Criminology and Psychology

Criminology and psychology together provide a particularly productive combination for understanding crime, offending, and the experience of those caught in the criminal justice system. Criminology examines the social, structural, and institutional dimensions of crime: why crime occurs, who is most likely to be criminalised, what consequences flow from criminal justice decisions, and how societies might better address criminal behaviour. Psychology provides the tools to examine individual minds, developmental pathways, and the psychological processes that underlie both criminal behaviour and the experience of victimisation and justice.

At Liverpool Hope University, this programme takes both disciplines seriously. You will explore how crime is defined, who makes those decisions and why, what drives people to commit crimes, and what happens in the criminal justice system, alongside the psychological theories that explain individual differences in behaviour, the effects of adverse childhood experiences, the psychology of decision-making under stress, and the mental health dimensions of offending and imprisonment. The course includes a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement, giving you professional and international experience across the programme.

Graduates from criminology and psychology programmes are well placed for careers in probation, forensic services, the prison service, victim support, social work, the police, mental health services, community justice, research, and policy. The combination is also a strong basis for postgraduate training in forensic or clinical psychology. Further study options include professional doctorates in forensic psychology, postgraduate programmes in criminology, and training routes into social work and clinical practice.