The information on this page is accurate for students entering the programme from September 2025. For students who entered the programme before September 2025, you can find the details of your programme: BA Criminal Justice and Criminology
Drawing on leading research in the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies at Leeds, this programme will allow you to develop an advanced, critical understanding of crime and criminal justice in contemporary society.
You will explore complex questions concerning the nature, causes and varieties of crime, different theoretical perspectives on crime and criminals, longstanding crime patterns and emerging forms of offending. You will examine the various contexts in which crime takes place, including the role of individual, social, historical, legal and political factors in shaping both crime and responses to crime. You will study the structure and operation of the criminal justice system and its constituent agencies, including the police, the criminal courts, prisons and probation, as well as the role of private and voluntary agencies in preventing crime and managing offenders.
Core modules on the programme will give you a firm grounding in the legal, substantive, methodological and theoretical components of criminology and criminal justice studies. Besides essential subject knowledge, you will gain the study and research skills required to analyse and interpret evidence and data critically, to produce original knowledge, to develop an assured, independent perspective and to communicate your thinking on key issues in contemporary crime and criminal justice. You will develop a range of transferable skills including organisation, time management, reflection and collaboration in addition to core scholarly skills at each level of study. The course offers a range of optional modules to allow you to focus on topics that suit your interests and career ambitions.
At the end of Year 2, you will have the opportunity to apply for a place on our BA Criminal Justice and Criminology with Quantitative Research Methods pathway. This pathway will help you develop advanced analytical skills, which are in high demand in public, private, and third-sector employment. You will learn statistical analysis techniques and their application to real data (e.g. survey data, countries’ statistical data) using statistical software. You will also write a dissertation in which you will analyse quantitative data to examine questions about criminal justice or criminology.
(For students entering from September 2025 onwards)
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAW1065 | Introduction to Criminal Justice | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW1129 | Criminal Justice Study and Research Skills | 20 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| LAW1138 | Understanding Crime and Criminology | 40 | Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) | |
| LAW1141 | Introduction to Criminal Law | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW1166 | Crime, Inequality and Social Issues | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
(For students entering from September 2025 onwards)
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules Policing - 20 credits
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAW2091 | Criminology: Theories and Concepts | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| LAW2175 | Crime Prevention and Crime Science | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) | |
| LAW2286 | Researching Crime and Criminal Justice (for undergraduates) | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun), Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | PFP |
Candidates can choose either 40 credits of optional modules OR 20 credits of optional and 20 credits of discovery modules:
Students must choose 2 options from below OR pick 1 option from below plus 20 credits of discovery options.
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOSS2002 | Social Sciences and Emergencies: Theories, Contexts and Approaches | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW2142 | International Human Rights Law | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW2146 | International Law | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW2420 | Youth Crime and Justice | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| SLSP2052 | Gender and Society | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| SLSP2146 | Crime, Race and Ethnicity | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
(For students entering from September 2025 onwards)
[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]
View Timetable
Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules: Transnational Crime and Comparative Criminology - 20 credits Final Year Project - 40 credits
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAW3136 | Penology | 20 | Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) |
Candidates can choose either 40 credits of optional modules OR 20 credits of optional and 20 credits of discovery modules:
Students must choose 2 options from below OR pick 1 option from below plus 20 credits of discovery options.
| Code | Title | Credits | Semester | Pass for Progression |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOSS3002 | Social Science and Emergencies: Case Studies & Critical Analysis | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW3032 | Cyberlaw: Law and the Regulation of the Information Society | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW3055 | Disability Law | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW3116 | Gender and the Law | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| LAW3172 | Crime, Law and Social Change: Crime and Criminal Justice in Historical Perspective | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| SLSP3180 | Decolonising Disability and Development | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| SLSP3212 | Crimes of States and Powerful Elites | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| SLSP3231 | Global Terrorism and Violence | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) | |
| SLSP3501 | Gender, Technologies and the Body | 20 | Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) |
Last updated: 05/03/2025 15:19:15
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