Criminology Courses

Bachelor of Criminology

The Bachelor of Criminology gives students a wide exposure to diverse issues relating to crime, security, policing and punishment. The course aims to produce graduates with the ability to:

• engage in critical evaluation and debates concerning crime and justice issues at local, state, national and international levels;
• make intellectually rigorous contributions to research, policies and practices related to criminal justice;
• contribute to enhancing citizenship and improved quality of life through the development and application of the above skills.

Bachelor of Arts

Criminology is a multi or interdisciplinary field that draws upon a broad range of disciplines to study the issues of crime, security, policing, criminal justice and punishment. Criminology goes beyond such questions as ‘why did they do it?’ to explore the social processes that shape criminalisation, control and security and penalty. Within Criminology there are competing perspectives on such issues.

The discipline involves both theoretical approaches and an applied focus on the policies and practices of criminal justice practitioners and professions. We consider the roles of other actors such as ‘victims’, and the impact of broader social change such as ‘globalisation’ on new crimes, new responses and responsibilities for preventing and controlling crime. Criminology therefore links concerns with crime and criminal justice issues to broader issues of policy and politics, inclusion and exclusion, governing and governance, and social justice, citizenship and human rights.

Students can complete a Bachelor of Criminology or a major sequence in criminology, with electives in law, forensic science and psychology. An honours program is also available. Criminology may also be studied as a double degree with Law: Bachelor of Criminology/Bachelor of Laws.

Students who perform well in their undergraduate degree are encouraged to enrol in the Bachelor of Arts (Honours), which is a prerequisite for enrolment for Higher Degree by Research courses. Higher Degree by Research and honours students are able to enrol to conduct research in the research fields listed below which staff are active researchers in, and other related areas.

• police education
• the professionalisation of policing
• changing forms of policing and security in Australia and internationally
• the impact of terrorism on policing
• restorative conferencing in schools
• drug abuse and regulation/crime cycle interventions
• community crime prevention
• and white-collar crime
• vigilantism
• youth and public order
• defiance and compliance
• regulatory theory
• criminological psychology
• procedural and distributive justice
• issues surrounding trust
• shame management theory
• perceptions of tax systems
• Virtual reality and 2nd Life

About the criminology academic staff