Law with Criminology

Law with criminology is a combination that takes legal education beyond the technical study of rules and into a broader examination of how the law deals with crime, what drives criminal behaviour, and whether the criminal justice system achieves its stated aims of justice, deterrence, and rehabilitation. Law provides the doctrinal knowledge of criminal and civil law, the skills of legal reasoning and argument, and the procedural understanding of how cases are investigated, prosecuted, and decided. Criminology adds the social scientific perspective, examining the causes of crime, the experiences of victims and offenders, the operation of the police, courts and prisons, and the relationship between law, power, and inequality.

At Sheffield Hallam University, this part-time LLB (Hons) with foundation year gives you a thorough grounding in both disciplines. The foundation year prepares you for degree-level study in law and criminology before you move into the main programme. You will develop in-depth knowledge of criminal justice and law in both theory and practice, gaining experience through the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice Hubs, on-campus legal service providers, and partnerships with external organisations.

The sandwich year provides structured professional experience in the justice or legal sector, and work placement is integrated throughout. The programme is designed to be shaped around your interests, values, and aspirations, preparing you for graduate careers both within and beyond the formal justice sector.

You will develop skills in legal analysis and argument alongside the empirical and critical perspective that criminology brings, producing a graduate able to think carefully about both the rules and the realities of the justice system.

Graduates go on to work in law, the police, the probation service, the prison service, youth justice, social work, policy, the voluntary sector, and advocacy organisations. Many pursue further professional training to qualify as solicitors, and some continue to postgraduate research in law or criminology.