Criminal Justice and Criminology BA (Hons)

University of Kent

What causes crime rates to rise or fall, and who benefits? How can we deal with offenders? Can crime be prevented? Studying Criminal Justice and Criminology, you assess all areas of the criminal justice system, from prevention to sentencing, developing your own view of what works and what doesn’t.

The School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research is one of the best in the country for teaching and research. Our academics are internationally recognised for their expertise and challenge you to develop your own opinions and ideas, encouraging you to become an independent thinker. We offer high levels of support and our staff are friendly and accessible.

Reasons to study Criminal Justice and Criminology at Kent

• Criminal Justice and Criminology is recognised by Skills for Justice (the skills and standard-setting body for the justice sector) as providing education of outstanding quality and relevance.
• You gain the skills needed for careers in the criminal justice professions in the public and private sectors.
• Excellent links with local agencies, such as the probation and youth justice services, the police and social services.
• Criminology at Kent achieved the second highest score for research quality in The Times Good University Guide 2023.
• Take a year in professional practice to boost employability.
• Our School is consistently ranked among the top four disciplinary centres of its kind in the UK for Criminology.

What you’ll learn

You gain an in-depth understanding of the criminal justice system. You learn principal concepts and theoretical approaches in criminology as well as the social processes that shape contemporary society.

Our teaching is interdisciplinary, grounding key issues in criminal justice and criminology within a wider sociological and social policy context. As you progress through the course, you can choose from a wide range of modules that allow you to focus on areas of particular interest to you.