Programme description
The Department of Criminology has specialists in research around five key themes:
- Fraud, white-collar and organised crime;
- Prisons, punishment and policing;
- Violence, abuse, exploitation and intersectionalities;
- Quantitative measurement and evaluations of crime and deviance;
- Drug markets, consumption and policy.
The School welcomes applications that fit with the particular specialisms of our research staff. For example, we currently have grants in the areas of desistance, fraud, drugs, cryptomarkets, modern slavery, corruption, organised crime, policing and punishment, amongst others.
In addition, the department has extensive skills in diverse methodologies, including:
- biographical and narrative approaches to interviewing;
- ethnography;
- psychosocial case analysis;
- network analysis;
- deliberative methods;
- qualitative and quantitative longitudinal research;
- survey design and applied statistical analysis;
- programme evaluation;
- policy analysis.
Aims
- Engage in state-of-the-art doctoral research investigating a diverse array of social and criminological issues.
- Work closely with research centres which specialise in research clustered around five key themes: drugs, violence, fraud, social exclusion and justice innovation
Special features
- The School of Social Sciences is a proud member of the Economic and Social Research Council’s North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership and is approved by the Arts and Humanities Research Council to award funded studentships, both of which provide extensive training across the region.
- We are a member of the N8 Policing Research Partnership.
- We are also able to host Commonwealth and Fullbright Scholarships, as well as annually advertised School funded studentships in addition to industry and public sector funded PhDs.
Additional programme information
Humanities Doctoral Academy
Our Humanities Doctoral Academy combines the strengths of our four schools to bring expertise, knowledge, support and high-quality services for postgraduate researchers.
We are a community of academic leaders and postgraduate researchers across all levels in the Faculty of Humanities. The Doctoral Academy Hub houses our specialist professional service teams who support postgraduate researchers throughout the programme journey. This includes admissions, registration, student experience, progression, examination, and graduation. We collaborate closely with other University directorates including Manchester Doctoral College, Researcher Development team, and the corresponding Doctoral Academies in the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health. Together we provide the best experience and support for your studies and research.
EDI
Equality, diversity and inclusion is fundamental to the success of The University of Manchester, and is at the heart of all of our activities.
We know that diversity strengthens our research community, leading to enhanced research creativity, productivity and quality, and societal and economic impact.
We actively encourage applicants from diverse career paths and backgrounds and from all sections of the community, regardless of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and transgender status.
All appointments are made on merit.
The University of Manchester and our external partners are fully committed to equality, diversity and inclusion.
Teaching and learning
Distinguished academic researchers working at the forefront of their disciplines lead our research programmes, ensuring your qualification comes with a reputation that will open doors across the world. Our research activities and postgraduate research programmes are also informed by close partnerships with organisations from many different sectors.
Coursework and assessment
For a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), you must successfully complete a period of supervised research and training, the results of which show convincing evidence of your capacity to pursue research and scholarship, and to make an original contribution and substantial addition to knowledge.
You must prepare a substantial thesis, usually of no more than 80,000 words and satisfy the examiners in an oral examination on the subject of the thesis. The subject is chosen by the PGR but must be approved by the School's Research Committee.
Related research
REF 2021
In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021), Criminology was assessed as part of The University of Manchester's 'Law' submission.
82% of our research was judged to be in the highest two categories: (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
Our research impact was also judged to be strong, with 100% judged to be (4*) 'world-leading' or (3*) 'internationally excellent'.
Read more about our Criminology research at Manchester.
What our students say
Facilities
The University of Manchester Library
Manchester is home to one of the UK's five National Research Libraries - one of the best-resourced academic libraries in the UK and widely recognised as one of the world's greatest research libraries.
Find out more about libraries and study spaces for postgraduate research students at Manchester.