Criminology with Sociology

Criminology with Sociology examines crime and deviance not as isolated phenomena but as products of the social conditions, power relations, and institutional arrangements that define them. Criminology brings specific focus to questions of offending, victimisation, policing, and punishment, while sociology provides the broader theoretical tools for understanding inequality, identity, social structure, and the institutions through which societies reproduce themselves and manage conflict. Together the two disciplines offer a sophisticated lens for understanding why some behaviours come to be defined as criminal, whose interests are served by particular approaches to justice, and how systems of law and enforcement operate in practice.

At the University of Liverpool, you will study Criminology with Sociology over three years, full time, with a year abroad built into the programme. The year abroad gives you direct exposure to different national approaches to crime, justice, and social policy, which can deepen your comparative understanding and broaden your academic and professional network. You will engage with the major theoretical traditions in criminology, from classical deterrence to critical, feminist, and cultural perspectives, and develop sociological tools for analysing social structure, power, and inequality.

Research methods are central to both disciplines, and you will develop both quantitative and qualitative skills that are essential for graduate employment and further study. The programme encourages you to connect academic analysis with real-world debates about justice, inequality, and social change.

Graduates pursue careers in criminal justice, social work, youth services, community development, probation, policy, research, and journalism. The analytical and communication skills developed through this degree are broadly valued by employers in the public, voluntary, and private sectors. Many graduates continue into postgraduate study in criminology, sociology, social work, public policy, or law, and some pursue academic research careers in these disciplines.