BA Criminology and American Studies - Including Placement Year

University of Essex

Our course gives you an excellent understanding of the global patterns increasingly found in criminal justice policies and criminal offences. We take a social view of crime, a view which links crime to issues of power, resources, rights, (in)equality, governance and culture. This leads us to ask, for example, why certain groups of people are more likely than others to become offenders, why certain kinds of offenders are more likely than others to be caught, how some governments commit ‘state crime' and why so many people are simultaneously fearful of, yet fascinated by, crime.Crucially, you also have the opportunity to spend either a term or a full academic year studying in the United States, so you can explore and become immersed in American culture.The degree is built to be extremely flexible and student-led, and as you progress through the course you can choose from an enormous range of options from across the humanities and social sciences, including:Contemporary social issues, such as the struggles for racial justiceThe legacies of slavery and the civil rights movementEnvironmental protection of the ‘wilderness' of the Far WestNative American histories and rightsOrganised crime, surveillance and counter-terrorismEnvironmental harmVisual criminologySocial history and crime

Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies