Sociology with Criminology

Sociology with Criminology combines two disciplines that share a fundamental concern with how societies are organised, how power operates within them and how individuals and groups experience, respond to and resist the structures that shape their lives. Sociology provides the broader theoretical framework, examining the forces that produce social inequality, how institutions function, how cultures form and change and how social research is conducted. Criminology narrows this lens to the specific questions of what gets defined as crime, why crime occurs, how criminal justice systems respond and whether those responses are effective and fair.

Together, they produce graduates with a sophisticated understanding of social life and its most contested dimensions.

At the University of Liverpool, this full-time three-year programme is structured so that sociology forms the majority of your studies, giving you a comprehensive and critically informed understanding of the forces that structure everyday life, while criminology provides a focused and applied specialisation. You will build a strong conceptual foundation in social theory, both classic and contemporary, and develop practical social research skills. A year abroad broadens your comparative perspective significantly, exposing you to different national traditions of sociological and criminological scholarship and different ways of organising criminal justice.

Optional modules allow you to tailor the degree to your particular interests as you progress.

Sociology with Criminology graduates go on to careers in the criminal justice system, social work, youth work, probation, community development, human resources, policy research, journalism and the voluntary sector. The research and analytical skills the degree develops are also valued in marketing, public relations, the civil service and management consultancy. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in sociology, criminology, social policy, social work or law, and the degree provides a strong foundation for doctoral research in social science.