MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice
About the course
The MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice will equip you with an advanced understanding of crime and criminal justice, comprising courses in criminological theory, the study of criminal justice, and training in research design and methodology.
The MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice is offered on both a full-time (one-year) and part-time (two-year) basis. The degree and expectations for both modes of study are equally rigorous. Part-time students take their classes with the full-time students, but spread over two years to accommodate work and personal circumstances.
Course structure
An overview of the course structure is provided below. Details of the compulsory and optional elements of the course are provided in the Course components section of this page.
A stimulating and demanding course, involving intensive learning in small groups, the MSc is comprised of compulsory courses, option subjects and a dissertation.
Full-time students will be expected to spend around 40 hours studying each week during term, and to undertake some further study during vacations. During the first two terms you will be advised to divide your time between the core course and your other courses as follows:
- At least ten hours per week preparation for the core course
- At least eight hours per week preparation for each option/compulsory course
- Four and a half to six hours per week in seminars (90 minutes for each course).
You can find further information about the full-time course on the faculty's website.
Part-time students will be expected to commit to a proportional workload.
A part-time student has the following schedule:
Year 1:
- Michaelmas term: Core course (compulsory), Research Design and Data Collection (compulsory)
- Hilary term: Core course (compulsory), one option course
- Trinity term: Academic Skills course (compulsory)
Year 2:
- Michaelmas term: two option courses
- Hilary term: two option courses
- Trinity term: Dissertation (compulsory), Academic Skills Course (recommended).
You can find further information about the part-time course on the faculty's website.
You will be encouraged to attend the All Souls Criminology Seminars with invited speakers, held fortnightly on Thursdays during term time.
The centre arranges several events throughout the year to which all MSc students, along with other members of the centre such as MSc course tutors, MPhil and DPhil students, research officers and associates are invited. You will also have the opportunity to broaden your knowledge via the great number of lectures in other courses and public seminars offered by both the centre and other departments and colleges within the University.
You will have the opportunity to meet and hear presentations from leading scholars from around the world, as well as practitioners working in criminal justice through the centre’s active academic visitor’s programme.
Attendance
The course can be studied full-time or part-time with both modes requiring attendance in Oxford. Full-time students are subject to the University's Residence requirements. Part-time students are required to attend course-related activities in Oxford for a minimum of 30 days each year.
The full-time course is studied over nine months, the part-time course has the same requirements, but is studied over 21 months.
Although there will be no requirement to live in Oxford, part-time students must attend the Centre for Criminology at least two days per week in term-time for seminars, and supervision meetings.
Resources to support your study
As a graduate student, you will have access to the University's wide range of resources including libraries, museums, galleries, digital resources and IT services.
The Bodleian Libraries is the largest library system in the UK. It includes the main Bodleian Library and libraries across Oxford, including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries. Together, the Libraries hold more than 13 million printed items, provide access to e-journals, and contain outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera.
The University's IT Services is available to all students to support with core university IT systems and tools, as well as many other services and facilities. IT Services also offers a range of IT learning courses for students to support with learning and research, as well as guidance on what technology to bring with you as a new student at Oxford.
You will have access to the Bodleian Law Library and Bodleian Social Science Library. Training on how to use the library’s legal and journal database is jointly provided by the Faculty of Law and the Bodleian Social Sciences Library.
You will also be able to draw on the many resources and provisions of the Faculty of Law and the Social Sciences Division. Throughout the term, the Faculty of Law and various departments in the Social Sciences division host lectures, seminars and social events of interest to criminology students. You will also have the opportunity to pursue your interests through Oxford Pro Bono Publico, Oxford Transitional Justice Research and a number of interdisciplinary student bodies.
Supervision
The allocation of graduate supervision for this course is the responsibility of the Centre for Criminology and it is not always possible to accommodate the preferences of incoming graduate students to work with a particular member of staff. Under exceptional circumstances a supervisor may be found outside the Centre for Criminology. Students usually meet with their supervisor once a term.
Assessment
The Criminological Theories and Criminal Justice course assessment will be conducted by a timed in-person examination.
Research methods courses are examined by means of an assessment to be submitted at the end of the relevant term. These courses also have some term-time assignments which are assessed on a pass/fail basis.
All other options are examined by means of an assessed essay, also to be submitted at the end of the term in which the option runs.
In addition to the options you take, you will write a dissertation during the third term. Part-time students will write their dissertations in the third term of their second year, but will be encouraged to start planning their dissertation from their first year. The dissertation will be researched and written independently, with only minimum guidance from your dissertation supervisor. This is also supported by a compulsory but non-assessed course, Academic Skills for Criminologists, attended by both full-time and part-time students.
Graduate destinations
MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice graduates have recently gone into the following areas:
- research careers
- government departments and criminal justice agencies
- voluntary organisations in the crime and justice field
- international organisations, such as the UNODC.
Changes to this course
The University will seek to deliver this course in accordance with the description set out in this course page. However, there may be situations in which it is desirable or necessary for the University to make changes in course provision, either before or after registration. The safety of students, staff and visitors is paramount and major changes to delivery or services may have to be made if a pandemic, epidemic or local health emergency occurs. In addition, in certain circumstances, for example due to visa difficulties or because the health needs of students cannot be met, it may be necessary to make adjustments to course requirements for international study.
Where possible your academic supervisor will not change for the duration of your course. However, it may be necessary to assign a new academic supervisor during the course of study or before registration for reasons which might include illness, sabbatical leave, parental leave or change in employment.
For further information please see our page on changes to courses and the provisions of the student contract regarding changes to courses.
Course components
Compulsory study
Compulsory courses run weekly during the first two terms: Criminological Theories and Criminal Justice in Michaelmas and Hilary terms and Research Design and Data Collection in Michaelmas Term. A further compulsory (but non-examined) course is run weekly in the third term. In addition to the compulsory courses and options you take, you will write a dissertation.
Criminological Theories and Criminal Justice
The course begins by exploring the key cross-cutting themes of race, gender, and international approaches in criminology. This course develops understanding of the organising categories and central claims of a range of modern criminological perspectives of crime and social control. It will equip you to recognise the main problems, questions, dichotomies and ideas that have shaped modern criminological thought, to understand the nature of theory and explanation within criminology, and to both appreciate and critique the history and development of criminological thought.
The course explores criminological and international understanding of criminal justice/penal institutions and processes. The course introduces you to research on these processes, their underlying competing theoretical perspectives, and contemporary issues and controversies in criminal justice and punishment. The course encourages you to think about the role of the state/criminal law in the regulation of human behaviour and the place and limitations of criminal justice interventions in producing safe societies.
Part-time students take this course in their first year of study.
Research Design and Data Collection
This compulsory course, which runs in the first term, is focused on the challenges and the opportunities that different methods of data collection have for validity and reliability of data. Methods include experiments and quasi-experiments; questionnaires and survey research; field research, and the collection of written documents. The scientific method, theory testing and research design will also be discussed. Ethical concerns are given special emphasis. Part-time students take this course in the first term of their first year of study.
Academic Skills for Criminologists
This final compulsory course runs in the third term. Weekly seminars focus on developing academic skills and supporting students in the development of their dissertations.
Options
Full-time students will take five option modules over the first and second terms of the year. Part-time students take a total of five option modules across the two years of study. Option modules run for seven weeks in each term. Recent option modules have included:
- Crime and the Family
- Criminal Justice, Migration and Citizenship
- Criminology and the Car
- Death Penalty
- Politics of Crime Control
- Prisons
- Psychology, Law and Criminal Justice
- Public and Private Policing
- Qualitative Methods
- Quantitative Analysis for Social Scientists
- Race and Gender
- Risk, Security and Criminal Justice
- Sentencing
- Theorising Punishment
- Transitional Justice
- Youth Justice.
Please note that not all options run every year.
Entry requirements for entry in 2026-27
Proven and potential academic excellence
The requirements described below are specific to this course and apply only in the year of entry that is shown. You can use our guidance to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
We know that contextual factors can make it difficult for candidates to demonstrate their full potential. This course is taking part in an initiative to use contextual data to help us to better understand your achievements in the context of your individual background. For further details, please refer to the information about improving access to graduate study in the How to apply section of this page.
Please be aware that any studentships that are linked to this course may have different or additional requirements and you should read any studentship information carefully before applying. Contextual data may also be used in the assessment of studentships.
Degree-level qualifications
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the following UK qualifications or their equivalent:
- a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours, usually a minimum weighted average of 67%.
The qualification above should be achieved in one of the following subject areas or disciplines:
- law
- sociology
- politics
- economics
- social policy
- psychology
- history; or
- another subject relevant to criminology.
Extensive employment experience within the broad field of criminal justice may be regarded by the Board of Admissions as compensating for a lack of an undergraduate degree to the required standard.
For applicants with a bachelor's degree from the USA, the minimum overall GPA that is normally required to meet the undergraduate-level requirement is 3.6 out of 4.0. However, selection of candidates also depends on other factors in your application and most successful applicants have achieved higher GPA scores.
If your degree is not from the UK or another country specified above, visit our International Qualifications page for guidance on the qualifications and grades that would usually be considered to meet the University’s minimum entry requirements.
GRE General Test scores
No Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores are sought.
Other qualifications, evidence of excellence and relevant experience
Potential applicants should identify any relevant publications which may enhance their application. Publications are not expected. They may, in certain circumstances, advantage an application but it is appreciated that the opportunity to publish may vary considerably depending on factors such as the stage the student has reached in their graduate career and the structure of the course(s) they have studied. Consequently, a lack of publications will not be assessed negatively.
English language proficiency
This course requires proficiency in English at the University's higher level. If your first language is not English, you may need to provide evidence that you meet this requirement. The minimum scores required to meet the University's higher level are detailed in the table below.
| Test | Minimum overall score | Minimum score per component |
|---|---|---|
| IELTS Academic (Institution code: 0713) | 7.5 | 7.0 |
| TOEFL iBT* including the 'Home Edition' (Institution code: 0490) | 110 | Listening: 22 Reading: 24 Speaking: 25 Writing: 24 |
| C1 Advanced† | 191 | 185 |
| C2 Proficiency‡ | 191 | 185 |
| Oxford Test of English Advanced | 165 | 155 |
*Changes to the TOEFL iBT test are being introduced on 21 January 2026. The University will not accept TOEFL tests taken from that date to meet the English language condition until a review of the revised test has been completed. Our Application Guide provides full details of the tests we accept.
†Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English or Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE)
‡Previously known as the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English or Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE)
Your test must have been taken no more than two years before the start date of your course. Our Application Guide provides further information about the English language test requirement.
Declaring extenuating circumstances
If your ability to meet the entry requirements has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (eg you were awarded an unclassified/ungraded degree) or any other exceptional personal circumstance (eg other illness or bereavement), please refer to the guidance on extenuating circumstances in the Application Guide for information about how to declare this so that your application can be considered appropriately.
References
You will need to register three referees who can give an informed view of your academic ability and suitability for the course. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the types of reference that are required in support of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Supporting documents
You will be required to supply supporting documents with your application. The How to apply section of this page provides details of the supporting documents that are required as part of your application for this course and how these will be assessed.
Performance at interview
Interviews are not normally held as part of the admissions process.
Offer conditions for successful applications
If you receive an offer of a place at Oxford, your offer will outline any conditions that you need to satisfy and any actions you need to take, together with any associated deadlines. These may include academic conditions, such as achieving a specific final grade in your current degree course. These conditions will usually depend on your individual academic circumstances and may vary between applicants. Our 'After you apply' pages provide more information about offers and conditions.
In addition to any academic conditions which are set, you will also be required to meet the following requirements:
Financial Declaration
If you are offered a place, you will be required to complete a Financial Declaration in order to meet your financial condition of admission.
Disclosure of criminal convictions
In accordance with the University’s obligations towards students and staff, we will ask you to declare any relevant, unspent criminal convictions before you can take up a place at Oxford.
Evidence of ability to study for employed part-time applicants
If you are applying for part-time study and are currently employed, you may be asked to provide evidence that your employment will not affect your ability to study and that you can commit sufficient time to fulfil all elements outlined in the course description. You may be asked to provide details about your pattern of employment and provide evidence to show how you will fulfil your commitment to make time available to study, eg to complete coursework, and attend course and University events and modules.
Other factors governing whether places can be offered
The following factors will also govern whether candidates can be offered places:
- the ability of the University to provide the appropriate supervision for your studies, as outlined under the 'Supervision' heading in the About section of this page;
- the ability of the University to provide appropriate support for your studies (eg through the provision of facilities, resources, teaching and/or research opportunities); and
- minimum and maximum limits to the numbers of students who may be admitted to the University's taught and research programmes.
Funding
For entry in the 2026-27 academic year, the collegiate University expects to offer over 1,100 full or partial graduate scholarships across a wide range of graduate courses.
If you apply by the January deadline shown on this page and receive a course offer, your application will then be considered for Oxford scholarships. For the majority of Oxford scholarships, your application will automatically be assessed against the eligibility criteria, without needing to make a separate application. There are further Oxford scholarships available which have additional eligibility criteria and where you are required to submit a separate application. Most scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and/or potential.
To ensure that you are considered for Oxford scholarships that require a separate application, for which you may be eligible, use our fees, funding and scholarship search tool to identify these opportunities and find out how to apply. Alongside Oxford scholarships, you should also consider other opportunities for which you may be eligible including a range of external funding, loan schemes for postgraduate study and any other scholarships which may also still be available after the January deadline as listed on our fees, funding and scholarship search tool.
Details of college-specific funding opportunities can also be found on individual college websites:
Please refer to the College preference section of this page to identify which of the colleges listed above accept students for this course.
For the majority of college scholarships, it doesn’t matter which college, if any, you state a preference for in your application. If another college is able to offer you a scholarship, your application can be moved to that college if you accept the scholarship. Some college scholarships may require you to state a preference for that college when you apply, so check the eligibility requirements carefully.
Further information about funding opportunities for this course can be found on the faculty's website.
Costs
Annual course fees for the 2026-27 academic year at the University of Oxford
The fees for this course are charged on an annual basis.
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home | £21,440 |
| Overseas | £34,130 |
Part-time study
Fee status | Annual Course fees |
| Home | £10,720 |
| Overseas | £17,065 |
What do course fees cover?
Course fees cover your teaching as well as other academic services and facilities provided to support your studies. Unless specified in the additional information section below, course fees do not cover your accommodation, residential costs or other living costs. They also don’t cover any additional costs and charges that are outlined in the additional costs information below.
How long do I need to pay course fees?
Course fees are payable each year, for the duration of your fee liability (your fee liability is the length of time for which you are required to pay course fees). For courses lasting longer than one year fees will usually increase annually, as explained in the University’s Terms and Conditions.
Where can I find more information about fees?
Our fees and other charges pages provide further information, including details about:
- course fees and fee liability;
- how your fee status is determined; and
- changes to fees and other charges.
Information about how much fees and other costs will usually increase each academic year is set out in the University's Terms and Conditions.
Additional costs
Full-time study
There are no compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees and living costs. However, as part of your course requirements, you may need to choose a dissertation, a project or a thesis topic. Please note that, depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. You will need to meet these additional costs, although you may be able to apply for small grants from your department and/or college to help you cover some of these expenses.
Part-time study
Please note that this course requires that you attend in Oxford for teaching for a set number of days per week. The number of days is dependent on the modules you choose to study, but is normally a minimum of 2 days a week in Michaelmas and Hilary terms, and a minimum of 1 day a week in Trinity term. You may incur additional expenses for travel, accommodation and meals for this. Further, as part of your course requirements, you will need to choose a dissertation, a project or a thesis topic. Depending on your choice of topic and the research required to complete it, you may incur additional expenses, such as travel expenses, research expenses, and field trips. These costs will vary according to the location and length of the research. You will need to meet these additional costs yourself, although you may be able to apply for small grants from the department to help you cover them. There are no other compulsory elements of this course that entail additional costs beyond fees and living costs.
Living costs
In addition to your course fees and any additional course-specific costs, you will need to ensure that you have adequate funds to support your living costs for the duration of your course.
Living costs for full-time study
For the 2026-27 academic year, the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student is between £1,405 and £2,105 for each month spent in Oxford. We provide the cost per month so you can multiply up by the number of months you expect to live in Oxford. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need to budget for the costs of a student visa and immigration health surcharge and/or living costs for family members or other dependants that you plan to bring with you to Oxford (if dependant visa eligibility criteria are met).
Living costs for part-time study
Your living costs may vary depending on your personal circumstances but you will still need to cover your cost of living on a full-time basis for the duration of your course, even if you will not be based in Oxford throughout your studies. While the range of likely living costs for a single, full-time student living in Oxford in the 2026-27 academic year is between £1,405 and £2,105 per month, living costs outside Oxford may be different.
Part-time students who are not based in Oxford will need to calculate travel and accommodation costs carefully. Depending on your circumstances and study plans, this may include the cost of a visitor visa to attend for short blocks of time (if visitor visa eligibility criteria are met).
Further information about living costs
The current economic climate and periods of high national inflation in recent years make it harder to estimate potential changes to the cost of living over the next few years. For study in Oxford beyond the 2026-27 academic year, it is suggested that you budget for potential increases in living expenses of around 4% each year – although this rate may vary depending on the national economic situation.
A breakdown of likely living costs for one month during the 2026-27 academic year are shown below. These costs are based on a single, full-time graduate student, with no dependants, living in Oxford.
| Lower range | Upper range | |
|---|---|---|
| Food | £315 | £545 |
| Accommodation | £825 | £990 |
| Personal items | £160 | £310 |
| Social activities | £50 | £130 |
| Study costs | £35 | £90 |
| Other | £20 | £40 |
| Total | £1,405 | £2,105 |
For information about how these figures have been calculated as well as tables showing the likely living costs for nine and twelve months, please refer to the living costs page of our website.
College preference
Students enrolled on this course will belong to both a department/faculty and a college. Please note that ‘college’ and ‘colleges’ refers to all 43 of the University’s colleges, including those designated as societies and permanent private halls (PPHs).
If you apply for a place on this course you will have the option to express a preference for one of the colleges listed below, or you can ask us to find a college for you. Before deciding, we suggest that you read our brief introduction to the college system at Oxford and our advice about expressing a college preference.
If you are a current Oxford student and you would like to remain at your current Oxford college, you should check whether it is listed below. If it is, you should indicate this preference when you apply. If not, you should contact your college office to ask whether they would be willing to make an exception. Further information about staying at your current college can be found in our Application Guide.
Full-time study
The following colleges accept students for full-time study on this course:
Part-time study
The following colleges accept students for part-time study on this course:
Before you apply
Our guide to getting started provides general advice on how to prepare for and start your application, including advice to help you evaluate whether your application is likely to be competitive.
If it is important for you to have your application considered under a particular deadline – eg under the January deadline in order to be considered for Oxford scholarships – we recommend that you aim to complete and submit your application at least two weeks in advance. Check the deadlines on this page and the information about deadlines and when to apply in our Application Guide.
Application fee waivers
An application fee of £75 is payable for each application to this course. Application fee waivers are available for the following applicants who meet the eligibility criteria:
- applicants from low-income countries;
- refugees and displaced persons;
- UK applicants from low-income backgrounds; and
- applicants who applied for our Graduate Access Programmes in the past two years and met the eligibility criteria.
You are encouraged to check whether you're eligible for an application fee waiver before you apply.
Do I need to contact anyone before I apply?
Improving access to graduate study
This course is taking part in initiatives to improve the selection procedure for graduate applications, to ensure that all candidates are assessed fairly.
Contextual data (where it has been provided in the application form) will be used as part of an initiative to contextualise applications at the different stages of the selection process.
Completing your application
You should refer to the information below when completing the application form, paying attention to the specific requirements for the supporting documents.
For this course, the application form will include questions that collect information that would usually be included in a CV/résumé. You should not upload a separate document. If a separate CV/résumé is uploaded, it will be removed from your application.
If any document does not meet the specification, including the stipulated word count, your application may be considered incomplete and not assessed by the academic department. Expand each section to show further details.
Referees:
Three overall, academic preferred
Whilst you must register three referees, the department may start the assessment of your application if two of the three references are submitted by the course deadline and your application is otherwise complete. Please note that you may still be required to ensure your third referee supplies a reference for consideration.
Normally, references will be provided by individuals familiar with the applicant's academic performance. It is recommended that at least one reference is from your current programme supervisor/tutor. In exceptional circumstances, other professional references will be accepted.
Your references will support exceptional academic motivation; capacity for sustained and intense work; developed ability to organise time and set own agenda for study; and an intrepid attitude towards investigation and learning.
Official transcript(s)
Your transcripts should give detailed information of the individual grades received in your university-level qualifications to date. You should only upload official documents issued by your institution and any transcript not in English should be accompanied by a certified translation.
More information about the transcript requirement is available in the Application Guide.
Personal statement:
A minimum of 800 words to a maximum of 1,000 words
Your statement should be written in English and explain your motivation for applying for the course at Oxford, your relevant experience and education, and the specific academic areas that interest you and/or you intend to specialise in.
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
If you are applying for part-time study, you should provide evidence of your ability to commit sufficient time to study and fulfil all elements outlined in the course description (eg completing coursework, assessments, and attending course and University events and modules).
This will be assessed for:
- your academic reasons for applying
- evidence of motivation for and understanding of the proposed area of study
- the ability to present a reasoned case in English
- commitment to the subject, beyond the requirements of the degree course
- capacity for sustained and intensive academic work
- reasoning ability
- ability to absorb new ideas, often presented abstractly, at a rapid pace.
Written work:
Two essays, a maximum of 2,000 words each
Academic essays or other writing samples from your most recent qualification, written in English, are required. Extracts from longer pieces are welcome but should be prefaced by a note which puts them in context and it should be indicated with square brackets what elements have been omitted from the original piece of work. It is not permitted to submit just one essay of 4,000 words.
Ideally the works should relate to the proposed area of study. The word count does not need to include any bibliography or brief footnotes.
If possible, please ensure that the word count is clearly displayed on the document.
This will be assessed for comprehensive understanding of the subject area; understanding of problems in the area; ability to construct and defend an argument; powers of analysis; and powers of expression.
Start or continue your application
You can start or return to an application using the relevant link below. As you complete the form, please refer to the requirements above and consult our Application Guide for advice.
Apply - Full time Apply - Part time Continue application
After you've submitted your application
Your application (including the supporting documents outlined above) will be assessed against the entry requirements detailed on this course page. Whether or not you have secured funding will not be taken into consideration when your application is assessed. You can find out more about our shortlisting and selection process in our detailed guide to what happens next.
Find out how to manage your application after submission, using our Applicant Self-Service tool.