Major Overview
- Description
Criminology is an inter-disciplinary subject area that has emerged from the attention distinct disciplines have paid to offenders and offending. As such, the Criminology major draws on knowledge and perspectives from a range of disciplines including Law, Psychology, History, Anthropology and Geography. The combination of core and optional units in this major structure will expose students to the breadth of issues being addressed by contemporary Criminology. Included in this will be understanding of the practical role Criminology plays in advising governments on issues relating to criminality, crime prevention, policing, corrective services, sentencing, and offender treatment.
Students will learn to critique both crime and the criminal law, being encouraged to question why there is such variation across time and space about the types of acts we define as crime and the ways that we respond to criminality. The Criminology major will require students to develop a broad range of employment-relevant skills, including the capacity to think critically, integrate theory and research to practice, and communicate effectively in written and oral forms.
- Outcomes
Students are able to:
- apply criminological theoretical frameworks to analyse contemporary challenges relating to crime, victimisation, crime prevention, and the criminal justice system
- generate evidence-based empirical and theoretical knowledge in the examination of historical and contemporary crime and justice issues, using the broad range of disciplines that underpin criminology
- recognise, interpret, and critique contemporary trends in crime
- develop and use appropriate cognitive and technical skills to engage with ongoing theoretical debates in criminology through critical analysis of information and data from relevant criminal justice sources
- develop and use appropriate communication skills to facilitate effective dissemination of evidence-based knowledge in a clear and articulate manner.
- Broadening guidelines
All students studying towards a Bachelor's Degree at UWA are required to Broaden their studies by completing a minimum of four units (24 points) of study outside their degree specific major. Broadening is your opportunity to explore other areas of interest, investigate new disciplines and knowledge paradigms and to shape your degree to suit your own aspirations and interests. Many of you will be able to undertake more than this minimum amount of broadening study and we encourage you to do so if this suits your aspirations. Over the next few months you will find here some broadening suggestions related to your degree-specific major. While we know that many students value guidance of this sort, these are only suggestions and students should not lose sight of the opportunity to explore that is afforded by your Broadening Choices. Advice can also be sought from your Allocated Student Advising Office.
- Incompatibilities
MJD-CRMDM Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Courses
Criminology can be taken as a degree-specific major in the following degree courses:
Units
Key to availability of units:
- S1
- Semester 1
- S2
- Semester 2
- N/A
- not available in 2024 – may be available in 2025 or 2026
Level 1
Students taking this major in conjunction with the Law and Society major [MJD-LWSOC] must select their units such that no more than 18 points, comprising 12 points at level one and 6 points at level two, of units are shared between the two majors. No level three units may be shared between the majors. Students encountering any difficulties reflecting this requirement in their study plan should seek guidance from their allocated advising office.
Degree-specific major units
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS1110 | Crime and Society | None |
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:
Level 2
Students taking this major in conjunction with the Law and Society major [MJD-LWSOC] must select their units such that no more than 18 points, comprising 12 points at level one and 6 points at level two, of units are shared between the two majors. No level three units may be shared between the majors. Students encountering any difficulties reflecting this requirement in their study plan should seek guidance from their allocated advising office.
Degree-specific major units
Take all units (12 points):
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | LAWS2223 | Criminal Justice Systems |
|
| S2 | LAWS2230 | Working with People in the Justice System I |
|
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 6 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A | HIST2215 | Australian Underbelly: A Criminal History |
|
| S2 | HIST2224 | American Outlaws: Crime and Punishment in the United States |
|
| S2 | LAWS2220 | Birth, Life and Death: Health and Medical Law |
|
| S2 | LAWS2225 | Indigenous Peoples and the Law | |
| S1 | LAWS2231 | Transnational and Organised Crime |
|
Level 3
Students taking this major in conjunction with the Law and Society major [MJD-LWSOC] must select their units such that no more than 18 points, comprising 12 points at level one and 6 points at level two, of units are shared between the two majors. No level three units may be shared between the majors. Students encountering any difficulties reflecting this requirement in their study plan should seek guidance from their allocated advising office.
Degree-specific major units
Take the following unit:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S2 | LAWS3374 | Crime, Justice and Public Policy |
Degree-specific major units
Take unit(s) to the value of 12 points:
| Availability | Unit code | Unit name | unit requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | HIST3007 | Crime and Punishment in Britain 1600–1900 |
|
| S1 | LAWS3212 | Working with People in the Justice System 2 |
|
| S1 | LAWS3213 | Preventing Contemporary Crime Problems |
|