Criminology

The DPhil Criminology is offered as either a full-time 3-4 year degree, or a part-time 6-8 year degree. The DPhil entails researching and writing a thesis of between 75,000 and 100,000 words under the guidance of at least one supervisor who will be an acknowledged authority on their chosen topic. 

Recent graduates of the DPhil Criminology have pursued careers in the following areas:

• professional careers in criminal justice agencies and the law
• university research and teaching in academic criminology and law schools
• research careers
• government departments
• voluntary organisations in the crime and justice field

As a first-year full-time student, or in your first two years as a part-time student, you will follow courses of instruction in criminological research methods to develop your skills whilst working under the guidance of at least one supervisor who will be an acknowledged authority on their chosen topic.

Skills training sessions are offered by the Centre for Criminology, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences Division as appropriate to different stages of the graduate career. There are also opportunities to access advanced and specialist research training provided elsewhere in the division and University.

The areas in which members of the Centre for Criminology are able to offer supervision include:

• policing and security
• sentencing
• crime, risk and justice
• human rights and criminal justice
• victims
• procedural justice and legitimacy
• prisons
• sociology of punishment
• restorative justice    
• the death penalty
• border control and the criminalisation of migration
• public attitude and responses to crime
• the politics of crime and justice
• crime and the family
• race and gender
• miscarriages of justice
• crime, criminology and social/political theory
• youth justice

Research seminars bring you and other students together with academic and other research staff in the department to hear about ongoing research and provide an opportunity for networking and socialising.

You will be encouraged to attend the Oxford criminology and informal research seminars organised by the centre. You will also have the opportunity to discuss your research plan at the criminology discussion group and at the criminological research workshops, held in Trinity term.

Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or a strong upper second class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications) as a minimum in law, sociology, politics, economics, social policy, psychology, history, or another subject relevant to criminology. A high upper second class graduate degree is normally defined as one in which an average mark of 65% or above is achieved. 

For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA sought is 3.7 out of 4.0.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).

Applicants are also normally expected to be predicted or to have achieved a master's degree (or equivalent international qualifications) in law, sociology, politics, economics, social policy, psychology, history, or another subject relevant to criminology with an average mark of 67% or above.

• Official transcript(s)
• CV/résumé
• Research proposal: Up to three pages
• Written work:Two essays of 2,000 words each
• References/letters of recommendation: Three overall, all of which must be academic

ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS

Higher level

Want to improve your English level for admission?

Prepare for the program requirements with English Online by the British Council.

• ✔️ Flexible study schedule
• ✔️ Experienced teachers
• ✔️ Certificate upon completion

📘 Recommended for students with an IELTS level of 6.0 or below.

Enroll in the course

• Global Education
• Hill Foundation Scholarships
• A number of Research Council awards are available each year from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).