criminology phd cambridge

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PhD in Criminology

University of cambridge, different course options.

• Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Criminology

Course type

The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. PhD candidates benefit from close links with the Institute's six dedicated research centres, providing them with unrivalled opportunities and the support to develop as independent researchers, while being part of an integrated community of criminologists working at different levels and through multidisciplinary approaches.

The PhD in Criminology is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral examination (viva voce). The primary purpose of the PhD is the preparation and presentation of a substantial piece of independent and original academic research. Completion usually requires three to four years of full-time study, and five years if studying part-time, including a probationary period. Students are required to be resident in Cambridge during that time.

Every PhD student in the Institute of Criminology is supported by a supervisor. Supervisors are experts in their field of study and support students throughout the PhD. PhD candidates will also benefit from the advice and support of other academic members of staff who will be involved in progression through the various stages of the PhD, from the registration assessment exercise at the end of the first year through to the completion of the thesis.

The Cambridge PhD is designed as structured, flexible and individual preparation for becoming a professional researcher. It will help students develop the core skills needed by an arts, humanities or social sciences professional researcher of the future, which are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired the skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related profession.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK Masters (Merit). New admissions: Master's degree, with at least a high Merit (67 per cent) or equivalent (3.6 GPA in the American system), preferably in a social science discipline, although applicants from other disciplines will also be considered. Continuing applicants are advised to complete the MPhil in Criminological Research. The academic requirement is an average of 74 on assessed MPhil essays, and at least 74 on the MPhil Thesis.

Criminology (Distance Learning) MSc

Bath spa university, criminology (campus based) msc, ma/pgdip/pgcert criminology and criminal justice, university of roehampton, criminology and criminal justice msc, city, university of london, criminology ma, university of bedfordshire.

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The PRC welcomes enquiries from potential PhD students.

The Prisons Research Centre welcomes applications from well qualified students wishing to undertake PhD research within the Centre's areas of expertise. Graduate students work in the stimulating research environment of the Centre under the direction of their supervisor.  Initial enquiries should be directed to Professor Alison Liebling or Professor Ben Crewe according to the person’s specific research interests.  More details of the University's PhD programmes and procedures for application can be found on the  Institute of Criminology website  and the  University of Cambridge Graduate Admissions website .

PhD Opportunities with Professor Alison Liebling

Professor Liebling is interested in receiving applications broadly looking at the changing shape and effects of imprisonment; the role of values in criminal justice; the role of safety, trust and fairness in shaping the prison experience, the work of prison officers, and in the prevention of ill-treatment, in the UK or elsewhere.

PhD Opportunities with Professor Ben Crewe

Professor Crewe would be keen to supervise PhD students interested in researching prison social life and culture, prisoner identities and adaptations, prison quality and conditions, and other issues relating to the terms, nature and organisation of imprisonment.  Students wishing to get in contact informally in order to discuss potential research ideas are welcome to email him, with a brief CV and a short research proposal. 

Current and Recent PhD Topics

PhD students work on a variety of topics relating to the research of the Centre. These include: 

• Transformative encounters in prisoner education and their role in desistance. (Judith Gardom, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• The social experiences of sex offenders in prison: A comparative analysis. (Alice Ievins, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• The prison and the city: a tale of two cultures in HMPs Pentonville and Hull (Deborah Kant, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• Emotions in prison: an exploration of space, emotion regulation and expression. (Ben Laws, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• Faith, race, gangs and ‘the street’ in prison: An inductive analysis. (Dev Maitra, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• The experience of imprisonment amongst serving and former military service personnel. (Daniel Packham, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• Democratizing democracy: Re-imagining prisoners as citizens through participatory governance. (Bethany Schmidt, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• Philosophy in Prisons: A grounded theory in personal development. (Kirstine Szifris, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• The role of self-empowerment in the process of human flourishing in prison. (Fabio Tartarini, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• The Prison Based Forensic Psychologist: in Person and Practice. (Jason Warr, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• Understanding the use and experience of segregation in English prisons. (Ellie Brown, supervised by Alison Liebling and Nicola Padfield)
• Opening new prisons: a comparative study of the penal field. (Aiden Cope, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• Peace Behind a Veil of Ignorance (VOI). (João Costa, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• Legitimacy in prison-based psychology practices. (Sophie Ellis, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• Moral development and ethical self-governance among men imprisoned for murder. (Ben Jarman, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• Caring Encounters: Exploring Kindness and Support among Male Prisoners. (Elinor Lieber, supervised by Alison Liebling)
• The construction of prisoner masculinities through experiences of work. (Martha Morey, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• Prison pen-pals: the value of correspondence and support from individuals not known to prisoners prior to their incarceration. (Tania Mejia, supervised by Ben Crewe)
• A short longitudinal study of life sentenced prisoners’ pre-release expectations and post-release realities. (Ailie Rennie, supervised by Ben Crewe)

Prisons Research at Cambridge University

The Prisons Research Centre (PRC) was founded in 2000, under the Directorship of  Professor Alison Liebling . The Centre has received funding from a wide range of sources, including the Prison Service/NOMS, the Nuffield Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, the ESRC, KPMG, the Home Office and UKDS (now Kalyx).

The Cambridge Institute of Criminology Prisons Research Centre aims to provide a stimulating research environment in which a coherent strategy of high quality research can be pursued, and integration between funded and non-funded, and applied and theoretical projects can be facilitated. We investigate how prisons operate, socially, morally and operationally, how they are experienced, and the relationship between these moral and social qualities, and their effects.

Members of the PRC team carry out, individually and collectively, methodologically rigorous and theoretically relevant field-based studies addressing problems of human and social values, punishment practices, and the organisation and effects of aspects of prison life. We strive to forge links with other prisons researchers, scholars in the broader fields of criminology and sociology, and with practitioners. Our vision is to develop a rigorous and person-centred model of social inquiry.

You can read more about the latest projects in our  Annual Reports .

Institute of Criminology Sidgwick Avenue Cambridge CB3 9DA

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The Violence Research at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, welcomes applications from students wishing to undertake PhD research within the Centre's areas of expertise. Graduate students work in the stimulating research environment of the Centre located in the Institute of Criminology under the direction of their supervisor. Violence Research Centre members supervise PhD students in a broad range of topics related to their respective research areas. Please note that we are experiencing a high number of applicants, do read each supervisor's profile carefully before contacting them. Information on PhD studentships at the Institute of Criminology is here .

PhD opportunities with Prof Manuel Eisner

Prof Manuel Eisner  mainly supervises doctoral theses that use a quantitative approach in the following areas: (1) history of violence, (2) causes of aggression and violence, (3) prevention of violence and intervention research, (4) international research on micro- and macro-level predictors of violence. There may also be possibilities to conduct a PhD related to one of his ongoing research projects in the Violence Research Centre. More information on the ongoing projects can be found here .

PhD opportunities with Dr Maria Ttofi

Dr Maria Ttofi  supervises MPhil and PhD students with an interest in quantitative criminology, including youth aggression and violence, juvenile delinquency, systematic/meta-analytic reviews on a variety of psychological criminology topics, programme evaluation and developmental criminology/longitudinal research. Students with a strong methodological background who may be interested in analysing longitudinal data from the CSDD are strongly encouraged to contact her and the Director of the CSDD study, Prof David P. Farrington, directly via email.

PhD opportunities with Dr Paolo Campana

Dr Paolo Campana welcomes proposals from students with an interest in network analysis and organised forms of criminality. The latter includes protection rackets, human trafficking and smuggling, drug trafficking, gangs, cybercrime and possibly terrorist networks. Proposals with a strong network analysis component are welcome. Students are advised to contact Dr Campana by email with a short summary of their research proposal before submitting an application.

PhD opportunities with Dr Justice Tankebe

Dr Justice Tankebe welcomes proposals focused on corruption, policing and police violence, legitimacy, procedural justice, distributive justice, vigilantism and extrajudicial violence, institutional trust, and social order.

Resources for PhD students

More details of the University's PhD programme and procedures for application can be found on the Institute of Criminology's website and the University of Cambridge Graduate Admissions website . A major scholarship is open to potential PhD students of all nationalities. You can find it here .

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PhD in Criminology

Want to know what it's like to study this course at uni? We've got all the key info, from entry requirements to the modules on offer. If that all sounds good, why not check out reviews from real students or even book onto an upcoming open days ?

Different course options

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

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17-APR-24, 01-OCT-24, 05-JAN-25, 17-APR-25

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The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. PhD candidates benefit from close links with the Institute's six dedicated research centres, providing them with unrivalled opportunities and the support to develop as independent researchers, while being part of an integrated community of criminologists working at different levels and through multidisciplinary approaches.

The PhD in Criminology is an advanced research degree, awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral examination (viva voce). The primary purpose of the PhD is the preparation and presentation of a substantial piece of independent and original academic research. Completion usually requires three to four years of full-time study, and five years if studying part-time, including a probationary period. Students are required to be resident in Cambridge during that time.

Every PhD student in the Institute of Criminology is supported by a supervisor. Supervisors are experts in their field of study and support students throughout the PhD. PhD candidates will also benefit from the advice and support of other academic members of staff who will be involved in progression through the various stages of the PhD, from the registration assessment exercise at the end of the first year through to the completion of the thesis.

The Cambridge PhD is designed as structured, flexible and individual preparation for becoming a professional researcher. It will help students develop the core skills needed by an arts, humanities or social sciences professional researcher of the future, which are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. By the end of the programme, candidates will have acquired the skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or another related profession.

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Applicants for this course should have achieved a UK Masters (Merit). New admissions: Master's degree, with at least a high Merit (67 per cent) or equivalent (3.6 GPA in the American system), preferably in a social science discipline, although applicants from other disciplines will also be considered. Continuing applicants are advised to complete the MPhil in Criminological Research. The academic requirement is an average of 74 on assessed MPhil essays, and at least 74 on the MPhil Thesis.

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MPhil in Criminological Research

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Course closed:

Criminological Research is no longer accepting new applications.

The basic aims of both MPhil programmes are:

• To offer up-to-date and high-quality degree courses, introducing students to some of the most important theory, methods and research in criminology;
• To offer a sound academic foundation to those who aspire to undertake a PhD and/or a career in teaching and research in criminology or related fields; and
• To provide a sound foundation of knowledge and methodological skills to those who wish to work in a wide range of criminal justice agencies, the legal profession, or other professional or voluntary organisations.

Both MPhils in Criminology and Criminological Research provides a foundational education in prominent criminological theories, research methods, and areas of criminological knowledge. Compulsory modules on criminological theories and research methods familiarise students with historic and contemporary criminological thinking and research.  A variety of optional seminars are on offer each year covering a wide range of criminological topics. What is on offer varies by year, but in recent years has included topics such as: Policing; the Sociology of Prison Life; Victims and Injustice; Punishment and Mercy; Socio-critical Perspectives on Criminal Justice; History of Violence; Global Perspectives on Violence; People, Place and Crime; Organised Crime; and Neurocriminology.

The MPhil in Criminological Research requires empirical research as part of the final thesis and, therefore, includes practical training in analytical and advanced research methods, both in-house and through the Social Sciences Research Methods Programme (SSRMP).

Learning Outcomes

Core Knowledge

Students should acquire:

• An understanding of core criminological and criminal justice theories;
• A critical awareness of current problems and debates within the field;
• Skills to critically evaluate theoretical and empirical literature relevant to criminological and criminal justice research;
• The ability to synthesise and apply criminological knowledge in new contexts or to new issues;
• The ability to use theoretical knowledge creatively and independently to guide their work, including their empirical research; and
• Skills in communicating criminological knowledge to specialist and non-specialist audiences.

Research Methods

• A comprehensive understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods used in criminology;
• The ability to use acquired knowledge to propose new hypotheses and identify and address research problems;
• The ability to critically assess research designs, and develop their own robust design;
• The ability to apply research competencies to practical issues, including in their own research;
• The ability to independently acquire and interpret additional knowledge relating to research, including their own; and
• An understanding of the quality of work required to satisfy peer review.

The Institute strongly recommends that students whose aim is to progress to a PhD apply for the MPhil in Criminological Research in the first instance.  Progression to the PhD requires a strong performance on the MPhil programme, a suitable research topic and proposal, and an available supervisor.

Continuation to the PhD programme involves a separate application process, undertaken during the MPhil year. Prospective PhD students are encouraged to discuss their plans with their MPhil supervisor as early as possible during the MPhil year. Please visit the PhD course page on the Institute of Criminology website for more details.

The Postgraduate  Open Day will take place at the end of October / beginning of November. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions to admissions staff and academics and to find out more about courses, the application process, and funding opportunities. Visit the  Postgraduate Open Day  page for more details.

Key Information

12 months full-time, study mode : taught, master of philosophy, institute of criminology, course - related enquiries, application - related enquiries, course on department website, dates and deadlines:, michaelmas 2024 (closed).

Some courses can close early. See the Deadlines page for guidance on when to apply.

Funding Deadlines

These deadlines apply to applications for courses starting in Michaelmas 2024, Lent 2025 and Easter 2025.

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Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs & Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies

Belfer briefing on europe with greece's minister of national defense nikolaos dendias (open to harvard id holders only; pre-registration required).

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Please join the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies for a Belfer Briefing on Europe with Karen Donfried , Belfer Center Senior Fellow, and Nikolaos Dendias , Greek Minister of National Defense. They will discuss "Geopolitics and Security Challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Role of Greece." The briefing will focus on the importance of strong national defense and regional cooperation in an era of diverse challenges, from climate change to energy market shocks. Minister Dendias will address Greece’s relations with the United States, the Balkans, and the Eastern Mediterranean, and the shared goal of promoting peace and security. Elaine Papoulias , Executive Director, Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, will make welcoming remarks. This event will be off-the-record, in-person, and is restricted to Harvard ID holders. To attend, please submit your request for a seat here . If your RSVP has been confirmed, you will receive confirmation and event details prior to the session.

Nikolaos Dendias was born in Corfu and hails from Paxi. He is a graduate of the Athens College and of the Athens University Law School (with honors). He holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of London, specializing in Maritime and Insurance Law (University College – UCL) and Criminology (London School of Economics – LSE). A Supreme Court lawyer, Nikolaos Dendias was first elected Member of Parliament in 2004 and has been re-elected ever since. He has served as Minister of Justice (2009), Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection (2012-2014), Minister of Development and Competitiveness (2014), Minister of National Defense (2014-2015) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2019-2023). In June 2023 he was reappointed Minister of National Defense.

• Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
• Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University

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