BSc (Hons) Criminology · SouthamptonBachelor's degree · 3 years
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University of Southampton · Undergraduate

BSc (Hons) Criminology Bachelor's degree at Southampton

BSc (Hons) Criminology at Southampton leads to a nationally recognised UK degree. Southampton holds Silver status for teaching quality in the Office for Students' TEF 2023.

BSc (Hons)
Award
3
Years
Full-time
Study mode
80%
in work/study (15m)

About this course

Step into the fascinating world of criminology, psychology, the victims of crime and criminal justice on this BSc Criminology degree at Southampton University. From the provider’s course page.

BSc (Hons) Criminology is a Bachelor's degree (BSc (Hons)) at Southampton. It runs 3 years, studied full-time.

For Sociology graduates from this provider, 80% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 40% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £25,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)

For the typical curriculum, specialisations, career paths and graduate earnings for Law, see the sections below.

Course evidence score

The arithmetic mean of the official measures available for this course: NSS satisfaction, graduate activity and continuation.

7.9
/ 10
Strong
3 of 3 official measures
Student satisfaction
What students say in the National Student Survey
Strong78

Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Graduate outcomes
In work or further study 15 months after graduating
Excellent80

Limited evidence Published sample: 15; treat comparisons cautiously. Cohort 2021-23. Graduate Outcomes work or further study 80% (2021-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Continuation
Students who continue past their first year
Excellent80

Published threshold met Discover Uni suppresses continuation data below its publication threshold. Cohort 2022-23. Continuation 80% (2022-23; Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Curriculum & modules

Real modules published for this course, grouped only where the source gives a year, stage or level.

Year 1 8 modules
  • Delivering Justice: Mapping the Criminal Justice SystemCore
  • Historical Perspectives: Deviance, Conflict, Censure and ControlCore
  • Inequalities in Everyday WorldsCore
  • Interrogating Crime: An Introduction to CriminologyCore
  • Key Thinkers and Big Ideas: Foundations in Social TheoryCore
  • Simple Liars, Damned Liars and Experts: the use of empirical research in social scienceCore
  • Understanding the Social WorldCore
  • What's the problem? Debating responses to Contemporary Social ChallengesCore
Year 2 20 modules
  • Criminological Perspectives in Global and Post-colonial ContextsCore
  • Introduction to Social Data AnalyticsCore
  • Qualitative Research: Methods, Tools and TechniquesCore
  • What's the Solution? How to Become an Agent for Change in Public PolicyCore
  • Children and SocietyCore
  • Collective Action and Social ChangeCore
  • Comparative Youth JusticeCore
  • Crime Scene Investigation: Methods and ApplicationsCore
  • Criminological PsychologyCore
  • Education Policy and Reforms: Global Experiences and Local ContextsCore
  • Gender and SocietyCore
  • Gender, Power and PoliticsCore
  • Global TransformationsCore
  • Introduction to Experiments in Social ScienceCore
  • Issues in Law Enforcement and Social ControlCore
  • Race and Ethnicity in SocietyCore
  • Social Stratification, Divisions and ResilienceCore
  • Techno Harms: Discrimination, Conspiracy Theories and ExtremismCore
  • Theorizing The Social WorldCore
  • Victims or Perpetrators? Social and Psychological Perspectives on Older People and CrimeCore
Year 3 8 modules
  • DissertationCore
  • Real World Research: Designing Your DissertationCore
  • Applied Social Quantitative AnalysisCore
  • Employability: Successful futures in Sociology and CriminologyCore
  • Exploring the Hidden Assumptions in EducationCore
  • Global Terrorism and Political ViolenceCore
  • PenologyCore
  • Sexuality and IntimacyCore

Source: provider course page. Modules can change; required/optional status, credits, descriptions and assessment are shown only when explicitly published.

Course in depth

What this course covers, who it suits and where it leads.

What you'll study

This degree explores criminology, psychology, the victims of crime and criminal justice. You'll usually begin with foundations in criminal law, public law and contract law, understanding offences, defences and the principles of criminal liability alongside constitutional and human rights frameworks. In your second year, you'll typically progress to modules in tort law, land law and broader legal contexts. As you move into your final year, you'll usually specialise in areas such as commercial law, human rights, criminal justice, family law, employment law or legal practice (SQE), and undertake independent research or supervised work in a law clinic. Throughout, the course builds from core legal principles to specialist options, equipping you to think critically about how law and criminology intersect.

Who it's for

This degree suits those interested in understanding crime, justice systems and law. The course covers specialisations such as Criminal Law, Criminology, Human Rights, Public Law, Commercial Law, Corporate Law, Family Law and Intellectual Property. It prepares graduates for roles in criminal justice, law enforcement, policy, research and related fields where analytical and legal knowledge are valued.

University & format

This BSc (Hons) Criminology is studied at the University of Southampton, a public Russell Group university located in Southampton. The course runs for 3 years full-time, taught in English. Southampton was founded in 1862 and is recognised as a UK degree-awarding body; the university holds Silver for teaching quality in the Office for Students' TEF 2023. The degree is nationally recognised.

Student satisfaction

How students on this course answered the National Student Survey, by theme.

The teaching on my course
80%
Learning opportunities
72%
Assessment and feedback
75%
Academic Support
79%
Organisation and management
82%
Learning resources
77%
Student voice
81%

Share of students responding positively.

Published threshold met NSS publication requires sufficient responses; small differences are not a rank. NSS mean of 7 published themes (Discover Uni snapshot 2026-06-21)

Applicant information

The next application dates for this course, followed by facts the provider publishes.

Application timelineWhat happens next
  1. 2027 entryCompleted applications can be submitted

    Your application needs a reference before you can send it.

  2. 2026 entryFinal date for 2026 applications

    Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.

  3. 2026 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice

    Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.

  4. 2027 entryEqual-consideration deadline

    18:00 UK time for most undergraduate courses.

Show 5 later dates
  1. 2027 entryUCAS Extra opens

    Applicants who used all five choices and hold no offer may be able to add another choice.

  2. 2027 entryLast day applications go directly to providers

    Applications received after 18:00 UK time are entered into Clearing.

  3. 2027 entryClearing opens

    Eligible applicants can see vacancies and release themselves into Clearing.

  4. 2027 entryFinal date for 2027 applications

    Applications must reach UCAS by 18:00 UK time.

  5. 2027 entryLast day to add a Clearing choice

    Check that this course still has a vacancy before adding it.

Published entryABB typical offer

Provider-published requirement; check the linked course page before applying.

Contextual offersPublished by this provider

The provider publishes contextual-offer information. Eligibility and any reduced offer are applicant-specific.

Open daysOpen days and visits

See and book current events. Dates can fill or change.

Entry & how to get in

Typical offer (from the provider)The university’s course page lists a typical A-level offer of ABB. Always check the provider for the current offer and subject requirements.
Most entrants held A-levels or equivalent95% of accepted students came in with A-levels or equivalent (entrants over recent years).
Typical UCAS tariff: 128 - 143 pointsThe most common UCAS tariff band among accepted students. This is what entrants had, not a stated requirement.
Entry requirements are set by the universityGrades, subjects and contextual offers vary. Check Southampton's official course page for the current offer.

Who gets in

What recently admitted students actually held, official admissions data, not a stated requirement.

UCAS tariff of entrants

Grades are the A-level equivalent of each points band. Tap a band to check your own chances below.

Qualifications held on entry

QualificationShare
A-levels or equivalent95%
a foundation course5%

Entry & your chances

An honest read from the official entry data, plus your personal match.

Offer-based entry

Entry is set by the university and based on your offer. Use your predicted grades to see how you compare, then check the university's stated requirements.

Will you get in? Plot your grades

Pick your predicted A-levels and watch your UCAS points land on the real spread of students admitted to this course.

Each bar is the share of admitted students in that UCAS-points band (lower → higher). Grades show the A-level equivalent.

Add your grades to see where you land

Your points will drop onto the distribution above, with an honest above / within / below read.

Based on the official admitted-student tariff distribution. Many universities make contextual (reduced-grade) offers, so a result below the range doesn’t rule you out.

How to apply

Undergraduate applications go through UCAS. Here’s what matters for this course, the right deadline, the grades to aim for, and the steps in order.

Apply by13 January 2027, 18:00 UK timefor this course
Typical gradesAABA-level equivalent admitted students held
  1. 1
    Register on UCAS Hub

    Create your UCAS application and add this course. One application covers up to five choices.

  2. 2
    Write your personal statement

    A single statement covers all your choices, so keep it broad enough for similar courses while showing genuine interest in this subject.

  3. 3
    Submit by 13 January 2027, 18:00 UK time

    UCAS equal-consideration deadline for most undergraduate courses. Source: UCAS 2027 dates.

  4. 4
    Reply to your offers

    When decisions are in, pick a firm (first) choice and an insurance (back-up) choice with slightly lower grades.

  5. 5
    Results day & confirmation

    On results day (mid-August) your place is confirmed if you meet the offer. Just missed? Talk to the university, or find a place through Clearing.

💡 Many universities make a contextual (reduced-grade) offer, for example based on your school’s results, time in care, or where you live. Ask Southampton whether you’re eligible before you apply; it can lower the grades you need.

Fees & funding

What this course costs and how UK student finance covers it.

Tuition per year

Homeup to £9,790 / yr
International£25,500 / yr

Provider fee page (England 2026/27 cap where not stated).

Check fees at Southampton →

For students who normally live in England

illustrative Maintenance Loan per year
£9,790tuition used per year, illustrative full-time England fee-cap scenario
illustrative borrowing over 3 years

2026/27 Student Finance England figures. Maintenance support is means-tested and this two-point view is not an entitlement calculator. The course total uses its published length and home fee where both are available; a missing full-time fee uses the clearly labelled England-cap scenario, while part-time fees and unknown lengths are never guessed. Use the official calculator. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland use separate systems: SAAS, Student Finance Wales, and Student Finance NI.

Starting on or after 1 January 2027?

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a separate system. A new learner’s tuition entitlement is currently stated as £39,160 (about 480 credits at 2026/27 fee levels), subject to prior study and eligibility. Check the official LLE guide.

Paying for it

  • Tuition Fee Loan: can cover eligible tuition up to the applicable limit and is paid straight to the provider.
  • Maintenance Loan: up to £10,830/yr away from home outside London (England, 2026/27), means-tested on household income.
  • Repayment: 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below it; written off after 40 years.
  • Earn alongside: most students work part-time in term, part-time roles on the StudySmarter job board.

England figures shown; Scotland, Wales & NI run their own schemes, check gov.uk.

Funding matched to this course

Scholarships & bursaries you could qualify for

All Southampton funding →

Named awards published by the university. Compare the eligibility and application route before budgeting for one.

Amounts, exclusions and deadlines can change. An award is not guaranteed unless the university confirms it.

StudyKit · free

Still deciding what to study?

StudyKit brings course choice, applications and funding together in one place, with a personal AI assistant. Find what really fits you and start your UCAS application step by step.

Career quizApplication walkthroughSalary & CV check

Careers & earnings

What Law graduates actually earn, from real outcome data, 15 months, 3 years and 5 years after graduating.

Graduate earnings: this course

WhenMedianTypical rangeGraduates
15 months after£25,000£21,500 – £30,00015
3 years after£25,000£20,500 – £29,000140
5 years after£32,500£26,500 – £38,500140

Nominal earnings for graduates of this course/subject at this provider. Limited evidence. Published sample: 15; treat comparisons cautiously. Cohort 2021-23.

Graduate outcomes, 15 months on: this course

80%
in work or further study 15 months on
40%
in highly skilled work or study
80%
continue past their first year
85%
find their work meaningful
60%
say work fits their future plans
  1. 1Paralegal / TraineeTraining contract or pupillage route · 0–2 yrs
  2. 2Solicitor / BarristerQualified practitioner · 2–5 yrs
  3. 3Senior AssociateLeading matters and clients · 5–9 yrs
  4. 4Partner / In-house CounselPartnership or heading legal · 9+ yrs

How pay grows: this course vs Law nationally

Starting (15 months) HESA GO
£25,000
£23,000 – £30,000
After 3 years LEO
£25,000
£19,550 – £27,600
After 5 years LEO
£32,500
£24,225 – £34,200
national rangethis course’s medianaxis £18,500 – £35,500

National figures for Law graduates, HESA Graduate Outcomes (15 months) and the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) dataset (3 & 5 years). These are national, not university-specific; actual pay varies by employer, region, role and experience. Different cohorts, so the bars are not one group over time.

Work out your pay

Headline figures hide a lot. Calculate realistic take-home pay for this field by role, region and experience, then check your CV before you apply.

What happened to 100 students?

Choose an outcome to translate the published percentage into a simple 100-person view. Each dot represents one percentage point, not an individual tracked student.

80 of 100

were in work or further study

15 months after graduation

70% working5% working and studying5% in further study40% in highly skilled work or study

Source: Discover Uni, using Graduate Outcomes and continuation data. Cohorts: 2021-23. Limited evidence. Published sample: 15; treat comparisons cautiously. Cohort 2021-23. Each tab is a separate published measure; categories can overlap and should not be added together.

Value compared with similar courses

How this course’s 5-year median earnings compare with Law courses at the same study level.

This course £32,500Peer median £28,000Middle 50% £25,500–£31,500
79th percentile

Compared with 1,352 courses with compatible official earnings data. This is a course-value comparison, not a quality ranking.

UK occupations graduates enter

Published graduate destinations, joined conservatively to UK SOC 2020, ONS pay and Skills England demand.

  • Welfare ProfessionalsSOC 2020 246 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £39,047
  • Sales occupationsSOC 2020 71 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £15,975
  • Welfare and housing associate professionalsSOC 2020 322 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £27,937
  • Business and public service associate professionalsSOC 2020 35 · 10% of published destinations · ASHE median £38,760

Discover Uni JOBLIST/JOBTYPE; ONS ASHE 2025 provisional, all employee jobs; Skills England Occupations in Demand 2025. SOC is shown only for an exact normalised label match; demand is shown only at exact four-digit SOC. Published sample: 45; response rate: 60%. Pay describes the occupation across workers, not a guaranteed graduate salary.

Job market & outlook

How Law graduates fare in the labour market, and how AI is reshaping the work.

85%
in work or further study 15 months after graduating, across Law courses nationally.
Graduate Outcomes
55%
of working graduates are in highly skilled work or further study.
highly skilled
85%
of students continue past their first year (still enrolled or completed).
continuation

How AI is changing the work

AI doesn't replace the profession, it shifts it: routine tasks get automated, while judgement, working with people and using AI well become more valuable.

What AI takes off your plate

  • First-pass document review
  • Standard contract drafting
  • Legal research summaries
  • Routine due diligence

More human than ever

  • Advocacy and negotiation
  • Judgement on ambiguous facts
  • Client trust and ethics
  • Strategy in disputes and deals

The strongest graduates pair subject depth with the ability to use AI tools critically.

Roles & employers

Where Law graduates typically go, indicative destinations from graduate career data. Each role links to live openings on the StudySmarter job board.

Where they work

  • Law firms
  • Barristers' chambers
  • In-house legal teams
  • Government Legal Service

Is this course right for you?

The essentials UK applicants ask about: finance, outcomes, entry and quality.

💷

Student finance

For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years.

📈

Where graduates go

80% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, with a median salary of £25,000. See the full breakdown in Careers & earnings above.

🎯

Your entry chances

Use the UCAS points calculator above to see how your predicted grades compare with admitted students, and whether a contextual offer could apply.

Official-data snapshot

Averaging the official measures published for it, this course scores 7.9 out of 10: NSS 78% · in work or study 80% · continued 80%.

Who studies here and in this subject?

Provider- and UK subject-level context.

The University of Southampton

All students25,785
International35.1%
Aged 25+17%

Law across the UK

Students144,525
Aged 25+24.3%

HESA student record 2024/25. Counts are rounded.

Local crime-data context

A neutral snapshot around the published teaching location.

Around Southampton

941 street-level reports returned within roughly one mile across 2026-04 to 2026-06.

Violent Crime 308Anti Social Behaviour 121Shoplifting 106Public Order 79Criminal Damage Arson 75

Police.uk street-level API. Approximate locations, not confined to campus. England, Wales and Northern Ireland; not Scotland.

Is Law right for you?

Tick what applies to you and see how good a fit it is.

International students

What applying to Southampton from outside the UK involves: fees, English, visa, funding and living costs.

Tuition fees

International tuition is £25,500 / year for this course (from the provider’s fee page). You’re not eligible for UK Tuition Fee or Maintenance Loans, so plan for fees plus living costs upfront.

English language

Most UK undergraduate courses ask for around IELTS 6.0–6.5 (no band below 5.5–6.0), or an accepted equivalent. If you’re just short, most universities run a pre-sessional English course that counts towards the requirement.

Student visa

You’ll usually need a Student visa (Student Route). After you accept an offer the university issues a CAS; you then show funds for fees plus about £1,023–£1,334/month living costs and pay the Immigration Health Surcharge for NHS access.

Scholarships & funding

Southampton offers the Global Talent in Adult Nursing Scholarship (£5,000 off tuition fees) for international students, see Scholarships above.

Living costs

Budget roughly £1,100–£1,400/month outside London and £1,400–£1,800/month in London for rent, food and travel; the figure also matters for your visa.

Working while you study

A Student visa usually allows up to 20 hours/week in term time and full-time in holidays, useful alongside study, though not something to rely on for fees.

Visa rules and fees change. Always confirm the current requirements with Southampton and gov.uk before you apply.

Common questions

Entry is offer-based and set by the university. The most common tariff band among recent entrants was 128 - 143 UCAS points. Use the calculator on this page to see where your predicted grades would put you; many universities also make lower contextual offers.
Set by Southampton. Most accepted students held A-levels or equivalent. Check the university's course page for the exact offer.
For Sociology graduates from this provider, 80% were in work or further study 15 months after graduating, 40% in highly skilled roles, typical earnings around £25,000. (HESA Graduate Outcomes / LEO, via Discover Uni.)
For comparison, the standard full-time England tuition cap is up to £9,790 per year in 2026/27; the actual fee varies by course and provider. If you normally live in England, eligible students can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan, plus a Maintenance Loan for living costs. Under Plan 5 you repay 9% of income above £25,000, nothing below that, and the balance is written off after 40 years. See Fees & funding on this page to work out your numbers.
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