MSc Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Research
- Programme director
- Jane Fielding
- Programme length
- Full-time: 12 months, Part-time: 24 months
- Programme start date
- September 2013
This programme will enable you to think logically, design, conduct and manage effective research and evaluation.
Programme overview
This programme combines modules in academic criminology and the criminal justice system with training in the full range of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This combination of analytic criminological knowledge and applied research skills ensures that you will develop a sophisticated understanding of the key issues, problems and perspectives in contemporary criminology, enabling you to pursue a successful career in academia, research or criminology/criminal justice policy or practice areas.
Our unique emphasis on research methodology means that you will be able to think logically and in an informed manner about criminological problems, and be able to design, conduct and manage effective research and evaluation.
The programme is aimed at applicants with the following academic interests or professional experience:
- Graduates with an appropriate first degree who are interested in gaining advanced knowledge about issues connected with crime, deviance and control, and social research
- Graduates and practitioners conducting research on crime, deviance or the criminal justice system, or considering a PhD in this area
- Practitioners in the criminal justice system and related government and voluntary agencies who wish to develop and expand their knowledge of the wider issues connected to crime and its control, and social research
Entry requirements
Applications are welcomed from those who have an undergraduate degree in criminology, social, behavioural or human sciences, law or a related discipline, or a professional qualification or experience relevant to the MSc degree.
English language requirements
IELTS minimum overall: 7.0
IELTS minimum by component:
6.0
Fees and funding
All fees are subject to increase or review for subsequent academic years. Please note that not all visa routes permit part-time study and overseas students entering the UK on a Tier 4 visa will not be permitted to study on a part-time basis.
| Programme name | Study mode | Start date | UK/EU fees | Overseas fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSc Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Research | Full-time | Sept 2013 | £5,155 | £12,845 |
| MSc Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Research | Part-time | Sept 2013 | £2,770 | £6,615 |
Funding
The Department of Sociology has a strong track record of attracting ESRC funding for PhD students. The Department of Sociology manages the ESRC-funded South East Doctoral Training Consortium which offers doctoral training in association with the Universities of Kent, Reading and Royal Holloway. The MSc Criminology, Criminal Justice and Social Research can comprise the training component of a 1+3 PhD studentship in Sociology within the Doctoral Training Consortium. Opportunities to apply for ESRC doctoral funding via the Doctoral Training Consortium will be advertised annually on the departmental website.
University research studentships and overseas research support studentships will also be advertised on the departmental website as they become available, as will studentships linked to ESRC or EU-funded departmental research projects.
Bursaries for 2013/14 entry
One bursary may be available for each of the Department’s MSc courses, to be awarded on a competitive basis to self-funding students offered a place on the MSc for the academic year 2013/14. Bursaries will be paid in the form of a partial fee remission. Bursaries and deadlines for 2013/14 will be advertised on the departmental website.
Programme content
Core Modules
- Crime and Offending
- Criminal Justice System
- Criminological Theory
- Data Analysis
- Field Methods
- Research: From Design to Dissemination
- Law, Society and Social Control
- Research and Evaluation in Crime and Criminal Justice
- Dissertation
Core Modules
Crime and Offending
This module critically addresses the nature and extent of crime and offending, drugs and antisocial behaviour, and the strategies to prevent and reduce the occurrence of crime.
Criminal Justice System
This module focuses on all the key components of the criminal justice system: policing and the police, the courts and sentencing, prisons, probation and community penalties.
Criminological Theory
You will gain familiarity with the main theories that have been proposed to explain criminal behaviour and justify punishment and other responses to offending.
Data Analysis
The aim of this module is to provide you with a grounding in the basic principles of quantitative data analysis and statistical methods.
Field Methods
This module aims to provide students with a firm methodological basis for conducting various forms of qualitative analysis. Principal data sources are observational fieldnotes, interview transcripts and video.
Research: From Design to Dissemination
You will work in small groups to research a contemporary issue in criminology and present the findings to your peers and colleagues at a day conference in the spring.
Law, Society and Social Control
This module explores how law interacts with other modes of social control in relation to various aspects of the institutional and structural orders of contemporary societies.
Research and Evaluation in Crime and Criminal Justice
This module addresses some of the major methodological, technical and practical aspects of research and evaluation in criminology.
Dissertation
Students individually research a topic and prepare a dissertation of not more than 15,000 words.
Programme Structure
For students undertaking full-time study, the programme runs for two semesters (12 months). Students on the part-time mode of study will undertake modules over four semesters (24 months, attending one day per week).
Criminology modules
The modules on criminology examine the extent of crime, the operation of the criminal justice system, and legal and social construction. Established and leading-edge perspectives and techniques that have been applied to problems of crime and its control are covered. They include:
- Measuring and auditing levels of crime
- Sexual and violent crime
- Criminal intelligence analysis
- Crime investigation techniques
- Sentencing, prisons, punishment and community controls
- Theories of law and social control
- Multi-agency frameworks
- Risk management and regulatory compliance frameworks
- Policing paradigms
- Surveillance, new technology and control
- Risk assessment and prediction
- Crime reduction and community safety
- Domestic violence
Research methods modules
The modules on research methods cover both qualitative and quantitative techniques. These include:
- Designing and implementing evaluation measures for criminal justice programmes
- Statistical inference and modelling
- Data management with SPSS
- Interview techniques for social science research
- Field methods and observational techniques
- Computer-assisted qualitative data analysis
Professional recognition
The programme has Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) recognition for providing an appropriate foundation to undertake a part-time or full-time PhD.
Contact hours
The total contact time for core assessed modules is 189 hours.
Students may opt to spend time undertaking additional, non-assessed modules.
We do not estimate self-study time in our module totals.
Department of Sociology
The Department is a leading centre of applied social research and methodological innovation, with an international reputation for excellence in both research and teaching.
In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, we were ranked joint sixth out of all the sociology departments in the UK. This reflects our excellence in research and publications, and the high quality of our research environment. We also achieved second place in the most recent National Student Survey, which reflects our commitment to the highest quality teaching.
Eight members of staff comprise the Criminology and Criminal Justice Group; they all teach on the MSc programme and are active in research on criminological topics including policing, prisons, sentencing and offending.
Conferences
A residential weekend conference, usually held in Bournemouth, is attended by all programme members, PhD students and teaching staff in November. This provides a less formal atmosphere for discussions concerning criminology, research and related themes; it includes lectures from eminent guest speakers and members of staff, seminars and small group discussions.
A day conference is held on campus which includes lecturers from guest speakers and presentations from students on the programme.
Sociology research
The Department of Sociology is internationally recognised as a centre of research excellence. A particular area of strength is research methodology and research training. Our research is organised into six groupings which reflect contemporary concerns:
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Developments in Methodology
- Identities, Generation and Everyday Life
- Media, Culture and Communication
- Science, Environment and Technologies
- Work, Organisations and Inequalities
In addition to the research groups, members of staff undertake a wide variety of internationally renowned individual scholarship including work on gender, employment, organisations, cross-national survey, culture, ethnicity, language and communication, sociological theory, childhood, youth and identities, sociology of sleep and the sociology of social policy.
Three leading journals are edited in the Department:
- Ethnic and Racial Studies
- Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation (JASSS)
- Popular Communication: International Journal of Media and Culture
The Department’s commitment to developing technical competence in research methods, and encouraging the use of appropriate information and communication technologies in social research, is reflected in the fact that it houses the UK national centre for software for qualitative data analysis (CAQDAS). The Centre for Research on Simulation in the Social Sciences (CRESS) applies computer simulation to the understanding of social phenomena.
The Department’s Institute of Social Research runs a successful international fellowship scheme which enables international researchers to visit Surrey each year. These strengths in research, and in innovative research methods in particular, feed into our master’s-level teaching and inform the continued updating of content within modules. A further departmental research centre, the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender (CRAG), brings together social scientific expertise to conduct policy-relevant research on gender and ageing. There are also strong research links between members of the Sociology Department and the Digital World Research Centre.
Placements
A distinctive component of the MSc is the opportunity to undertake a placement at a criminal justice agency or research institute for four weeks during the spring break. The practical experience and insights gained reinforce formal learning.
Career opportunities
Recent graduates from the programme have been appointed to posts in the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice. Others have joined the police service as police officers, researchers or crime analysts. Several have joined commercial research companies, firms of solicitors and voluntary sector organisations involved in criminal justice issues (including domestic violence and missing persons).
Several students are pursuing PhD research study and part-time students are continuing their careers.
Department links
Contact us
For general enquiries
0800 980 3200 or +44 (0)1483 681 681
For admissions enquiries
+44 (0)1483 681 681