Two Year Master's in Criminology

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

• prepare you for the academic challenges of postgraduate study in SSPSSR;
• offer a range of modules that provide a solid grounding for further study at Master’s level in the UK;
• develop academic and research skills in Social Science degrees taught through Social Sciences;
• increase your proficiency in English for general academic purposes and for study in SSPSSR to a standard which is equivalent to C1 on CEFR or 6.5 in IELTS;
• enable you, on completion, to study successfully alongside others who have completed a full UK Social Sciences degree;
• enable you to develop their independent study and research skills in the context of postgraduate study associated with SSPSSR.

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and understanding

You will gain knowledge and understanding of:

• the development of criminology as a distinct area of study and inquiry; its interdisciplinary nature; alternative theoretical approaches within criminology; contemporary debates about the content and scope of criminology;
• how crime, deviance and victimisation are socially and legally constructed; relationships between crime, deviance and offending, victimisation, and social divisions such as age, gender, social class, race and ethnicity;
• the social and historical development of public policing; the organisation and powers of the police in different locations; functions, methods and strategies of policing; the practice and implications of particular policing strategies;
• the development, role, organisation and governance of efforts to reduce and prevent crime and harm, and to ensure personal and public safety and security in different locations;
• the social and historical development of the main institutions involved in crime control in different locations; the philosophy and politics of criminal justice and modes of punishment; the use of discretion in relation to justice processes including issues of discrimination and diversity;
• representations of victimisation, crime and deviance, and of the main agents and institutions which respond to crime and deviance, as found in the mass media, in official reports and in public opinion;
• how to develop a reflective approach and a critical awareness of the values of local cultures and local politics, and of the student's own values, biography, and social identity, and how to bring these skills to bear in an informed response to crime and victimisation;
• the process and debates surrounding how researchers learn more about the social world;
• the techniques and approaches that social researchers draw upon to organise, structure and interpret research evidence;
• how to judge the quality of research concerning strengths and weaknesses of the range of frameworks and methodologies.

Intellectual skills

You develop intellectual skills in:

• critical reflection;
• discussing and undertaking written and interpretative analysis of key material;
• presenting, evaluating and interpreting a variety of data using defined techniques in a logical and systematic fashion;
• appreciating the complexity and diversity of the ways in which crime is constituted, represented and dealt with;
• assessing the merits of competing theories relevant to crime, victimisation and responses to crime and deviance;
• assessing the merits and diversity of objectives of competing responses to crime and deviance, including the protection of human rights;
• gathering, retrieving and synthesising data and information;
• making ethical judgments about published research;
• making reasoned arguments;
• interpreting quantitative and qualitative evidence and texts.

Subject-specific skills

You gain subject-specific skills in:

• identifying criminological problems, formulating questions and investigating them;
• using criminological theory and concepts to understand crime, victimisation and responses to crime and deviance;
• using criminological theory to elucidate representations of crime, victimisation, and responses to these, as presented in the mass media and official reports;
• explaining complex social problems in terms of criminological theory;
• analysing, assessing and communicating empirical information about crime, victimisation, responses to crime and deviance, and representations of crime;
• identifying human rights issues in responses to crime and deviance;
• recognising a range of ethical problems associated with research and how to take action in accordance with the guideline;
• applying concepts, theories and methods used in the study of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology;
• analysing data including indexing and retrieval of qualitative data, and understanding basic statistics.

Transferable skills

You will gain the following transferable skills:

• team and independent working: collaborating effectively as part of a team and in group activity for a common goal; the ability to work with others; independent working and study skills;
• communication skills: presenting material in written and oral form; making effective and appropriate forms of visual presentation; understanding the dynamics of communication;
• critical thinking: critically evaluating and reflecting on your own and others' opinions; analysing and critically examining material as well as identifying and describing problems;
• research: understanding and evaluating research material, including qualitative and quantitative data; processing information (reading) and using libraries
• IT/ICT: using both effectively and appropriately for communication and as a means of learning;
• planning and time management: planning effectively, meeting  deadlines and managing your own learning.

Study support

Our postgraduate students are given 24-hour access to dedicated office space within the Department and are able to take advantage of excellent library and computing facilities.

The Common Study Programme in Critical Criminology

All Canterbury-based Kent postgraduate students are offered the opportunity to add an international dimension to their criminological study by participating in the Common Studies Sessions in Critical Criminology. This student-led event provides the opportunity to exchange ideas and deliver papers on topics relating to critical, cultural and international criminology at a bi-annual conference run in collaboration with Kent’s international criminology partners, which include Erasmus University, Rotterdam; the Universities of Barcelona, Bologna, Ghent, Hamburg, Middlesex, Porto and Utrecht; ELTE, Budapest; the Democritus University of Thrace; the University of the Peloponnese, Corinth; and the CUNY Graduate Center, New York. The Common Study sessions are hosted in turn by each of the participating institutions.

Dynamic publishing culture

Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: The British Journal of Criminology; Urban Studies; Theoretical Criminology; Crime, Media, Culture; Ethnography. Details of recently published books can be found within our staff research interests.

Global Skills Award

All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.