Sociology and Criminology

Sociology and Criminology is a combination that brings together the broad study of how societies work with a specialist focus on crime, criminal behaviour and the systems society has developed in response to them. Sociology gives you the conceptual and methodological tools to examine social structures, inequality and cultural change, while criminology applies those tools specifically to questions of crime: what causes it, who commits it, who is harmed by it and how the criminal justice system responds. The result is a degree that takes crime seriously as a social phenomenon shaped by inequality, identity and institutional power, rather than treating it as simply an individual moral failing.

At the University of Essex this three-year full-time degree develops your understanding of crime, criminal justice and criminal behaviour within wider social contexts, examining how crime is shaped by social structures, identities, inequalities and cultural change. You will develop the theoretical frameworks to understand both sociology and criminology at depth, alongside the research skills to investigate social and criminal justice questions with rigour. Essex has particular strengths in both sociology and criminology, and the combination reflects the disciplines' genuine intellectual affinity.

Graduates from Sociology and Criminology degrees go on to careers in probation and youth justice, social work, the police service, prisons and rehabilitation, community safety, policy research, social research, charity work and journalism. Others find roles in local government, public health, human rights organisations and the civil service. The analytical skills, critical awareness and research competence the degree develops are also valued in a range of private sector contexts.

Postgraduate study in sociology, criminology, social policy, criminal justice or law is a natural continuation for those wishing to develop further expertise.