MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice

at University of Oxford

Compulsory courses

Compulsory courses run weekly during the first two terms: Criminological Theories and Criminal Justice in Michaelmas and Hilary terms and Research Design and Data Collection in Michaelmas Term. A further compulsory (but non-examined) course is run weekly in the third term. 

Criminological Theories and Criminal Justice

The course begins by exploring the key cross-cutting themes of race, gender, and global approaches in criminology. This course develops understanding of the organising categories and central claims of a range of modern criminological perspectives of crime and social control. It will equip you to recognise the main problems, questions, dichotomies and ideas that have shaped modern criminological thought, to understand the nature of ‘theory’ and ‘explanation’ within criminology, and to both appreciate and critique the history and development of criminological thought.

The course explores criminological and global understanding of criminal justice/penal institutions and processes. The course introduces you to research on these processes, their underlying competing theoretical perspectives, and contemporary issues and controversies in criminal justice and punishment. The course encourages you to think about the role of the state/criminal law in the regulation of human behaviour and the place and limitations of criminal justice interventions in producing safe societies.

Research Design and Data Collection

This compulsory course, which runs in the first term, is focused on the challenges and the opportunities that different methods of data collection have for validity and reliability of data. Methods include experiments and quasi-experiments; questionnaires and survey research; field research, and the collection of written documents. The scientific method, theory testing and research design will also be discussed. Ethical concerns are given special emphasis. Part-time students take this course in the first term of their first year of study.

Academic Skills for Criminologists

This final compulsory course runs in the third term. Weekly seminars focus on developing academic skills and supporting students in the development of their dissertations.

Option subjects

Full-time students will take five option modules over the first and second terms of the year. Part-time students take a total of five option modules across the two years of study. Option modules run for eight weeks in each term. Recent option modules have included:
 

• Race and Gender

• Sentencing

• Public and Private Policing 

• Research Methods

• Prisons

• Politics of Crime Control

• Criminal Justice, Migration and Citizenship

• Crime and the Family

• Victims and Restorative Justice

• Transitional Justice

• Risk, Security and Criminal Justice

• The Death Penalty

• Youth Justice

• Theorising Punishment

• Psychology, Law and Criminal Justice

• Public Opinion and Criminal Justice.

Please note that not all options run every year. 

Proven and potential academic excellence

Degree-level qualifications

As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
 

• a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours, usually a minimum weighted average of 67%.

The qualification above should be achieved in one of the following subject areas or disciplines:
 

• law

• sociology

• politics

• economics

• social policy

• psychology

• history; or

• another subject relevant to criminology.

Extensive employment experience within the broad field of criminal justice may be regarded by the Board of Admissions as compensating for a lack of an undergraduate degree to the required standard.

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

GRE General Test scores

No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.

Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience

Potential applicants should identify any relevant publications which may enhance their application. Publications are not expected. They may, in certain circumstances, advantage an application but it is appreciated that the opportunity to publish may vary considerably depending on factors such as the stage the student has reached in their graduate career and the structure of the course(s) they have studied. Consequently, a lack of publications will not be assessed negatively.

English language proficiency

Minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level requirement

IELTS Academic

 7.5  

TOEFL iBT, including the 'Home Edition'

110

Home    
£17,250

Overseas    
£27,460

Graduates from the programme have recently gone on into the following areas:
 

• research careers
• government departments and criminal justice agencies
• voluntary organisations in the crime and justice field
• international organisations, such as the UNODC.