Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £10,940 for the course
International/EU: £18,600 for the course -
How long will I study?
2 Years
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Where will I study?
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When do I start?
September 2026
Course summary
- Approach criminology from an academic and professional perspective.
- Engage with the criminal justice profession at home and abroad.
- Choose between a traditional dissertation or work related project in your third semester — preparing for employment or doctoral study.
- Study in the prestigious Helena Kennedy Centre of International Justice.
- Draw on contemporary and future developments in criminal justice.
On this rewarding, varied course, you’ll develop advanced knowledge and understanding of criminology. You’ll study in the internationally-recognised Helena Kennedy centre, and gain useful contacts through study opportunities in the UK and internationally. Upon graduation, you’ll be prepared for a range of exciting positions, and possess excellent transferable skills.
Come to an open day
Find out more at our postgraduate open days. Book now for your place.
How you learn
The course provides a supportive learning environment, which balances subject knowledge, intellectual skills and employability training.
You’ll apply your skills through real-world experiences and active engagement with academics, volunteers and criminal justice practitioners. You’ll also have the opportunity to challenge, be challenged and collaborate in an academically stimulating environment.
You’ll tackle subjects including criminal justice leadership and reform, research methods and global threats. You'll gain a high-level knowledge and understanding of criminology, and a range of personal skills.
You learn through
- lectures
- workshops on campus
- online support through the University's virtual learning environment
- teaching input from industry experts
- virtual lectures
- peer support
- reflection
- guided reading
- student presentations
- individual student reflection on learning
Applied learning
Work placements
The course will offer a variety of work-related experiences, including case studies and collaborations with criminal justice partners both UK and abroad.
Live projects
We have a good relationship with local criminal justice stakeholders in Sheffield and the surrounding region, as well as nationally and internationally. These professional links enable us to provide you with opportunities to undertake a range of live research projects.
Networking opportunities
We have a good relationship with local criminal justice stakeholders who support learning and knowledge generation in the region, as well as nationally and internationally, through our professional networks. You’ll have the opportunity to network with professionals through seminars, internal and external speaker programmes and guest lectures.
Competitions
You will be offered the opportunity to engage with a range of award-based competitions such as The Hallam Award.
Course leaders and tutors
Paula Hamilton
Senior LecturerAs senior lecturer I am responsible for the development and delivery of range of Criminology undergraduate and postgraduate modules
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Develop your critical and conceptual understanding of key themes in approaches to and delivery of criminal justice and penology in the contemporary international context.
The module will be delivered predominantly via on campus face to face activities, primarily collaborative and interactive workshops. The module will also provide you with a with a specific curriculum integrated employability opportunity and a virtual international experience.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Mass imprisonment
- Mass supervision
- Policing
- Marketisation & privatisation in criminal justice
- Youth Justice
Develop your critical and conceptual understanding of key themes and developments in contemporary international criminology.
The module will be delivered predominantly via on campus face-to-face activities, primarily collaborative and interactive workshops. The module will also provide you a virtual international experience.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Green criminology
- Transnational crime
- Global South penalities
- Zemiology and the field of social harms
- Gender, power and the state
Final year
Compulsory modules
Develop your critical and conceptual understanding of how a range of data, information and research is utilised in criminal justice, communities and societies.
The module will be delivered predominantly via on campus face-to-face activities, primarily collaborative and interactive workshops.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Making sense of the criminal justice landscape and the production and interpretation of knowledge
- Critical inquiry in practice
- Thinking critically about established (Western) approaches to criminological inquiry
- Ethics, positionality, and power
- Approaches to criminological inquiry including qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and evaluation
- Secondary data analysis
Elective modules
This module aims to enable you to successfully complete an independent piece of research around a real world (criminal justice/penology/criminology) topic/issue/problem of their own choice whether that be in the UK and/or international context.
You will work and learn independently but with one to one support of a supervisor (member of academic staff)
You’ll study topics such as:
- Empirical research (which may be quantitative/qualitative or mixed methods)
- Secondary analysis of existing data (of various forms) including that directly related to the work of a criminal justice related agency
- Critical or systematic literature review
Prepare for your work related project and to develop your critical and conceptual understanding of reform, innovation and change in criminal justice organisations, policy and practice.
The module will be delivered predominantly via on campus face to face activities, primarily collaborative and interactive workshops.
You’ll study topics such as:
- The criminal justice organisational context – public, private and third sectors, including a comparative international/global perspective
- Criminal justice organisations and real world data
- Leadership in criminal justice organisations
- Understanding and evaluating reform, innovation and change in criminal justice organisations
- Drivers, barriers and experiences of reform, innovation and change
To prepare you for your dissertation and equip you with advanced, applied research skills and techniques to plan and carry out small scale research projects. The module will be delivered predominantly via on campus face- to- face activities, primarily collaborative and interactive workshops.
You’ll study topics such as:
- Creating research questions, hypotheses and project planning
- Research ethics
- Research philosophies
- Research design and sampling
- Data collection methods
- Data analysis (using appropriate software)
- Data management
- Critique
- Writing up research
- As appropriate, comparative conceptual and methodological tools
The module is designed to explore how different approaches in counselling and psychotherapy can be used to provide an insight into different presenting issues, drawing on a range of theories and therapeutic practices to develop understanding.
Future careers
The course prepares you for a career in
- the police service
- probation service
- victim support organisations
- prison service
- social work (*although a dedicated social work qualification is needed for social work registration)
- youth justice
- Various inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations
- Third Sector organisations with an interest in victim support, criminal justice and offender management and support roles
- further studies and academia
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEntry requirements
All students
Typically a degree in a relevant subject from a UK university or international equivalent or at least three years relevant professional experience. Applicants with a degree of less than a 2:2 (or equivalent) classification may be required to attend interview as part of the application process and make a commitment to engaging with study skills support as necessary as advised by the module team.
If English is not your first language you will need an IELTS 6.5 score with a minimum of 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in all other skill areas or equivalent.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students starting distance learning study in 2026/27 is £10,940 for the course. The tuition fee displayed above is for the full course. If the full course is more than one year in duration, the fee will be divided into annual payments which will then be rounded. This may mean the total fee you pay is slightly higher than the fee stated above. If you take a break in study or have to re-take part of the course, you may also be charged an additional fee and will be notified of this at the time. Our tuition fee for UK students starting part-time study in 2026/27 is £5,470 per year.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
This course is not eligible for full-time Student visa sponsorship. Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting part-time study in 2026/27 is £18,600 for the course. The tuition fee displayed above is for the full course. If the full course is more than one year in duration, the fee will be divided into annual payments which will then be rounded. This may mean the total fee you pay is slightly higher than the fee stated above. If you take a break in study or have to re-take part of the course, you may also be charged an additional fee and will be notified of this at the time. Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting part-time study in 2026/27 is £9,300 per year.
Scholarships and financial support
Find information on scholarships, bursaries and postgraduate student loans.
International scholarships up to £3000 ›
Alumni scholarships up to £2000 ›
Postgraduate loans for UK students ›
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Institute of Law and Justice (PDF, 269KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
