MA Criminology

Year of entry: 2024

Overview

Degree awarded
Master of Arts (MA)
Duration
1 year (full-time); 2 years (part-time)
Entry requirements

We require a UK bachelor's degree with a First or Upper Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline.

When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.

Full entry requirements

How to apply
Apply online

Course options

Full-time Part-time Full-time distance learning Part-time distance learning
MA Y Y N N

Course overview

  • Develop your intellectual, critical and analytic skills in the academic areas of criminology and criminal justice.
  • Explore the interactions between politics, criminology and criminal justice, and the impact of public policy in these areas. 
  • Study a high-level course to prepare you for a wide range of career paths. 
  • Study at a university ranked first in the UK for Criminology (The Guardian Ranking by Subject 2021).
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Study Criminology at The University of Manchester

Open days

The University holds regular open days, where you will have the opportunity to find out more about our facilities and courses.

See open days for more information.

Fees

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2024, the tuition fees are as follows:

  • MA (full-time)
    UK students (per annum): £13,500
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £26,500
  • MA (part-time)
    UK students (per annum): £6,750
    International, including EU, students (per annum): £13,250

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1,000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

Contact details

School/Faculty
School of Social Sciences
Contact name
School of Social Sciences Admissions Office
Telephone
+44 (0) 161 804 9198
Email
Website
https://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/criminology/
School/Faculty

Courses in related subject areas

Use the links below to view lists of courses in related subject areas.

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview

We require a UK bachelor's degree with a First or Upper Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline.

When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.

English language

Applicants whose first language is not English should meet the following language requirements:

  • IELTS Academic test score of 7 overall, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5
  • TOEFL IBT 100 with 25 in writing and no further score below 22 in each section. TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757
  • Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 76 overall, with 76 in writing and no further score below 70

Pre-Sessional English Courses

We will consider applicants who do not meet these scores but you may be required to complete a pre-sessional English language course at the University of Manchester prior to the start of the course.

To be considered for a pre-sessional English language course for this programme we require the following minimum IELTS (Academic) scores:

6 Week Pre-Sessional Course : IELTS 6.5 overall with 6.5 in writing and no more than one sub-skill of 6.0.

10 Week Pre-sessional Course : IELTS 6.0 overall with 6.0 or above in each sub-skill 

If you have not yet completed your current academic study and are interested in studying a pre-sessional course, you must hold an IELTS for UKVI (Academic) test certificate to ensure that you are eligible for a separate visa for the English language course.

English language test validity

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

Applicants from Majority English-speaking countries

If you are a national of a   majority English-speaking country   (or have studied for a full bachelor's degree or higher from one of these countries) you may be exempt from submitting further evidence of English language proficiency.

Other international entry requirements

We accept a range of qualifications from across the globe. To help international students, the university provides specific information for many individual countries. Please see our  country-specific information page   for guidance on the academic and English language qualifications which may be accepted from your country.

Application and selection

How to apply

Advice to applicants

Apply online

Please note, due to the high volume of applications we receive the course may close before the advertised deadline and as such, early application is advised.

If you meet our entry requirements but we are unable to make you an offer you may be placed on a waiting list. Candidates on a waiting list will receive an offer only if places become available.

Re-applications

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

Course details

Course description

The MA in Criminology course allows you to develop specialist knowledge of the current themes and historical debates surrounding crime causation, crime control and regulation of behaviour.

The course equips you with the intellectual, critical, and analytical skills needed for understanding and applying criminological theories and concepts in practice. The course also provides an in-depth understanding of the interactions between politics, criminology and criminal justice, and the impact of public policy in these areas.

This innovative course is taught by experts from sociological, legal, and psychological backgrounds with real-world experience. You will benefit from research-led teaching, as well as strong links to wider criminal justice professions and industry.

Aims

  • Develop your intellectual, critical and analytic skills in the academic areas of criminology and criminal justice.
  • Provide you a thorough understanding of the key theoretical and political positions, and concepts within criminology and criminal justice. As well as the ability to use this knowledge in sophisticated ways in the critical assessment and development of public policy and interventions.
  • Provide you with the opportunity to explore a range of optional courses on particular areas of study that are either professionally relevant or of academic interest.
  • Improve your quantitative and qualitative research method skills in a way that is consistent with the demands of the discipline and the professional market.
  • Develop your appreciation for interdisciplinary studies as the only way to confront the complexity of our object of study, an interest in the applied dimension of scientific knowledge and the awareness of the ethical implications of the scientific criminological project.
  • Enhance your transferable skills including proficiency in oral and written communication; the capacity for independent learning; the ability to reflect on the ethical and ideological components of your work; and the capacity for working co-operatively with others to produce professional outputs in a timely fashion.
  • Develop criminological knowledge and research skills for the writing of a master's dissertation.

Special features

The School of Social Sciences works in partnership with institutions outside the higher education sector to enable you to produce research with a wider relevance and develop your knowledge and expertise.  

We are dedicated to shaping policy-making and practice nationally and internationally in diverse areas including drug policy, domestic abuse and policing.

Teaching and learning

This course is taught by an interdisciplinary team using a variety of delivery methods:

  • lectures;
  • workshops;
  • student-led presentations and debate;
  • group work;
  • individual research.

Coursework and assessment

  Most course units are assessed by 3,500-word essay or by essay and presentation.

Course unit details

You will be taking 180 credits in total for a master's degree, 120 of which will be taught course units and the remaining 60 credits, a compulsory research component, in the form of a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation.

Course units are worth 15 or 30 credits each. You will be required to select course units to a total of 120 credits, and so must choose a minimum of four course units or a maximum of eight course units. The availability of individual optional course units is subject to change (due, among other factors, to staff availability to deliver the course units in any given year).

Your dissertation must be within the area of one of the units you have chosen. The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two, designed to improve your legal writing and research skills.

Dissertation

  • Supervised summer dissertation of 12-15,000 words.

Exit awards

Students who fail to fulfil the requirements to pass the 180 credits necessary to attain the final degree of MA can leave the course with the award of Postgraduate Diploma by passing 120 credits at the pass mark of 40%, or can qualify for the Postgraduate Certificate by passing 60 credits at the pass mark of 40%.  Students who do not fulfil the criteria for passing the taught element of the course at the Masters' level of 50% will not be permitted to progress to the dissertation element of the course, and will leave the course with the highest award that the credits that have been passed will allow.

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Dissertation (MA Criminology) CRIM62000 60 Mandatory
Advanced Theoretical Criminology CRIM70501 15 Mandatory
Evaluating Policy & Practice CRIM70542 15 Mandatory
Criminal Justice Research & Policy CRIM70561 15 Mandatory
Research Design SOCY60401 15 Mandatory
PG Crime Mapping: an introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis CRIM60142 15 Optional
White-Collar, Corporate and Environmental Crime CRIM61142 15 Optional
Necrocriminology: Human Remains and Mass Violence. CRIM70102 15 Optional
Drugs: Markets, Policies and Consumption CRIM70572 15 Optional
Data Analysis with R & RStudio CRIM70821 15 Optional
Qualitative Research Methods CRIM71361 15 Optional
Prisons: Exploring the Carceral World to the UK CRIM72212 15 Optional
Research Strategy and Project Management SOCY60412 15 Optional
Creating a Sustainable World: Interdisciplinary Applications of the Sustainable Development Goals UCIL60312 15 Optional
Displaying 10 of 14 course units

Scholarships and bursaries

We offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and merit awards to outstanding applicants and international students.

In addition, the Manchester Alumni Scholarship Scheme offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a first-class bachelor's degree and are progressing to a postgraduate taught master's course.

For more information, see fees and funding or  search the University's postgraduate funding database .

What our students say

The highlight of my course has been taking Data Analysis and Crime Mapping course units. Both areas have opened many opportunities for me in the field of criminology.

Prerna Meshram, Criminology MA

Facilities

As a School of Social Sciences student, you are supported by first-class resources.

As well as access to networked study areas and one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the country, The University of Manchester Library .

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk

Careers

Career opportunities

This master's offers you the specialist knowledge attractive for a range of criminal justice careers, in areas such as local and central government and criminal justice agencies, for example:

  • as a criminal intelligence analyst within the police;
  • probation services;
  • the voluntary sector and NGOs;
  • pressure groups; and
  • think-tanks.

It also allows you to develop skills applicable to jobs in social research, management, third sector services, social work, and teaching.

The University has its own dedicated Careers Service that you would have full access to as a student and for two years after you graduate. At Manchester you will have access to a number of opportunities to help boost your employability .