PhD - Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology

Australia

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What will I learn?

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is an opportunity to pursue a topic you're passionate about at the highest academic level.

A PhD is an independent, supervised research project that is assessed on the submission of a thesis or creative work and exegesis. This course may be undertaken in any School within ECU, provided there are supervisors available in your proposed research area, and the resources and facilities required to complete your proposed project are accessible. ECU encourages interdisciplinary research that may span two or more disciplines. As a PhD candidate, you will be expected to develop a project that can be completed in three years full-time. You may submit your thesis any time after two years of full-time study, and the maximum course duration for a PhD is four years full-time. A PhD is a significant undertaking, and if enrolled full-time you are expected to commit at least 35 hours per week to your research.

Course Learning Outcomes

  • Apply communication skills to explain and critique theoretical propositions, methodologies and conclusions, and cogently present findings of a complex and original investigation to peers and the broader community
  • Integrate substantial and systemic understanding of complex discipline knowledge with research principles and methods to demonstrate expertise in the field
  • Take responsibility and show initiative for designing and executing original research, demonstrating capacity to generate new knowledge with intellectual independence.
  • Use expert skills and authoritative judgement to adapt and implement research methodologies and conduct systematic and independent investigation of theory and/or practice at the frontier of a discipline.

Career opportunities

Community development, Policing, Corrections (adult/youth), Policy Research, any justice related professional position

Possible future job titles

Police officer, Corrections officer, Researcher, Policy officer

Criminology:

Criminology and Justice research at ECU consists of two streams; the first stream is focused on offending, offenders and anti-social behaviour more broadly and the second on police practices and police operational deployment models.

Postgraduate research topics are developed in conjunction with the postgraduate coordinator or potential supervisor. Engaged research is a feature of research at ECU, and therefore students are encouraged to include an industry expert on their supervisory panel. Applications are particularly encouraged from those with an interest in: Policing Youth offending Drug and alcohol use and crime Human rights Corrections Researchers in the school are currently involved in projects focused on youth offending, policing the mentally ill, investigative interviewing, human source recruitment and management, police misconduct and police mental health and wellness.

Which department am I in?

School of Arts and Humanities

CRICOS

085257E

Study options

Full Time (4 years)

Tuition fees
A$40,400.00 (22,01,155) per year

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Start date

Expected February 2025

Venue

Edith Cowan University (ECU)

Joondalup Campus,

270 Joondalup Drive,

JOONDALUP,

Western Australia,

6027, PERTH, Australia

Online/Distance (4 years)

Tuition fees
A$40,400.00 (22,01,155) per year

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Start date

Expected February 2025

Entry requirements

For international students

All applicants are required to have the equivalent of 6 months full time research (which must involve a research output which includes the conception and design of the project, and analysis and interpretation of findings) if applying with a Masters qualification other than a Master by Research.

Academic admission requirements (Band 11) may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

  • Masters Degree (Research); or
  • Bachelor Honours Degree (First or Upper Second class); or
  • Demonstrated capacity to undertake original PhD-level research.

English competency requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

IELTS Academic: An overall band score of 6.5, with no individual band less than 6.0. (Results are typically valid for only 2 years.); TOEFL Paper-Based Test (PBT): Minimum score of 573, including Test of Written English of 5.0 or better. (Results are typically valid for only 2 years.); TOEFL iBT or TOEFL iBT Special Home Edition: Minimum score of 84, with no individual score less than 17. (Results are typically valid for only two years.); Pearson Test of English (PTE): PTE Academic 58, with no score less than 50 for postgraduate standard entry courses. (Results are typically valid for only 2 years.)

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

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About Edith Cowan University (ECU)

For the third year in a row, ECU students have rated it the top public university in Australia for overall undergraduate experience (QILT 2023).

  • Among world’s top 100 best young universities (THE)
  • Offers a range of industry-relevant programmes
  • World-class research profile
  • Enjoys broad industry connections

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