Criminology and Sociology

Criminology and sociology is a combination that equips you to understand crime and social control within their broadest social context. Criminology asks who offends, under what conditions, and how societies respond through policing, courts, and punishment, drawing on a rich body of theoretical traditions from classical deterrence theory through labelling theory, strain theory, and critical criminology. Sociology provides the wider framework, examining how social structures, class, ethnicity, gender, and power shape not only who is defined as criminal but how institutions and communities function more broadly.

Together they give you a sophisticated and critical understanding of the social world.

At Cardiff University, this three-year full-time programme benefits from Cardiff's strong social science tradition and its location in the Welsh capital, which provides a rich context for studying social inequality, urban life, and the institutions of criminal justice. You will develop skills in qualitative and quantitative social research, engaging with survey data, interviews, ethnographic methods, and the critical evaluation of official statistics. The theoretical dimension of the programme is taken seriously: you will engage with the major traditions of criminological and sociological thought, learning not just what those traditions say but why they matter and where they are contested.

Cardiff has a well-established school of social sciences with active research in both criminology and sociology, and students benefit from proximity to the Welsh Government, the National Assembly, and a range of voluntary and statutory organisations working in criminal justice and social welfare.

Graduates work in the criminal justice system, social work, probation, the police, youth justice, education, policy research, journalism, and the voluntary sector. The analytical and research skills the degree develops are valued across a wide range of professional contexts, and many graduates continue to postgraduate study in criminology, sociology, social policy, or professional training routes in social work, law, or education.