Course summary

With crime frequently in the news and increasingly an important issue, criminology has never been more relevant. The Criminology BA Honours aims to enthuse, inspire and equip you with the skills for a successful career in today's competitive job market. Criminology draws on a wide range of disciplines, and the course has been designed to develop your knowledge and understanding of criminology as an interdisciplinary subject area. It will also equip you with the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development. Westminster's criminologists are concerned with who commits crimes and how offenders should be punished, but at the heart of criminology are fundamental questions about how 'crime' is defined, how criminal law is made, and how definitions of crime and justice vary historically and cross-culturally. Where better to study this fascinating discipline than in the heart of the UK's policing and criminal justice systems? Contemporary concerns are reflected as the subject engages with globalisation and culture across theoretical, qualitative and empirical domains. Our graduates develop careers in a wide range of sectors including the police and policing-support organisations, the National Probation Service, local government and crime prevention. We utilise our central London location to facilitate off-site learning, with visits to the High Court of Justice, theatres and a prison. In Year 3, there is an opportunity to take part in a field trip, which, for example, in 2023 took students to the Baltic states, visiting criminal justice institutions.