Everything you need to know...
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What is the fee?
Home: £9,535 per year
International/EU: £17,155 per year (£1,200 for placement year) -
How long will I study?
3 / 4 Years
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Where will I study?
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What are the entry requirements?
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What is the UCAS code?
ML93
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When do I start?
September 2025
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Placement year available?
Yes
Where will I study?
Course summary
- Experience award-winning teaching recognised by the British Society of Criminology.
- Gain experience at the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.
- Develop expertise in criminology, sociology, social justice and global human rights.
- Improve your employability through work placements and international study opportunities.
Gain a comprehensive understanding of criminological and sociological perspectives, on the causes and consequences of crime, the criminal justice system and societal structures. Through this interdisciplinary approach, you'll gain an understanding of human behaviour and societal dynamics. You’ll graduate with a broad foundation for careers in criminal justice, social justice and related sectors.
If you don't meet the entry requirements for this course, or you’d like extra preparation before starting degree-level study, we recommend you join the foundation year.
How you learn
Our dedicated staff bring a wealth of practical experience, having worked in various areas of the criminal justice system, such as prisons, probation, and the police. Many are also actively engaged in cutting-edge criminological research, ensuring that your education is current and delivering real-world impact.
You’ll have the opportunity to engage with external partners and practitioners, gaining the contemporary knowledge, skills and attributes you need for a professional career in the criminal justice or social justice sectors. Our goal is to prepare you for further professional training or equivalent pursuits.
You learn through:
- Face-to-face lectures and seminars
- Online lectures and seminars
- Student-led collaborative learning
- Practice-based learning
- Independent research
- Exams and coursework
- Practical exercises
Key Themes
You’ll focus on key foundational areas such as the criminal justice system, human rights and values, and social science research methods. Through these you’ll build specialist knowledge of the causes and consequences of crime and deviance within a social, political and international context. You’ll apply this knowledge to real-world challenges, problems, perspectives and experiences – engaging with local, national and international partners.
You'll maximise your career prospects through curriculum-integrated employment opportunities that connect with real-world contexts. These experiences encompass applied projects, work-integrated learning with relevant partners, and student-led impact research or employer-led projects.
To develop as a globally aware and engaged practitioner, you’ll study an integrated international curriculum throughout your degree – primarily through online learning, along with the opportunity to study abroad at one of our partner institutions.
Course Support
You’ll be supported in your learning journey towards highly skilled, graduate level employment through several key areas. These include:
- Access to specialist support services to help with your personal, academic and career development.
- Access to our Skills Centre with one to ones, webinars and online resources, where you can get help with planning and structuring your assignments.
Course leaders and tutors
Applied learning
Your course has been designed to embrace real-world challenges and provide you with the practical skills and knowledge to be successful.
Work Placements
You’ll have the opportunity to undertake a year-long work placement between your second and final years. This gives you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career – and allows you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.
Previous students have completed placements for companies and organisations such as the Community Rehabilitation Company, Victim Support and Doncaster Prison.
Live Projects
You’ll engage in a range of live projects – working on behalf of real organisations. Previous students projects have included designing materials for hate crime awareness week for South Yorkshire Police, designing educational materials to help young people understand cybercrime on behalf of Victim Support, and researching the experiences of securing housing for those released from prison on behalf on NACRO (the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders).
Networking Opportunities
Our course benefits from close ties with the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice, ensuring a curriculum that addresses ethical and social justice issues related to social inclusion and exclusion. We focus on promoting social access to community resources, particularly for vulnerable groups.
We collaborate with employers and key stakeholders to provide you with opportunities to make a positive impact on critical community issues. This may involve working with organisations focused on young people, criminal justice, community justice, substance misuse, women's services, housing, victim services, and more – both locally and globally. Previously we’ve taken students to South Africa and Lesotho on a human rights and social justice trip.
Come to an open day
Visit us to learn more about our gold-rated teaching and why we were awarded the highest possible rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.
Future careers
This course prepares you for a career in:
- Citizens advice work
- Community liaison work
- Drug and alcohol services
- Police services
- Prison services
- Probation services
- Social work
- Social research (academic, government, charity)
- Victim support work
- Youth work
Previous graduates of this course have gone on to work for:
- Housing and social care professions and sectors
- Local and regional councils
- Police services
- Sheffield Drug/Alcohol Domestic Abuse Coordination Team (DACT)
- Sheffield Hallam University
- The Magistrates Court
- The Ministry of Justice
Where will I study?
You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.
City Campus
City Campus is located in the heart of Sheffield, within minutes of the train and bus stations.
City Campus map | City Campus tour
Adsetts library
Adsetts Library is located on our City Campus. It's open 24 hours a day, every day.
Learn moreEquipment and facilities
Most of our teaching is conducted in dedicated lecture studios, small teaching rooms and computer labs.
You’ll work with:
- Innovative digital teaching and learning platforms and apps
- Specialist software
- Data analysis packages
- Data collection tools
We’ve invested over £100 million in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students.
Entry requirements
All students
UCAS points
- 112-120
This must include at least two A levels or equivalent BTEC National qualifications. For example:
- BBC-BBB at A Level.
- DDM in BTEC Extended Diploma.
- Merit overall from a T level Qualification
- A combination of qualifications, which may include AS Levels, EPQ and general studies.
You can find information on making sense of UCAS tariff points here and use the UCAS tariff calculator to work out your points.
GCSE
- English Language or English Literature at grade C or 4
- Mathematics at grade C or 4
• Access - at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2 from a relevant Open College Network accredited course
• Grade B from CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma.
If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.5 in both reading and writing and 5.5 in all other skills, or equivalent
We consider other qualifications from the UCAS tariff. Applicants with alternative qualifications or a combination of qualifications and work experience are also considered. We welcome applications from people of any age. Please contact us for further advice.
Meeting the qualifications on the entry criteria does not guarantee you a place. You should ensure that you submit a personal statement and reference as these are considered as part of the selection process. Guidelines on personal statements and references can be found on the UCAS website.
Additional information for EU/International students
If you are an International or non-UK European student, you can find out more about the country specific qualifications we accept on our international qualifications page.
For details of English language entry requirements (IELTS), please see the information for 'All students'.
Modules
Important notice: The structure of this course is periodically reviewed and enhanced to provide the best possible learning experience for our students and ensure ongoing compliance with any professional, statutory and regulatory body standards. Module structure, content, delivery and assessment may change, but we expect the focus of the course and the learning outcomes to remain as described above. Following any changes, updated module information will be published on this page.
You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Contesting Crime And Deviance
Researching Crime, Deviance And Marginalisation
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Investigating Crime Deviance And Marginalisation
Elective modules
Professional Practice On Placement
Real World Practice
Study Abroad - Institute Of Law And Justice
Year 3
Optional modules
Placement Year
Final year
Elective modules
21St Century Security Threats: Crime, Crisis Or Tragedy
Comparative Criminal Justice
Controversies Of Policing
Crime, Harm And Social Justice
Drugs, Crime And Society
Education, Health And Disability
Families, Age, And Relationships
Gender, Power And The State
Gender, Sexuality, And Culture
Pathways To Change
Punishment And Practice In Context
Real World Project
Real World Research
Sex, Gender And Violence
Fees and funding
Home students
Our tuition fee for UK students on full-time undergraduate courses in 2025/26 is £9,535 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year). These fees are regulated by the UK government and therefore subject to change in future years.
If you are studying an undergraduate course, postgraduate pre-registration course or postgraduate research course over more than one academic year then your tuition fees may increase in subsequent years in line with Government regulations or UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) published fees. More information can be found in our terms and conditions under student fees regulations.
International students
Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2025/26 is £17,155 per year. During your placement year you will pay a reduced fee of £1,200.
Financial support for home/EU students
How tuition fees work, student loans and other financial support available.
Additional course costs
The links below allow you to view estimated general course additional costs, as well as costs associated with key activities on specific courses. These are estimates and are intended only as an indication of potential additional expenses. Actual costs can vary greatly depending on the choices you make during your course.
General course additional costs
Additional costs for Sheffield Institute of Law and Justice (PDF, 141.3KB)Legal information
Any offer of a place to study is subject to your acceptance of the University’s Terms and Conditions and Student Regulations.
