MA in Criminology

at University of Manchester

Course unit details

You will be taking 180 credits in total for a master's degree, 120 of which will be taught course units and the remaining 60 credits, a compulsory research component, in the form of a 12,000-15,000 word dissertation.
 

Course units are worth 15 or 30 credits each. You will be required to select course units to a total of 120 credits, and so must choose a minimum of four course units or a maximum of eight course units. The availability of individual optional course units is subject to change (due, among other factors, to staff availability to deliver the course units in any given year).
 

Your dissertation must be within the area of one of the units you have chosen. The research element of the course is supported by weekly research methodology lectures delivered throughout semesters one and two, designed to improve your legal writing and research skills.
 

Dissertation

• Supervised summer dissertation of 12-15,000 words.
• Exit awards
   

Students who fail to fulfil the requirements to pass the 180 credits necessary to attain the final degree of MA can leave the course with the award of Postgraduate Diploma by passing 120 credits at the pass mark of 40%, or can qualify for the Postgraduate Certificate by passing 60 credits at the pass mark of 40%.  Students who do not fulfil the criteria for passing the taught element of the course at the Masters' level of 50% will not be permitted to progress to the dissertation element of the course, and will leave the course with the highest award that the credits that have been passed will allow.
 

Course unit list

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
 

Title

• Dissertation (MA Criminology)
• Advanced Theoretical Criminology
• Evaluating Policy & Practice
• Criminal Justice Research & Policy
• Research Design
• PG Crime Mapping: an introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis
• Understanding Violence
• Data Analysis with R & RStudio
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Prisons: Exploring the Carceral World to the UK

Academic entry qualification overview
 

• We require a UK bachelor's degree with a First or Upper Second classification or the overseas equivalent, in any discipline.
• When assessing your academic record we consider your degree subject, grades you have achieved and the standing of the institution where you studied your qualification.
   

English language
 

Applicants whose first language is not English should meet the following language requirements:
 

• IELTS Academic test score of 7 overall, including 7 in writing with no further component score below 6.5

• TOEFL IBT 100 with 25 in writing and no further score below 22 in each section. TOEFL code for Manchester is 0757

• Pearson Test of English (PTE) score of 76 overall, with 76 in writing and no further score below 70
   

You are not required to submit an English language certificate at the time of application, however if you are eligible for an offer it will be subject to meeting our English language requirements.

• MA (full-time)
  
  UK students (per annum): £10,500
  
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £21,000

This master's offers you the specialist knowledge attractive for a range of criminal justice careers, in areas such as local and central government and criminal justice agencies, for example:
 

• as a criminal intelligence analyst within the police;
• probation services;
• the voluntary sector and NGOs;
• pressure groups; and
• think-tanks.
   

It also allows you to develop skills applicable to jobs in social research, management, third sector services, social work, and teaching.