BA Criminology

How do we understand crime? Should crime be punished? Criminologists engage with some of the most pressing issues, decisions and dilemmas facing societies today. On our course you explore the nature of crime, criminal justice and punishment within wider social contexts.

As a student of criminology, you experience a lively, informal environment with many possibilities to pursue your own interests. Our flexible course means that you can study an exciting range of topics, from the impact of computer games on crime, to terrorism and migration, to policing and controlling society.

We are a large and friendly department, offering a range and diversity of research interests, with staff members who are committed to teaching, research and publication. We have leading international experts in the areas of:

• Organised crime, surveillance and counter-terrorism
• Environmental harm
• Visual criminology
• Social history and crime

You'll receive training in criminological methods – how to design a survey, conduct an interview, and use quantitative analysis from basic statistic to big data – in order to ask the difficult questions, and will also have the opportunity to complete a supervised dissertation on a topic that inspires you.

Our BA Criminology is run by the Department of Sociology and Criminology, which is 2nd in UK for research power in sociology (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021).

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

Placement year

You can also undertake a placement year in which you gain relevant work experience within an external business, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and the placements team.

Training social scientists of the future

Through our Q-Step Affiliate Status, we offer you the opportunity to follow a specialised pathway that embeds quantitative methods in your degree. Successful completion of specified modules entitles you to receive the qualifier ‘(Applied Quantitative Methods)' at the end of your degree title, for example BA Sociology (Applied Quantitative Methods) and this will appear on your transcript. You can also receive student bursaries to go on work placements, helping you stand out when applying for jobs.

If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

Our expert staff

Our lecturing staff are actively researching at the cutting edge of their respective disciplines and wherever possible bring the very latest research findings into the classroom. All are prominent writers and the criminology team collectively authored the best-selling criminology textbook, ‘Criminology: A Sociological Introduction', used on undergraduate courses across the country.

Our staff have worked at local, national and international level with bodies like local councils, the Home Office, Amnesty International and the United Nations.

Core staff on this programme include:

• Professor Anna Sergi

  Professor Anna Sergi researches how organised crime groups form and how they influence everyday life, from trade to politics. She explores ways of identifying and countering the dangers of mafia infiltration, focusing specifically on the ‘ndrangheta, one of the world's most extensive and powerful criminal organizations.

• Professor Eamonn Carrabine

  Professor Eamonn Carrabine has published widely in criminology and sociology. He is most well-known for his award winning research on visual criminology, and he is currently writing a series of books on the ‘iconography of punishment'. The first of which concentrates on representations of punishment in medieval and renaissance worlds, indicating that the relationships between the history of art and history of punishment are closer and stranger than we might think. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief on the British Journal of Criminology, and between 2015 to 2019 Michele Brown (University of Tennessee) and Eamonn co-edited the journal Crime, Media, Culture.

• Dr Samuel Singler

  Samuel's research in Border Criminology focuses on the impact of border security technologies on the criminalisation of migration, with empirical work on the International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) initiatives in Nigeria. He integrates pragmatism and performativity into criminological theory to study technology. Holding a DPhil in Criminology and an MPhil in International Relations from Oxford, he has lectured at Oxford, the University of Law, and Roehampton. He has worked as a border management consultant for the IOM and contributed to research at RAND Europe and Cambridge University. Since 2020, he has been an Associate Director for Events with the Border Criminologies network.

• Dr Darren Thiel

  Darren studied sociology at the London School of Economics, completing his PhD there in 2006, which was awarded the Robert McKenzie prize for outstanding academic performance. His book, Builders, based on his PhD thesis was a finalist in the British Sociological Association's 2013 Philip Abrams memorial prize for the best first sole-authored book in sociology. Following his PhD studies, Darren worked as researcher at the Home Office and at the Police Foundation, before taking up his post at the University of Essex.

• Dr Alejandra De Leon

  Alejandra Diaz De Leon is a qualitative researcher specialising in undocumented migration. Her work employs ethnography, qualitative interviews, and participant observation in both Mexico and the United States. Her research focuses on two primary areas. The first explores transit migration, violence, and trust, examining ethnographically how Central American migrants in transit through Mexico build trust and bonds to survive and support one another. She has recently published a book on this topic. Her second area of research investigates how humanitarian actors and migrants perceive the climate crisis as a factor driving migration. This three-year project involves a team conducting fieldwork in migrant shelters along Mexico's migration route, interviewing migrants, activists, and stakeholders.

Specialist facilities

• Our Centre for Criminology hosts expert speakers and practitioners
• A unique Student Study Centre where you can get help with your studies, access examples of previous students' work, and attend workshops on research skills
• The common room is open all day Monday-Friday, has a hot drinks vending machine, water cooler and microwave as well as a small number of lockers available
• Links with the Institute of Social and Economic Research, which conducts large-scale survey projects and has its own library, and the UK Data Archive, which stores national research data like the British Crime Survey
• Our students' Sociology Society, a forum for the exchange of ideas, arranging talks by visiting speakers, introducing you to various career pathways, and organising debates

Your future

Careers linked to criminology are varied. Our courses provide an excellent training for work within the criminal justice system, for example as community safety officers, risk assessors, court managers, researchers, paralegals, police officers, probation officers and youth workers.

Our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• The Institute of Public Finance
• Guardian Professional
• United
• Synergy Healthcare Research
• National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
• Home Office

We also work with the University's Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Enhance your degree and demonstrate your quantitative skills with Q-Step. By following the Q-Step pathway of modules within your existing course, you will graduate from Essex with a qualifier award at the end of your degree, signalling to employers your capability in highly sought after quantitative research skills.

Clearing entry requirements

We currently have places available in Clearing across a range of our courses with most offers at BBC-CCD (112 – 88 UCAS tariff points) or equivalent. We consider each application individually and requirements may be lower for some of our courses, so please get in touch if your grades are below those outlined here.

English language requirements

English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.

Details of English language requirements, including component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here

If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.

English language shelf-life

If you require a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.

Pre-sessional English courses

If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.

Pending English language qualifications

You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.

If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please email ugquery@essex.ac.uk .

Requirements for second and final year entry

Different requirements apply for second and final year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK. Details of English language requirements, including UK Visas and Immigration minimum component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here

Additional Notes

If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation.

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.

Placement

On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

Year abroad

On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree. Our Programme Specification gives more detail on modules in your year abroad.

Teaching

• Undergraduate students in the Department of Sociology and Criminology typically attend a one-hour lecture and a one-hour class for each module per week. There are some variations in place depending on the module.
• Teaching is arranged to allow a lot of freedom in how you organise your learning experience, with a focus on discussion and problem-solving
• Lab sessions to improve technical research skills

Assessment

• Assessed through a combination of written coursework and end-of-year examinations
• Weighting is 50% coursework and 50% examinations
• Complete a supervised dissertation on the topic that most inspires you