About this course
MA Criminology and Social Policy at Liverpool John Moores University offers critical approaches to the study of crime, social harm and criminal justice.
- Learn from a range of experts in an interdisciplinary research environment
- Benefit from excellent research-led teaching focused on the interplay of theory, policy and practice
- Enjoy strong local, national and international links with academics, community groups and justice campaigns
- Personalise your postgraduate degree via a research pathway, a work placement route, or a combination of both
The study of Criminology is not just about the institutions of the criminal justice system. You will be encouraged to take a critical approach that examines issues of power, inequalities and social harm.
This interdisciplinary MA gives you the chance to look at Criminology from the perspective of various other disciplines such as Geography, History, Psychology, Political Science and Sociology.
As well as developing your advanced skills in research and theoretical application, the programme places a strong emphasis on the implications for policy and practice. It includes a strong comparative component, encouraging students to consider some of the international dimensions of crime, social harm and state responses to them.
Fees and funding
Employability
Further your career prospects
LJMU has an excellent employability record with 96% (HESA 2018) of our postgraduates in work or further study six months after graduation. Our applied learning techniques and strong industry connections ensure our students are fully prepared for the workplace on graduation and understand how to apply their knowledge in a real world context.
The MA Criminology and Social Policy degree would be particularly relevant to people working in, or hoping to work in, a range of fields including:
- research
- academia
- charities and community organisations
- children, young people's and youth justice fields
- the investigation of miscarriages of justice
- social work, prison and probation services
- policing
- media research
- writing and journalism
- teaching
- policy and administration
- government
- victim support
Research in action
LJMU academics worked alongside an artist to create a board game that brings the experiences of life on probation to the general public.
Exhibiting work in one of the country’s leading modern art galleries is not a typical experience for Criminologists, but academics from within LJMU's Criminal Justice and Criminology departments can now add this to their list of achievements. Alongside artist Hwa Young Jung, the team revealed a thought-provoking, interactive art piece – a board game entitled, Probationary: The Game of Life on Licence – at the Tate Modern for The Production of Truth, Justice and History exhibition hosted by the University of Warwick.
Produced through workshops with men on licence, Probationary explores the lived experience of being on probation. The board game format enables players to follow the journey of four characters as they work through the complexities of the probation process.
Board games, from Monopoly to the Game of Life, contain the structures and values of the society in which they are produced – presenting back to us the world in which we live. Taking this as a starting point, Probationary reflects real experiences of being subject to the criminal justice system and presents an opportunity to collectively play, understand and discuss such systems within contemporary society.
The student experience
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Course modules
Discover the building blocks of your programme
Your programme is made up of a number of core modules which are part of the course framework. Some programmes also have optional modules that can be selected to enhance your learning in certain areas and many feature a dissertation, extended report or research project to demonstrate your advanced learning.
Core modules
CSP Advanced Research Methods for Social Science
30 credits
This module will develop your understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of criminology and social policy research and practice. You will evaluate and understand the contested and political nature of knowledge and the complex relationship between social research and the policy environment. You will critically evaluate a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods used in relevant fields of enquiry and develop advanced data analysis skills, including the use of specialist software tools.
CSP Conceptualising Crime, Criminal Justice and Social Policy
30 credits
This module will help you understand the fundamental connection between criminological and social policy theoretical approaches and the significance of these to analyses of social (in) justice. You will understand welfare and criminal justice institutions in their historical and contemporary contexts, and critically examine the ways in which social policy and policymaking processes inform constructions of 'social problems' and the criminal justice responses to them.
Optional modules
CSP Globalisation and Comparative Social Policy: Crime, Harm and (in)justice
30 credits
This module with encourage you to think globally and comparatively about social policy and its connections with crime, harm and (in)justice. You will develop a critical understanding of the ways in which the economic, political and cultural milieu intersect with crime, harm and (in)justice. You will participate in online fieldwork, internet-based research, and communities of practice for digital scholarship.
CSP Criminological (Re)presentations
30 credits
By studying this module you will understand the ways in which crime, harm and the agencies of social control are represented in different cultural/intellectual contexts. You will develop a systematic understanding of the ways in which academic theory and cultural representations intersect and coalesce around notions of 'crime', 'harm' and '(in)justice'. You will engage in the active interrogation of cutting-edge criminological theory through participatory discussion.
CSP Social Divisions: Origins, Inequalities, Intersections
30 credits
During this module you will critically explore the significance of historical and contemporary constructions of inequalities to the study of criminology and social policy. You will understand the interconnecting relationship between multiple social divisions and the effects these connections have in theory, policy and practice. The module will help you situate current debates around social divisions and inequalities in their political, geographical and social context.
CSP Critical Criminology and the State: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
30 credits
Develop a critical understanding of the historical and contemporary relationship between the state, social divisions and the maintenance of social order, while considering recent developments around critical theories of the state. You will understand the interrelationship between the exercise of state power, policy and practice and critically assess the contradictions within, and contestation around, the exercise of state power.
CSP Practice-Based Research Project
60 credits
During this module you will understand the ways in which criminological research can be undertaken across a range of different employment contexts. You will develop an enhanced employability profile, supported through an evidence-based skill-set. The module will provide you with the opportunity to communicate your research to a diverse audience through different methods of delivery.
CSP Dissertation
60 credits
During the module you will negotiate issues of methodology, research design, ethics and data analysis and apply these to research on a topic of the student's choice. You will develop a systematic and critical awareness of complex concepts congruent to the study of criminology and social policy, work independently and with some originality. You will produce a coherent and logically argued piece of writing that demonstrates competence in critical analysis.
Teaching
An insight into teaching on your course
Study hours
The 180-credit programme will be taught across three semesters.
Each pathway will consist of one 60 credit module (either a dissertation or placement module) undertaken across the whole academic year. Accompanying this, students study two core modules in their first semester, and two optional modules in semester two. Part time students undertake one core module and two options in their first year, and their dissertation/practice-based research module and final core module in their second year.
Teaching methods
Teaching is delivered via a combination of lectures, workshops, seminars and one-to-one consultations with your tutors. You will also be expected to study independently and conduct your own self-directed research.
The teaching team is committed to ensuring you get the most out of your learning experience. Staff have office hours during which you can visit them to discuss your work and progress. You will also be allocated a personal tutor who will guide and support you throughout your time at LJMU.
Applied learning
The MA takes a ‘student centred’ approach to learning, offering you the opportunity to individualise and customise your postgraduate degree by taking either a research pathway through it, a work placement route, or even a combination of both. You will be encouraged to take a fresh look at some established criminological theories and ideas, as well as being given a space through which some of the field’s most contemporary and cutting-edge debates can be engaged with.
Theprogramme is taught by staff from a variety of disciplines including Geography, Psychology, Political Science, Sociology and Criminology itself – all of whom are research active and widely published. This level of academic expertise ensures that your degree is at the cutting edge of developments in Criminology and related fields.
Staff are writing books and academic articles on a range of issues of direct relevance to Criminology and Social Policy including:
- austerity Britain
- deaths inside and outside of state institutions
- offender management
- women’s gendered experience of probation
- domestic abuse
- the policing of protest
- counter terrorism measures
- organised crime
- cannabis cultivation and the moral economy of heroin.
They are involved in a range of ongoing research studies which explore the links between leisure activities and wellbeing of various types of breaks offered by The Royal British Legion (TRBL); arts practice as a means to explore the lived experience of the criminal justice system; the policing of anti-fracking protests; looked after children’s experiences of the criminal justice system; and risk and harm in vulnerable children’s navigation of online space.
Assessment
How learning is monitored on your programme
To cater for the wide-ranging content of our courses and the varied learning preferences of our students, we offer a range of assessment methods on each programme.
Staff on this programme place a high value on providing tailored feedback to students and you will normally receive extensive written feedback on assessments and regular feedback. This is designed to help you achieve your full potential.
Depending on the route you select, you will undertake either a 60 credit Masters Dissertation or a 60 credit assessed placement. Other forms of assessment may include: essays, exams, reports and briefing papers, case studies, portfolios, posters, presentations, debates, reviews and group work.
Course tutors
Dr Stephen Wakeman
Programme Leader
Dr Stephen Wakeman
Programme Leader
My main research interests include drug use and drug policy, addictions, the criminological significance of various types of popular media, and progressive criminological theory (especially regarding its interface with contemporary continental philosophy). I am currently researching the ways in which popular media sources like television, film, comic books and video games have the capacity to shape and redirect criminological debates, as well as writing two monographs: one based on my PhD, the other on the complexities of doing criminological ethnography.
This MA will provide students with an opportunity to think differently about a whole range of subjects related to crime, deviance, and the agencies of their control. It has been written with the modern postgraduate student in mind. This programme will appeal to those who are interested in pursuing their academic studies through research, and those who want to increase their employability through gaining ‘hands on’ skills via a work placement.
School facilities
What you can expect from your School
Based within the John Foster Building on the Mount Pleasant Campus the School of Humanities and Social Science has many outstanding facilities, including well-equipped IT Suites, a light-filled Student Common Room and dedicated postgraduate study areas. At the back of the John Foster Building is the Aldham Robarts Library, which gives access to an exceptional range of materials to support the study of humanities and social science.
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Entry requirements
You will need:
- a minimum 2.1 Honours degree in a relevant subject e.g. Criminology, Sociology, Social Policy
Additional information
- Non-standard applications are welcome
- IELTS 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each component) or equivalent
- Pearson PTE Academic requirements: 64 (minimum 59 in each component for UKVI purposes)
- RPL is accepted on this programme.
If you have any specific queries, please contact apsadmissions@ljmu.ac.uk
The University reserves the right to withdraw or make alterations to a course and facilities if necessary; this may be because such changes are deemed to be beneficial to students, are minor in nature and unlikely to impact negatively upon students or become necessary due to circumstances beyond the control of the University. Where this does happen, the University operates a policy of consultation, advice and support to all enrolled students affected by the proposed change to their course or module.