Law with Criminology

Law and criminology share a concern with the same fundamental questions: what is crime, how does society define and respond to it, and whether the institutions built to deliver justice actually do so. Law gives you a rigorous grounding in the rules, principles, and reasoning processes that constitute the legal system, examining how rights and obligations are defined and enforced. Criminology adds a critical sociological and psychological perspective, asking why crime exists, who is most likely to be prosecuted, and whether criminal justice institutions achieve the outcomes they claim.

Studied together at the University of Sussex, they produce graduates with both the legal literacy to work in the profession and the critical awareness to question how the system operates.

This three-year full-time programme includes a foundation year, making it an accessible route for students who have the intellectual ability and motivation to study law but whose prior qualifications may not meet the standard entry requirements for a direct degree entry. The main programme covers the core areas of English law alongside criminological theory, research methods, and the empirical study of crime and punishment. The course includes a sandwich year, giving you the opportunity to gain professional experience in a legal or criminal justice setting, and a year abroad.

Work placements are built in throughout. The typical entry tariff for the foundation entry route is 120 UCAS points.

Graduates pursue careers across the legal profession, including as solicitors and barristers following the appropriate professional training routes. Others work in probation, prison service, youth offending, social work, policy, NGOs, and advocacy organisations. The combination of legal and criminological knowledge is particularly valuable in criminal law practice, legal aid work, human rights, and the reform of criminal justice.

Many graduates also go on to postgraduate study in law, criminology, or social policy.