Is crime rate in the UK on the rise? How are gangs represented in the media? How much information should the general public have access to on a trial? Our BA Journalism and Criminology will enable you to study contemporary society and crime, alongside building your journalistic skills, to analyse and share information and understand it through a social perspective.

You explore a wide spectrum of topics ranging from the impact of computer games on crime to terrorism. This will be intertwined with the practical journalism component of this course where you develop your skills in using multi-media channels such as radio, television and online media and deepen your knowledge of journalism on an international scale.

Our course gives you flexibility to choose the areas of the subject that interest you. Topics which you can choose to study include:

Law and Society

Production skills

How does globalisation affect crime?

International Journalism

During your final year, you will have the opportunity to bring all aspects of the course together in a final multimedia project on a subject linked to the criminology element of your studies.

As a student at one of the UK's leading social science institutions, you are uniquely placed to acquire a deep understanding of the world you report on.

A typical timetable involves a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar or a two-hour seminar for each module every week, but there are variations in place depending on the module.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course.

Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised.

If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university