Law with Criminology

Law with Criminology is a combination that examines both the formal legal system and the social science that interrogates how and why it works, or fails to work, as it does. Law gives you the analytical framework to understand legislation, precedent, and legal argument, and the technical competence to apply legal rules to factual situations. Criminology provides the sociological and psychological perspective to ask bigger questions: why crime occurs, who is criminalised, whether legal responses are effective, and what justice actually means in practice.

Together they create a degree with both technical legal depth and critical social intelligence.

At Abertay University, this four-year full-time programme includes a year abroad and is distinctive as Scotland's only undergraduate Law with Criminology degree. You will study Scots law alongside criminological theory, examining criminal justice, crime causation, policing, punishment, and the experiences of victims and offenders within the legal system. The programme allows you to apply criminological analysis to legal questions, which is precisely the kind of integrated thinking that is valuable in public service, legal practice, and policy contexts.

The year abroad gives you experience of a different legal and criminal justice system, broadening your comparative perspective.

Graduates from Law with Criminology pursue a range of careers. Many go on to legal training, qualifying as solicitors or advocates in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK. Others move into the criminal justice system as prosecutors, legal advisers, or in roles with the police, probation service, or Crown Office.

Policy, research, victim support, youth justice, and public affairs are also well-established destinations. The criminological perspective makes graduates particularly well suited to roles at the intersection of law, policy, and social justice.