Criminology with Psychology

Criminology with psychology is a combination that examines crime, deviance, and the criminal justice system through the twin lenses of social science and psychological science. Criminology asks why crime happens, how it is distributed across society, how the criminal justice system responds to it, and whether those responses are effective and just, drawing on sociology, law, and social policy. Psychology brings a different toolkit, examining the mental processes, developmental pathways, and behavioural dynamics that contribute to criminal behaviour and shape how individuals experience and respond to crime and punishment.

At London South Bank University this three-year full-time programme is being refreshed from September 2026 with new modules and a stronger emphasis on work-based learning, including more content on London as a laboratory for understanding crime and cultural change, and on the media's relationship to crime and public perception. This applied and London-centred approach reflects LSBU's commitment to connecting academic study to the realities of professional practice in a major urban environment where criminal justice issues are vivid and immediate.

Graduates from criminology with psychology programmes work in the probation service, youth offending, prison service, social work, victim support, community safety, and the voluntary sector. The psychological knowledge developed alongside criminological understanding is also applicable in human resources, health and social care, and research. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in criminology, social work, forensic psychology, or law, and some go on to the further professional training required to work as registered psychologists in forensic or clinical settings.

The work-based learning focus makes this programme particularly well suited to graduates who want to enter directly into professional practice in criminal justice or social care.