Postgraduate Taught

Criminal Justice and Crime Control

A Criminology student leaning against a wall outside Hull Prison
A student in a white protective suit works with a lecturer in the crime scene lab
A criminology student walking down a path with two Humberside Police officers
A student in a white protective suit using the crime scene lab
You’ll be studying at a university with a strong heritage in the subject. We were one of the first to teach criminology degrees over 50 years ago.
We’re one of the few universities with an on-campus crime scene training facility – giving you the chance to get to grips with evidence collection.
You’ll learn how to develop criminal justice and crime control strategies for a career in this life-changing field.
Through a blend of practical and taught sessions, you’ll develop skills, knowledge and confidence in navigating the realities of criminal justice and crime control.
A Criminology student leaning against a wall outside Hull Prison
A student in a white protective suit works with a lecturer in the crime scene lab
A criminology student walking down a path with two Humberside Police officers
A student in a white protective suit using the crime scene lab

Explore global crime concerns and develop skills in designing, analysing and evaluating criminal justice and crime control strategies with our MA in Criminal Justice and Crime Control.

You’ll be taught by a team of expert criminologists from a variety of specialist backgrounds, including law, sociology, psychology, history and politics.

They’ll give you experience of designing, analysing and evaluating criminal justice and crime control strategies so you’re able to navigate the realities of modern criminal justice and crime control as a first-class criminologist.

  • 50+ years

    experience as a leading criminology centre

  • Network with employers

    at our Annual Careers Fair

  • Top 15 in the UK

    for Research Quality 1

  • Taught by leading experts

    for the best learning experience

  • Go hands-on

    and gather evidence at our replica crime scene

Swipe
Course overview
Module options

About this course

Our MA gives you experience of designing, analysing and evaluating criminal justice and crime control strategies.

Taught by world-leading experts, it’s designed to create sophisticated criminologists who can navigate the realities of criminal justice and crime control with confidence, skills and knowledge.

At its heart is a strong focus on communication, research, problem-solving, teamwork and policy analysis. These skills will be developed through the classroom and through practical work with criminal justice and community safety organisations.

Our MA also offers the specialist study of contemporary slavery (human trafficking), reflecting the globally important issue of criminal justice and human rights.

Teaching is blended between weekly two-hour workshops and online support. Assessment is task-based and varied, and includes written essays, oral presentations, events organisation, engagement projects, research projects and problem-solving exercises.

You’ll be supported throughout your studies with academic support tutors working with small groups to provide guidance and advice.

Choose your modules

For a full Masters degree, you'll study 180 credits over the duration of your course. Some programmes offer a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) qualification or a Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) qualification. For a PGDip, you'll study 120 credits, and for a PGCert, you'll study 60 credits.

Global Issues in Criminal Justice and Crime Control

Explore key issues and ‘real world’ problems in criminal justice and crime control in an increasingly globalising world. Using a range of up-to-date research and contemporary concerns about criminal justice and crime control in comparative or global contexts, you will engage with debates, discussion and policy in criminological thought and practice.

Core•20 credits

Doing Research in Criminology and Criminal Justice

Learn about the vital skills of doing research in criminology and criminal justice, concentrating on the different types and rationales of a variety of research methodologies. You will be taught by a combination of lectures and tutorials.

Core•20 credits

Dissertation

What fascinates you? You will make an original contribution to research by designing, carrying out and writing up a project on a topic of your choice, supported by your dissertation supervisor.

Compulsory•60 credits

Contemporary Slavery Studies

Gain a broad and critical overview of systems of slavery and unfree practices historically and across a multitude of contexts. Familiarise yourself with complex theoretical debates on analytical categories such as ‘slavery’, ‘forced labour’, ‘debt bondage’ and how these related to the lived experiences of people across socio-historical contexts. You'll examine a range of cross-disciplinary academic literature and research, including in history, anthropology, sociology, politics, criminology and law. Past and current research at the Wilberforce Institute will contribute to developing a critical and multi-layered understanding of concepts, ideas and public discourses and how these have been moulded and shifted across time.

Optional•20 credits

Competing and Comparative Justice: Values and Ethics in the Criminal Justice Process

This module introduces the complexity of ethical problems that arise in the criminal justice arena, challenging preconceptions of what is “right” and “wrong” in a range of situations in the UK and abroad. You will critically analyse some of the key debates about values underpinning law-making and criminal justice.

Optional•30 credits

Contemporary Crime: Theories and Practice

You will explore contemporary criminological theories explaining criminality and offending behaviour. In addition, you will examine the various strategies in the areas of crime reduction and crime prevention put forward to tackle such behaviour and whether or not these have been successful in addressing certain types of criminality behaviour.

Optional•20 credits

Policing, Security and Intelligence

‘Crime’ is increasingly seen as a global rather than local or national problem. How do we ‘police’ such problems across borders and how do police agencies co-operate to tackle problems like cybercrime or cross border criminal activity? This module will explore models of policing, transnational policing and private security policing as well as debating and exploring the techniques, ethics and accountability of the police in such settings.

Optional•20 credits

Communication and Engagement with Diverse Communities

This module focuses on the importance of social justice and inclusion when considering the creation, cohesion and safety of communities. You will learn about real world issues and concerns in diverse communities. You will conduct research concerning the issues that are uncovered with an aim to assist community safety and alleviate community tensions due to age, religion, disability and so on. The outcome of your research will be reported in a briefing product for community groups.

Optional•20 credits

Critical Victimology and Contemporary Slavery

Examine the definitions and representations of victimisation in slavery studies. You will also critically examine the limitations and challenges of existing criminal justice approaches to victimisation, even when these are victim-centred. You'll examine theoretical explanations of victimisation and explore the relationship between victimisation and social divisions of class, ethnicity, age, gender, nationality, immigration status, etc.

Optional•20 credits

Hacking for the Police

As part of a team, you will engage directly with complex, real world problems proposed by UK government sponsors including policy, economics, technology and national security. As the module progresses, teams will discover and validate customer needs and continually build iterative prototypes. Takin a hands-on approach, you will closely engage with UK Police, Home Office and other government agency end-users.

Optional•20 credits

Gender, Sexualities and Crime

Explore contemporary global issues in gender, sexualities and crime, including domestic violence, sex work, discussions of masculinities, ethnicities and crime, sexualities and perceptions of deviance as well as exploring race, ethnicity and social justice within a gendered and international perspective.

Optional•20 credits

Global Detention: Custody, Imprisonment and Human Rights

Explore key issues in detention, custody and incarceration across the World. Using a range of themes and case studies, you will explore the use of imprisonment, comparative approaches to penal systems as well as debates and discussions and challenges in the practice of punishment for example, through contemporary use of remand, solitary confinement and life without parole.

Optional•20 credits

Incarceration Culture in Context: Research Methods and Theory in Interdisciplinary Studies

On this module, you will examine and scrutinise a broad range of texts that address incarceration. This may include poetry by African political prisoners, Orange is the New Black (TV), artwork from Guantanamo Bay, Caribbean memorials to slave rebellions, Native American captivity stories, modern slavery documentaries and photography documenting Northern Ireland.

 

Optional•30 credits

Your choice of modules will vary, depending on whether you select to study the standard Criminal Justice and Crime Control course or the Contemporary Slavery pathway.
13 Modules

Our academics

We were one of the first to teach criminology degrees more than 50 years ago.

We remain at the forefront today with research leaders on issues such as violent crime, social justice and desistance, prisons and restorative justice, cybercrime and intelligence.

See more academics for this subject
Professor Helen Johnston
Featured academic

Professor Helen Johnston

An expert in the history of crime and punishment from the year 1750 onwards, Professor Johnston is the first female Professor of Criminology at the University of Hull. She’s undertaken research on prisons and licensing/early release mechanisms.
Professor Iain Brennan
Featured academic

Professor Iain Brennan

Iain's research focuses on violence prevention including weapon-carrying and domestic abuse. He’s an adviser to the Home Office, Youth Endowment Fund, College of Policing, National Police Chiefs' Council, and many police forces across the UK.

Entry requirements

What do I need?

Typical offer
2:2 in any subject area
Additional entry requirements for this course

Practitioners with relevant and extensive work experience in the criminal justice, crime control and security sectors are encouraged to apply even if they have not been to university previously.  Evidence of vocational qualifications, training, written reports and letters of endorsement from line managers submitted in support of an application are encouraged.

If you’re an undergraduate student at Hull, you’re guaranteed a fast-track route to this postgraduate degree, as long as you meet the entry requirements.

In order to ensure our students have a rich learning and student experience, most of our programmes have a mix of domestic and international students. We reserve the right to close applications early to either group if application volumes suggest that this blend cannot be achieved.

What do I need?

Typical offer
2:2 in any subject area
Additional entry requirements for this course

Practitioners with relevant and extensive work experience in the criminal justice, crime control and security sectors are encouraged to apply even if they have not been to university previously.  Evidence of vocational qualifications, training, written reports and letters of endorsement from line managers submitted in support of an application are encouraged.

If you require a student visa to study or if your first language is not English you will be required to provide acceptable evidence of your English language proficiency level.

This course requires academic IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 5.5 in each skill. See other English language proficiency qualifications accepted by the University of Hull.

If your English currently does not reach the University’s required standard for this programme, you may be interested in one of our English language courses.

Visit your country page to find out more about our entry requirements.

Fees & funding

How much is it?

Additional costs you may have to pay

Your tuition fees will cover most costs associated with your programme. There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make:

  • Books (you can borrow books on your reading lists from the library, but you may buy your own)
  • Optional field trips
  • Study abroad (incl. travel costs, accommodation, visas, immunisation)
  • Placement costs (incl. travel costs and accommodation)
  • Student visas (international students)
  • Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PCs on campus, but you may want your own)
  • Printing and photocopying
  • Professional-body membership
  • Graduation (gown hire and photography)

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel, food and more.

How do I pay for it?

How much is it?

Additional costs you may have to pay

Your tuition fees will cover most costs associated with your programme. There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make:

  • Books (you can borrow books on your reading lists from the library, but you may buy your own)
  • Optional field trips
  • Study abroad (incl. travel costs, accommodation, visas, immunisation)
  • Placement costs (incl. travel costs and accommodation)
  • Student visas (international students)
  • Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PCs on campus, but you may want your own)
  • Printing and photocopying
  • Professional-body membership
  • Graduation (gown hire and photography)

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel, food and more.

How do I pay for it?

Our scholarships

We offer a number of awards, bursaries and scholarships for eligible students. They’re awarded for a variety of reasons including academic achievement and/or to help those on lower incomes.

Scholarships and bursaries are separate to student loans. And the best bit is, you don’t pay a penny back.

Find out more about our scholarships

Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship

University of Hull undergraduates progressing to a taught masters course may receive a 25% discount on the cost of their tuition fees.

Find out if you’re eligible by visiting the University of Hull Alumni Postgraduate Scholarship page.

International Scholarships and Bursaries

We offer a range of scholarships and bursaries for international students.

To find out more and see if you're eligible, please visit the International Scholarships and Bursaries page.

Take a look at our facilities

Crime Scene Training Facility

Get to grips with topics from modern-day slavery to knife crime, and from domestic violence to cybercrime in our on-campus crime scene training facility.

Brynmor Jones Library

Our seven-storey library is a superb learning space. As well as over a million books, there’s a variety of study areas, and one amazing view.

Open-Access PCs

You’ll find over 400 open-access PCs in our library. There are also group learning rooms with big-screen PCs, teaching rooms and private study rooms – plus interactive projector tables.

Group Lecture Theatres

Collaborate with our expert academics and your fellow students in group lecture theatres.

See more in our virtual tour
Crime Scene facility

Look around

Look around

Look around

Crime Scene facility
Brynmor Jones Library
Library first floor computers
Wilberforce TV Teaching Room
criminology-subject-taster

Future prospects

The knowledge and skills you’ll gain with a Criminology MA at Hull are genuinely career-enhancing.

Through a variety of subject topics and diverse course of study and research, you’ll gain the key skills that are in demand across a wide range of careers.

Jobs our graduates have gone on to do include helping witnesses cope with the emotional impact of giving evidence in court, supporting vulnerable young people and their families, and helping offenders to lead law-abiding lives after release from prison.

You could go onto roles within the police force, HM Prison Service, the Probation Service, legal professions, social work, the charity sector or the Civil Service.

University of Hull Open Day

Your next steps

Like what you’ve seen? Then it’s time to apply.

Make your application online now, and our admissions team will get back to you as soon as possible to make you an offer.

Apply now
How to apply

Not ready to apply?

We regularly deliver virtual and on-campus events to help you discover your perfect postgraduate course, whether it’s a subject you already love or something completely different. Our events are an opportunity for you to chat to tutors and current students and find out about the career options a postgraduate degree could lead to.

Discover more

  1. Criminology at Hull is ranked joint 15th in the country for Research Quality in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.

All modules presented on this course page are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.

Top