Criminology and Media & Communication

Criminology and media and communication is a combination that addresses two of the most important ways in which crime and society's response to it are constructed and understood in the contemporary world. Criminology examines why crime happens, who commits it, how it is defined and measured, and how the criminal justice system responds. Media and communication brings a different but complementary lens, examining how crime is represented in news, entertainment, and social media, how those representations shape public attitudes and political responses, and how media institutions both reflect and reinforce social assumptions about crime and deviance.

This four-year, full-time programme at Liverpool Hope includes a foundation year that provides additional preparation before the main degree content, a placement year, and a year abroad, giving you a rich combination of academic formation and practical and international experience. In the criminology strand you will explore the theory and evidence around crime, victimisation, and criminal justice. In the media and communication strand you will study how media texts work, how media organisations function, and how communication technologies are reshaping social and political life.

The combination gives you a distinctive analytical perspective on the relationship between crime and how it is communicated and understood.

Graduates pursue careers across criminology, media, and the space between them. Criminal justice, community safety, victim support, and social work are destinations for those focused on the criminological strand, while journalism, broadcasting, digital communications, and public relations draw those whose interests lie in media. The combination is also well suited to roles in communications for criminal justice organisations, advocacy groups, and public sector bodies.

Further study in criminology, media studies, or communications is a natural extension for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.