Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice

Our Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice prepares you to contribute to discourse on criminal behaviour and societal responses to it. You'll explore the complex causes and nature of crime, and its impact on communities and intervention strategies. You'll investigate why people commit crimes as well as the impact of crime on victims and society. Understand the process of investigating and prosecuting crime - and how cultural and political values shape laws and punishments.

You'll study courses in criminology, law and sociology, and see how structural inequalities impact crime and criminal justice. Discover different types of punishment and innovative responses to criminal behaviour. Explore the growing influence of globalisation, cyberpolitics and digital technologies on crime.

Develop research and critical thinking skills. Build the expertise to help those impacted by crime. Apply your learning in a practical or research-based internship and graduate ready for roles in community safety and crime prevention - or progress to complete a higher research degree.

What you'll learn

Our Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice is comprehensive and interdisciplinary. You'll study a combination of criminology, law, and sociology courses.

Explore how crime is defined and represented. Challenge the prevailing perceptions of criminal behaviour. Unpack theories that explain offending. Analyse how structural inequalities, such as race, gender, age and socio-economic disadvantage impact crime. Explore the innerworkings of the criminal justice system - including the over-representation of minority groups.

Understand the techniques criminological researchers use to measure and evaluate crime. Learn how to formulate research questions - and study the methods used to answer them. Consider different types of punishment in modern society and critically assess their effectiveness. Learn how the criminal justice system, police and support services work together to detect, prevent or punish crime - and support victims.

Explore Australian and global politics, and how they intersect with criminology. Study how the digital age has transformed discourse, learning all about fake news, echo chambers and hate speech. Adopt a social justice perspective as you analyse the growing division, and polarisation in our world.

You'll also study:

• Policing and crime control

• Explaining crime and deviance

• Criminal law and criminal process

• Contemporary issues in criminology

• Victimology

• Forensic criminology

• Penology and corrections

• Cybercrime

You'll take courses designed to focus and refine your career goals, and choose electives aligned with your interests. In your final year, you'll undertake a practical or research-based internship, where you'll apply your learning and gain real-world insights in the criminology and criminal justice field.

Majors

The Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice is also available with majors in the following:

• Aboriginal Studies

• Anthropology

• Gender and Sexuality Studies

• History

• International Security

• Politics opens in a new tab

• Population and Migration Studies

• Social Research and Policy Analysis

• Sociology