COURSE CURRICULUM

The Criminology course at Sussex provides a comprehensive, three-year program combining core modules with a wide range of options to allow students to tailor their studies. In the first year, students build a strong foundation through modules in critical reading and writing, criminological theory, sociology, and the criminal justice system, developing analytical and theoretical skills. The second year introduces research methods, with quantitative and qualitative approaches, alongside core modules and options that explore diverse topics such as gender, crime and justice, victimology, policing, identity and violence, drugs and deviant leisure, health, race, punishment, and the climate crisis. These options allow students to engage with contemporary social and criminal issues from multiple perspectives. In the third year, students undertake a criminology project, applying their knowledge and research skills to an independent study, while options explore advanced topics such as crimes against humanity, criminological futures, digital activism, neurocriminology, violence, terror, gangs, the death penalty, riots, and the intersection of class, power, and the state. Across all years, the program emphasizes critical thinking, sociological analysis, and practical research skills, preparing graduates to understand crime in its social and cultural contexts and to pursue careers in criminal justice, policy, advocacy, research, and related fields, equipped with both theoretical knowledge and applied experience.