BA Criminology
About this course
BA Hons in Criminology, a sociology degree centred on the academic study of crime, criminal justice systems, and social deviance. Core topics include Statistics, Research Methods, Fieldwork, Policy Analysis, Historical Research, and Critical & Analytical Thinking. The first year establishes core foundations through modules such as Explaining Criminology, Exploring the Criminal Justice System, Doing Criminology: How We Know About Crime, Crime and Popular Culture, and A Brief History of Crime and Criminology. Moving into the second year, students deepen their methodological and theoretical understanding via Criminological Thought, Measuring Crime, and Understanding Criminological Fieldwork. The final year focuses on advanced institutional and societal responses to lawbreaking through core study in Prisons, Punishment and Society. Optional modules across the degree allow specialisation in areas such as youth justice, organised crime, cybercrime, financial crime, green criminology, and drug use. Students may also choose to undertake a substantial Criminology Dissertation in their final year.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
A level: BBB IB: 30 overall with 15 points from the best 3 HL subjects
Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 83%: 191 offers from 230 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 12 final-year students who answered (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Teaching on my course: 89%
- Learning opportunities: 89%
- Assessment and feedback: 81%
- Academic support: 95%
- Organisation and management: 90%
- Learning resources: 90%
- Student voice: 75%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 35 students who started
- Continued on course: 95%
- Left higher education: 5%
What graduates do next
Based on about 32 graduates who answered
- Working: 66%
- Working and studying: 8%
- Further study: 10%
- Unemployed: 10%
Most common jobs
- Protective service occupations: 20%
- Sales occupations: 10%
- Elementary occupations: 10%
- Administrative occupations: 10%
- Welfare and housing associate professionals: 5%
- Find their work meaningful: 75%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 70%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 35%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 75 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North West: 60%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 3%
- East Midlands: 1%
- West Midlands: 14%
- East of England: 5%
- London: 9%
- South East: 5%
- South West: 1%
- Scotland: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 45 students who started
- A levels: 100%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Silver for student experience, Gold for student outcomes.
Modules
- Explaining Criminology
- Exploring the Criminal Justice System
- Doing Criminology: How We Know About Crime
- Crime and Popular Culture
- A Brief History of Crime and Criminology
- Contemporary Social Issues 1: Power, Inequality and Everyday Life
- Developmental Psychology and Neuropsychology
- English across Space and Time
- Foundations of Language
- Handling Historical Evidence
- Medieval and Early Modern Worlds
- History of Philosophy: Ideas that Shaped the West
- Knowledge and Reality in a Complex World
- Global Challenges in World Politics
- Origins and Foundations of International Relations
- Parties, Populism and Protest
- Researching Society: Principles and Practices
- Thinking Sociologically
- Transformations in Digital Media
- Understanding Media and Culture
- Criminological Thought
- Measuring Crime
- Understanding Criminological Fieldwork
- Youth Justice
- Organised Crime
- Cybercrime and Cybercriminality
- Contemporary Issues in Policing
- Financial Crime
- Welfare States: Poverty, Policy and Politics
- Language and Creativity in Advertising
- Global Superpowers
- Politics of the Global South
- Transnational Debates on Gender and Society
- Visual Cultures
- Prisons, Punishment and Society
- Green Criminology
- Drugs, Crime and Society
- Crimes and Harms of the Powerful
- Gendered Harm and Justice
- Hate Crime
- Crime and Media
- Sex Crimes and Sexual Offending
- Criminology Dissertation
- Advanced Sociological Theories and Applications
- Health, Bodies and Social Reproduction
- The Politics of Crises and the Future of Governance
- The Politics of Borders and Migration
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Criminology at Lancaster University earn?
The median salary is £26,000 after 15 months, £23,000 after 3 years, £26,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £21,500 and £33,000. The £26,500 median after five years is the same as the UK median for Sociology.
What do graduates of BA Criminology at Lancaster University do next?
84% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Criminology at Lancaster University?
89% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Criminology at Lancaster University?
The typical offer is BBB at A level. The average entrant had 134 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA Criminology at Lancaster University?
83% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 191 offers from 230 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
How many students continue on BA Criminology at Lancaster University?
95% of students continued into their second year, and 5% left higher education.