Criminology, often in the absence of complete data and defend those judgements to an appropriate audience.
Apply sound ethical principles to research, with due regard for the integrity of persons and in accordance with professional codes of conduct.
Demonstrate self-awareness of individual and cultural diversity, and the reciprocal impact in social interaction between self and others when conducting research involving people.

Research Skills

Respond appropriately to unforeseen problems in project design by making suitable amendments.
Communicate complex research findings clearly, effectively and in an engaging manner to both specialist (including the academic community), and non-specialist audiences using a variety of appropriate media and events, including conference presentations, seminars and workshops.
Correctly select, interpret and apply relevant techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry.
Develop the networks and foundations for on-going research and development within the discipline.
Implement advanced research skills to a substantial degree of independence.
Locate information and apply it to research practice.

Skills and Competencies

Display the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment, including the exercise of personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable situations, in professional or equivalent environments.

Progression Monitoring

Progress will be monitored in accordance with Swansea University regulations. During the course of the programme, the Doctoral researcher is expected to meet regularly with their supervisors, and at most meetings it is likely that the doctoral researcher’s progress will be monitored in an informal manner in addition to attendance checks. Details of the meetings should ideally be recorded on the on-line system. A minimum of four formal supervision meetings is required each year, two of which will be reported to the Postgraduate Progression and Awards Board. During these supervisory meetings the doctoral researcher’s progress is discussed and formally recorded on the on-line system.

Learning Development

The University offers training and development for Doctoral Researchers and supervisors.

Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Training Framework is structured into sections, to enable doctoral researchers to navigate and determine appropriate courses aligned to both their interest and their candidature stage.

There is a training framework including for example areas of Managing Information and Data, Presentation and Public Engagement, Leadership and working with others, Safety Integrity and Ethics, Impact and Commercialisation and Teaching and Demonstrating. There is also range of support in areas such as training needs, literature searching, conducting research, writing up research, teaching, applying for grants and awards, communicating research and future careers.

A range of research seminars and skills development sessions are provided within the School of Social Sciences and across the University. These are scheduled to keep the doctoral researcher in touch with a broader range of material than their own research topic, to stimulate ideas in discussion with others, and to give them opportunities to such as defending their own thesis orally, and to identify potential criticisms. Additionally, the School is developing a research culture that aligns with the University vision and will link with key initiatives delivered under the auspices of the University’s Academies, for example embedding the HEA fellowship for postgraduate research students.

Research Environment

Swansea University’s research environment combines innovation and excellent facilities to provide a home for multidisciplinary research to flourish. Our research environment encompasses all aspects of the research lifecycle, with internal grants and support for external funding and enabling impact/effect that research has beyond academia.

Swansea University is very proud of our reputation for excellent research, and for the calibre, dedication, professionalism, collaboration and engagement of our research community. We understand that integrity must be an essential characteristic of all aspects of research, and that as a University entrusted with undertaking research we must clearly and consistently demonstrate that the confidence placed in our research community is rightly deserved. The University therefore ensures that everyone engaged in research is trained to the very highest standards of research integrity and conducts themselves and their research in a way that respects the dignity, rights, and welfare of participants, and minimises risks to participants, researchers, third parties, and the University itself.

The School of Social Sciences is a dynamic and diverse research environment, bringing together scholars from a wide range of specialist subject areas and academic backgrounds. The School is committed to the core principles of inclusivity, transparency, collegiality, and equality, which inform all its activities.

The School seeks to provide all its postgraduate research students with a supportive research environment and equip them with the necessary skills for graduate employment. The School’s Director of Postgraduate Research, supported by a full-time Postgraduate Research Administrator, is proactive in identifying and responding to the needs of the Postgraduate Research community. A programme of events offering bespoke support to Postgraduate Researchers has been developed (complementing the University’s doctoral training programme and the courses provided by the Central Postgraduate Research Office). It includes a comprehensive induction and training programme, an annual Postgraduate Research Colloquium that offers students the opportunity to present their research in progress and receive feedback from faculty and fellow students, a regular Postgraduate Research student/staff forum, Postgraduate Research-led discussion groups, and a weekly writing forum. Each student benefits from a dedicated Postgraduate Research suite within the School and an annual research allowance to cover the cost of conference attendance and other research-related expenses. Students can also apply for additional funding via the ad hoc School Research Fund.

Career Opportunities

Having a PhD demonstrates that graduates can work effectively in a team, formulate, explore and communicate complex ideas and manage advanced tasks. Jobs in academia (eg postdoctoral research, lecturing), education, government, management, the public or private sector are possible. Examples include administrators, counsellors, marketing specialists, and researchers.

The Postgraduate Research Office Skills Development Team offer support and a training framework for example in creating a researcher profile based upon publications and setting up your own business. The Swansea Employability Academy assists students in future career opportunities, improving CVs, job applications and interview skills.

MPhil Programme Specification


Award Level (Nomenclature)	MPhil in Criminology
Programme Title	Criminology
Director of Postgraduate Research	Dr Mike Harrison
Awarding Body	Swansea University
School	School of Social Sciences
Subject Area	Criminology
Frequency of Intake	October, January, April, July
Location	Singleton Campus
Mode of Study	Full/Part time
Duration/Candidature	2/4 years
FHEQ Level	7
External Reference Points	QAA Qualification Descriptors for FHEQ Level 7
Regulations	Master of Philosophy
Professional, Statutory or Regulatory Body Accreditation	N/A
	MA/MSc by Research
	English

This MPhil in Criminology at Swansea will enable you to undertake a substantial project led by your own interests. It is a highly respected qualification which can present a career in academia or a wider scope for employment in fields such as education, government or the private sector. A thesis of 60,000 words will be submitted for assessment demonstrating original research with a substantive contribution to the subject area. The Masters is examined following an oral examination of the thesis (a viva voce examination or viva). You will acquire research skills for high-level work and skills and training programmes are available on campus for further support. There will be an opportunity to deliver presentations to research students and staff at departmental seminars and conferences.

This Masters programme will provide students with:

Thesis and viva voce

The programme comprises of the undertaking of an original research project of 2 years duration full time (4 years duration part time). Students may pursue the programme either full time or part time by pursuing research at the University at an external place of employment or with/at a University approved partner.

Students for the Masters in Criminology are examined in two parts.

The first part is a thesis which is an original body of work representing the methods and results of the research project. The maximum word limit is 60,000 for the main text. The word limit does not include appendices (if any), essential footnotes, introductory parts and statements or the bibliography and index.

The second part is an oral examination ( viva voce ).

Supervision and Support

Students will be supervised by a supervisory team. Where appropriate, staff from Schools other than the ‘home’ School (other Schools) within the University will contribute to cognate research areas. There may also be supervisors from an industrial partner.

The Primary/First Supervisor will normally be the main contact throughout the student journey and will have overall responsibility for academic supervision. The academic input of the Secondary Supervisor will vary from case to case. The principal role of the Secondary Supervisor is often as a first port of call if the Primary/First Supervisor becomes unavailable. The supervisory team may also include a supervisor from industry or a specific area of professional practice to support the research. External supervisors may also be drawn from other Universities.

The primary supervisor will provide pastoral support. If necessary the primary supervisor will refer the student to other sources of support (e.g. Wellbeing, Disability, Money Advice, IT, Library, Students’ Union, Academic Services, Student Support Services, Careers Centre).

Demonstrate the systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge through the development of a written thesis.
Create, interpret, analyse and develop new knowledge through original research or other advanced scholarship.
Apply process and standards of a range of the methodologies through which research is conducted and knowledge acquired and revised.
Make informed judgements on complex issues in the field of Criminology often in the absence of complete data and defend those judgements to an appropriate audience.
Communicate complex research findings clearly, effectively and in an engaging manner to both specialist (including the academic community), and non-specialist audiences using a variety of appropriate media.
Correctly select, interpret and apply relevant techniques for research and academic enquiry.
Develop the foundations for on-going research and development within the discipline.
Implement independent research skills.
Display the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment, including the exercise of personal responsibility and initiative in complex situations.

Progress will be monitored in accordance with Swansea University regulations. During the course of the programme, the student is expected to meet regularly with their supervisors, and at most meetings it is likely that the student’s progress will be monitored in an informal manner in addition to attendance checks. Details of the meetings should ideally be recorded on the on-line system. A minimum of four formal supervision meetings is required each year, two of which will be reported to the Postgraduate Progression and Awards Board. During these supervisory meetings the student’s progress is discussed and formally recorded on the on-line system.

Learning Development

Swansea University’s Postgraduate Research Training Framework is structured into sections, to enable students to navigate and determine appropriate courses aligned to both their interest and their candidature stage.

A range of research seminars and skills development sessions are provided within the School of Social Sciences and across the University. These are scheduled to keep the student in touch with a broader range of material than their own research topic, to stimulate ideas in discussion with others, and to give them opportunities to such as defending their own thesis orally, and to identify potential criticisms. Additionally, the School is developing a research culture that will align with the University vision and will link with key initiatives delivered under the auspices of the University’s Academies, for example embedding the HEA fellowship for postgraduate research students.

Research Environment

Swansea University’s Research Environment combines innovation and excellent facilities to provide a home for multidisciplinary research to flourish. Our research environment encompasses all aspects of the research lifecycle, with internal grants and support for external funding and enabling impact/effect that research has beyond academia.

Career Opportunities

Having a Master of Philosophy degree shows that you can communicate your ideas and manage tasks. Jobs in academia, education, government, management, the public or private sector are possible.

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Security and Crime Science MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

UCL Security and Crime Science is widely recognised for the impact of its research on real-world crime problems. The Department has long-standing links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence and security organisations in the UK and internationally.

A PhD with us allows you to pursue original research and make a distinct and significant contribution to your field.

UK tuition fees (2024/25)

Overseas tuition fees (2024/25), programme starts, applications accepted.

Entry requirements

Evidence of graduate research experience, for example a Master's degree, and a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor's degree, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Applicants must also consider whether the Department of Security and Crime Science has the relevant expertise available to offer sufficient supervision in their chosen area of research. You will be expected to identify two UCL academics to supervise your research before applying. Ideally you will have contacted them before applying to ensure they are able to support your application. Following consideration of applications at the department's Graduate Research Committee, students may be requested to attend an interview with prospective supervisors (either in person or by telephone).

The English language level for this programme is: Level 3

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

The Department of Security and Crime Science is organised into five centres of excellence:

Geographical analysis
The "Designing Out Crime" group
The crime policy and evaluation group
Terrorism and organised crime
Forensic science

Staff and students work across these groups, across UCL and in the wider research community, which includes active international collaborations.

Who this course is for

Security and Crime Science is a multi-disciplinary subject, drawing on expertise in psychology, social science, statistics, mathematics, architecture, forensic sciences, design, geography and computing. This is reflected in our students, who come from a variety of backgrounds. This makes the department an interesting and stimulating environment in which to study.

We seek graduates from all disciplines who want to solve real-world security and crime problems.

What this course will give you

UCL Security and Crime Science is devoted specifically to reducing crime through teaching, research, public policy analysis and by the dissemination of evidence-based information on crime reduction. Our mission is to change crime policy and practice.

At UCL Security and Crime Science, we are committed to the quality and relevance of the research supervision we offer. As an MPhil/PhD student, you will work with academics at the cutting edge of scholarship. You will also be an integral part of our thriving and collaborative research community, in the department and more widely at UCL.

The foundation of your career

This PhD programme is a well-established programme that draws in students from around the world who have gone on to exciting careers in security and crime sectors.

Graduates from our research programmes go on to research careers and to take up lecturing posts in academic institutions. Others have taken up policy-related positions in the public and private security sectors.

Employability

This is the first Phd programme of its kind to combine a multidisciplinary crime or security doctoral degree with a programme of taught modules (focusing on the application of scientific method to crime reduction) and professional skills training.

Our aim is to produce a new generation of crime and security practitioners with the skills to tackle modern and evolving crime threats. With over 60 partners in industry and the public sector and some of the world's leading academics at UCL working in these areas, we provide excellent supervision and career prospects.

We have long-established links with police forces, policy makers at all levels, academic research centres of excellence and security organisations in both the UK and internationally

The department attracts leading figures in the field to our extensive programme of events which inform debates around crime prevention. Regular events include the Women in Security showcase, annual International Crime Science conference, regular seminars and outside speakers.

These events provide a platform for students to connect with crime science practitioners and researchers across academia, government, and industry, offering a chance to learn from their expertise and establish valuable contacts.

Collaborative working at UCL is also an important aspect of our multidisciplinary research programme.The MPhil/PhD in Security and Crime Science gives students the opportunity to mix with peers from backgrounds including architecture, computer science, statistics, electronic engineering, chemistry, forensic sciences, psychology, philosophy, ethics and laws.

Teaching and learning

The initial registration on the programme will be on an MPhil basis. In order to progress to the PhD, students are required to pass an ‘upgrade’. The purpose of the upgrade is to assess your progress and ability to complete your PhD programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) consists of a piece of supervised research, normally undertaken over a period of three years of full-time or five years of part-time study. Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

You should meet frequently with your supervisors and engage with the departmental and UCL communities more widely through events, training, and networking opportunities.

The PhD is examined by a viva committee comprising two experts in the field, an external examiner, and an internal examiner. Your supervisor nominates suitable examiners during your final year, in consultation with you, and the nominations are scrutinised by UCL’s examinations office who may approve or reject them. You should not have had prior contact with either examiner. The viva usually takes two to three hours.

As a full-time student you are expected to devote at least 35 hours per week to your studies for the full duration of your programme. If you are studying part-time, you should expect to spend at least 17.5 hours per week.

As a research student, your principal supervisor will establish a timetable of regular meetings where all matters relating to your work can be discussed.

These meetings should take place at least once per month. Subsidiary supervisors should stay acquainted with the progress of your work and be present at annual supervisory meetings, as a minimum.

Research areas and structure

The department has five main research groups:

Counter-terrorism: situational prevention of terrorism; technology for counter-terrorism; transferable training between crime and terrorism
Crime mapping: innovation in crime mapping methods; prospective crime mapping
Crime policy analysis and evaluation: evaluation of crime prevention schemes; knowledge transfer
Designing out crime: role of design in crime prevention; environmental design; crime risk and administrative procedure design
Forensic sciences: forensic science reconstruction; interpretation of evidence; trace evidence dynamics (including DNA, residues/particulates, environmental evidence etc.).

UCL Security and Crime Science hosts the UCL Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (UCL SECReT), an international centre for PhD training in security and crime science.

We offer an integrated PhD programme for students wishing to pursue multi-disciplinary security or crime-related research degrees. We expect their research to be interdisciplinary and to involve some 'hard science' element. Our research is underpinned by a methodology combining science and engineering expertise with expertise from wider disciplines including the social sciences. We see four research 'domains' which can interact:

Science and technology innovation: to create the next generation of security technologies
People factors: understanding and incorporating human factors (via behavioural science, decision-making techniques, etc.) into the development of security solutions
Process factors: enhancing security processes by increasing our understanding of the operational processes of activities, organisations or infrastructures under threat
Policy: contributing to the development of government policy through research findings.

Research environment

Our department has a distinctly interdisciplinary outlook on the prevention of crime, terrorism and organised crime. We have long-established links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence, and security organisations in the UK and internationally.

The department has a successful track record of working closely with practitioners and is widely recognised for its knowledge transfer and exchange activities, as well as the impact of its research on real world crime problems.

In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise, the department’s research environment was deemed to be 87.5% ‘world-leading' and 12.5% ‘internationally excellent’, placing it 6th in this area of REF assessment.

As a Security and Crime Science MPhil/PhD student, you will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, this thriving research culture.

The length of registration for ourresearch degree programmes is three years for full-time study and five years for part-time study.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 9-18 months after initial registration.

Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may start a writing period called Completing Research Status (CRS), within which you write up your thesis.

To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to submit a piece of writing demonstrating sufficient theoretical, conceptual, and methodological development as well as a clearly articulated plan to finish the thesis.

You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 24 months after initial registration.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team .

Online - Open day

Security and Crime Science PhD Open Evening

Join our open event series to learn more about our PhD programme, future career opportunities and what it's like to be part of our fantastic community. There are also questions for our academics, admission tutors and current students.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course.

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£6,035	£3,015
Tuition fees (2024/25)	£34,400	£17,200

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .

Additional costs

There are no additional costs associated with this programme.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs .

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .

CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship

Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme) Criteria Based on academic merit Eligibility: EU, Overseas

If you meet the entry requirements, you will need to identify at least two UCL academics with the expertise needed to assess your technical skills and act as your supervisors. To support with this, we suggest you check our departmental website to identify the interests and areas of expertise of current academics.

Before applying, please ensure you focus on a research proposal of approximately 3000 words which introduces the research questions and hypotheses you would like to investigate, and the research methods you would like to apply in your work. Clearly indicate how the required data will be obtained, and what resources you need for your project. You can find guidance on writing a research proposal online.

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements, so please check with the department or academic unit before applying to see if you need to consider these. In most cases, you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application.

For more information see our How to apply page and ensure you visit our website.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2024-2025

Got questions get in touch.

Security and Crime Science

[email protected]

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MPhil in Criminology

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Primary tabs

Overview (active tab)
Requirements
How To Apply

The primary aims of the MPhil programme are:

to offer an up-to-date and high-quality degree course, introducing students to some of the most important theory, methods and research in criminology
to offer a sound academic foundation to those who aspire to undertake a PhD or a career in teaching and research in criminology or related fields
to provide a sound foundation of knowledge and methodological skills to those who wish to work in a wide range of criminal justice agencies, the legal profession, or other professional or voluntary organisations

The MPhil provides a foundational education in prominent criminological theories, research methods, and areas of criminological knowledge.

Compulsory modules on Criminological Theories and Research Methods familiarise students with historical and contemporary criminological thinking and research.

Each year, a variety of optional seminars covering a wide range of criminological topics are offered. What is on offer varies by year, but in recent years, it has included topics such as Policing, the Sociology of Prison Life, Victims and Injustice, Punishment and Mercy, Socio-critical Perspectives on Criminal Justice, History of Violence, Global Perspectives on Violence, People, Places and Crime, Organised Crime, and Neurocriminology.

The MPhil in Criminology also includes practical training in advanced criminological research methods, provided in-house and through Cambridge Research Methods (CaRM) . In addition to the criminological research methods course, all students will have to take at least two CaRM modules. These can be chosen by the students from all courses offered by the Cambridge Research Methods (CaRM) and by the Institute.

Learning Outcomes

Core Knowledge

Students should acquire:

an understanding of core criminological and criminal justice theories
a critical awareness of current problems and debates within the field
skills to critically evaluate theoretical and empirical literature relevant to criminological and criminal justice research
the ability to synthesise and apply criminological knowledge in new contexts or to new issues
the ability to use theoretical knowledge creatively and independently to guide their work
skills in communicating criminological knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences

Research Methods

a comprehensive understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods used in criminology
the ability to use acquired knowledge to propose new hypotheses and identify and address research problems
the ability to critically assess research designs
the ability to apply research competencies to practical issues
the ability to independently acquire and interpret additional knowledge relating to research
an understanding of the quality of work required to satisfy peer review

Continuation to the PhD requires strong performance on the MPhil programme, a suitable research topic and proposal, and an available supervisor.

It also involves a separate application process undertaken during the MPhil year. Prospective PhD students are encouraged to discuss their plans with their MPhil supervisor as early as possible during the MPhil year. The Institute of Criminology website provides further information on the PhD course and a list of potential supervisors .

The University hosts and attends fairs and events throughout the year, in the UK and across the world. We also offer online events to help you explore your options:

Discover Cambridge: Master’s and PhD study webinars - these Spring events provide practical information about applying for postgraduate study.

Postgraduate Virtual Open Days - taking place in November each year, the Open Days focus on subject and course information.

For more information about upcoming events visit our events pages .

Key Information

10 months full-time, study mode : taught, master of philosophy, institute of criminology, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, michaelmas 2025.

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Funding Deadlines

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2025, Lent 2026 and Easter 2026.

Similar Courses

Criminology PhD
Applied Criminology, Penology and Management MSt
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Law, criminology and criminal justice.

Expertise of research area business law; criminal justice; criminal law; criminology; disability; disability law; law; legal education; policing; social justice

The School of Law at Leeds offers a successful and thriving collection of research degree programmes. You'll experience a supportive, stimulating and challenging research environment that operates on a global scale, allowing you to pursue your research interests among the brightest minds in Law.

<h3>Researching with us</h3> <p>We are well placed to continue to deliver excellence to our postgraduate researchers, bringing together high quality teaching with world-leading research. We have over 100 registered postgraduate researchers and an excellent record of completed research degrees. We have particular expertise in the areas of our research centres and units, and provide researchers with two trained and experienced academic supervisors that are experts in the field of research.</p> <h3>Your career and development</h3> <p>Whether you have your sights set on an academic career, or want to apply your knowledge to a specific area within an organisation, the skills developed throughout your studies will be highly sought after. Which research degree you choose often depends on your motivation for undertaking a postgraduate research programme and the amount of time you can dedicate to your research.</p> <p>We offer two research degree paths for postgraduate researchers:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/postgraduates/research-postgraduates/phd-research" target="_blank">Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/postgraduates/research-postgraduates/ma-by-research.php" target="_blank" title="About the MA by Research">MA by Research (MRes)</a></li> </ul> <p>Find out more about your <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-degrees/doc/career-development-4" target="_blank">career and development opportunities</a>.</p> <h3>Training and support</h3> <p>Whichever route you choose to pursue your research passion, as a postgraduate researcher in the School of Law, you will have a range of support services and opportunities available to you which will enhance your studies and your career prospects.</p> <p>Whether you are unsure how to plan your next steps, want to network with fellow researchers or you’re looking to brush up your presentation skills, our research community and extensive resources can help.</p> <p>Find out more about our <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-degrees/doc/researching" target="_blank">research training and support</a>.</p> <h3>Our research and expertise</h3> <p>The School of Law fosters and promotes research in all major fields of legal study. Our research is organised into four leading research centres, whose staff deliver teaching and supervision to our researchers at all levels:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/research/business-law-practice/" target="_blank">Centre for Business Law and Practice</a> (CBLP)</li> <li><a href="http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/research/criminal-justice-studies/" target="_blank">Centre for Criminal Justice Studies</a> (CCJS)</li> <li><a href="http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/research/centre-for-innovation-and-research-in-legal-education" target="_blank">Centre for Innovation and Research in Legal Education</a> (CIRLE)</li> <li><a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/research-centre-law-social-justice" target="_blank">Centre for Law and Social Justice</a> (CLSJ) (including <a href="http://www.law.leeds.ac.uk/research/disability-law-hub" target="_blank">Disability Law Hub</a>)</li> </ul> <p>Find out more about <a href="https://essl.leeds.ac.uk/law-research-expertise" target="_blank">our research and expertise</a>.</p>

<p>Formal applications for research degree study should be made <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/130206/applying/91/applying_for_research_degrees" target="_blank">online</a>. When applying, please clearly state the research area you are interested in.</p> <p>If English is not your first language, you must provide evidence that you meet the University's minimum English language requirements (below).</p> <p><em>As an international research-intensive university, we welcome students from all walks of life and from across the world. We foster an inclusive environment where all can flourish and prosper, and we are proud of our strong commitment to student education. Across all Faculties we are dedicated to diversifying our community and we welcome the unique contributions that individuals can bring, and particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to Black, Asian, people who belong to a minority ethnic community, people who identify as LGBT+ and people with disabilities. Applicants will always be selected based on merit and ability.</em></p>

<p>For further information please contact the Faculty Graduate School admissions office:<br /> <br /> e: <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br /> t: +44 (0)113 343 5009</p>

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Law, Criminology and Criminal Justice. The School of Law at Leeds offers a successful and thriving collection of research degree programmes. You'll experience a supportive, stimulating and challenging research environment that operates on a global scale, allowing you to pursue your research interests among the brightest minds in Law.

PhD Criminology / Overview

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Criminology PhD

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