The Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Criminology is the only degree of its type in Victoria, focusing on both the causes of crime (criminology) and the fallout of crime (criminal justice). You’ll learn about local and global criminality, traditional approaches and responses to crime, and emerging trends and practices.

In this course, you’ll examine the international dimensions of criminal justice as well as the technological advances that impact the sector, including an emphasis on predicting the commission of crime, detecting and stopping criminal behaviour, and implementing effective and efficient criminal sanctions.

The degree will give you the knowledge and skills to work in a range of sectors and industries, including policing, corrections, courts, offender rehabilitation, victim support and government policy development.

Course structure

Successful completion of the Bachelor of Criminal Justice and Criminology requires students to complete units of study to the value of 300 credit points. All units of study are valued at 12.5 credit points unless otherwise stated.

Course learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Describe the nature of criminal activity and evaluate the main causes of crime
• Undertake research and evaluate the consequences of crime on victims and the broader community
• Compare and analyse Australia’s response to crime with that of other nations
• Demonstrate effective and persuasive communication capabilities with legal and non-legal audiences
• Investigate and evaluate proposed solutions to crime
• Describe and evaluate technological and other scientific approaches to reducing crime and dealing with the consequences of crime
• Function as an effective member or leader of a diverse team and critically reflect on individual performance.

Career opportunities

The Criminal Justice and Criminology degree provides students with the knowledge and training necessary to meet the challenges of working in industries and sectors that deal with the causes of crime (criminology) and the consequences of criminal behaviour and the responses to criminality (criminal justice). The criminology aspect provides a pathway for people who want to develop and monitor rehabilitation programs and also more broadly to work in the area of community safety. The criminal justice aspects provide a pathway to jobs in policing, prosecution, the courts and prisons. The course prepares students to work in the areas of law enforcement, corrections, offender rehabilitation, victim support and government policy development.