Criminology

Criminology at Robert Gordon University is a four-year full-time degree that examines crime in its full complexity: its causes, its investigation, its social and psychological dimensions and the responses that legal systems and communities make to it. The discipline spans an unusually wide range of phenomena, from street crime and domestic violence through organised crime, terrorism and cybercrime to financial fraud and environmental harm, and it draws on sociology, psychology, law, policy analysis and social research methods to understand and explain what connects such diverse activities under the label of crime.

You will study criminological theory, from classical deterrence accounts through sociological explanations rooted in inequality and social structure to more recent approaches in psychology, cultural criminology and green criminology. You will also examine how crime is investigated, how evidence is gathered and evaluated, how offenders are processed through the criminal justice system and whether the outcomes, punishment, rehabilitation, deterrence or restoration, achieve their intended aims. RGU's programme takes seriously the full diversity of criminal phenomena, introducing you to gang crime, cybercrime, terrorism and environmental crime alongside more conventional topics.

A typical entry tariff of around 136 points is expected.

Graduates pursue careers in criminal justice agencies including the police, courts, probation and prison services, as well as in social work, community development, research, policy analysis, journalism and the voluntary sector. Many go on to postgraduate study in criminology, criminal justice, forensic psychology or law, deepening their expertise before moving into specialist roles. The combination of analytical rigour and social awareness that a criminology degree develops is valued across a broad range of employers wherever understanding crime, risk and justice matters.