Criminology

Overview

Criminology is a fast moving constantly evolving subject which reflects the current social, and political climate. You are provided with opportunities and the resources necessary for you to develop an understanding of how the law is used as a tool to marginalise and criminalise some communities and individuals, while ignoring the crimes of the rich and powerful.

The Criminology program at Brunel University London recognises and emphasises the importance of theory that is based on evidence and encourages you to engage in critical evaluation of concepts of crime and deviance. This critical approach nurtures lively debate, and we encourage you to develop independent opinions based on a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives, employing both quantitative and qualitative data in considering the processes of criminalisation and victimisation over space and time.

As critical criminologists, you will be encouraged to engage in debates about race, gender, migration, social harms, green criminology and a wide variety of other current topics. Whilst being furnished with the necessary research training in both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis to engage with and challenge debates as they evolve.

Careers and your future

Students can expect to have an array of employment opportunities across the public, private and voluntary sectors. This might be in different sectors of the criminal justice system, such as prisons and probation services. But it might also be in a number of related services such as drug and alcohol support services, youth services, victim support services (increasingly in areas of child protection, internet safety, prevention of radicalisation and extremism), as well as other third sector organisations and community-based services. Critical criminology is an excellent grounding for students who are thinking of a later conversion course that allows them to practice law. 

It also provides them with the critical thinking skills sought by third-sector organisations that challenge issues of human rights violations in areas such as migration, incarceration, and protest both in the UK and internationally

As criminology graduates, they will also have career opportunities in different policing roles: in a range of police services, border security, the National Crime Agency, and numerous others including the private sector security services. Criminology graduates will also have opportunities for further study at the postgraduate level in related disciplines at Brunel as well as in other HE institutions.