The Bachelor of Criminology degree offers students the opportunity to study crime and criminal justice in both a conceptual and an applied way that particularly stresses social and cultural definitions of criminality and the reactions to it. Areas of focus include criminal justice institutions and practices; the development of criminology as a discipline and its various strands; forms and patterns of victimisation; crime prevention strategies and debates; aspects of juvenile justice; the evolution of prisons and different forms of punishment; law enforcement and surveillance; violence, gender and crime; cultural depictions of crime and contemporary debates in criminology. As such, the degree addresses the criminalisation of disadvantage through race, class, disability and gender, with a focus on the nexus between social and criminal justice. This will equip students with the specialist skills and knowledge that a new graduate would need on entering the workforce or on proceeding to advanced study.
Study Mode
Three years full-time or six years part-time.
Program Advice
Prospective students should visit the following websites for general enquiries about this program.
Applications from Australian and New Zealand citizens and holders of permanent resident visas may be made via the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) or directly through the Western Portal. Use the links below to apply via UAC or Western Sydney University. Applications made directly to Western Sydney do not have an application fee.
Applicants who have undertaken studies overseas may have to provide proof of proficiency in English. Local applicants who are applying through the Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) will find details of minimum English proficiency requirements and acceptable proof on the UAC website. Local applicants applying directly to the University should also use the information provided on the UAC website.
International students currently completing an Australian Year 12 in or outside Australia, an International Baccalaureate in Australia or a New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) level 3 must apply via UAC International.
All other International applicants must apply directly to the University via the International Office.
International students applying to the University through the International Office can find details of minimum English proficiency requirements and acceptable proof on their website.
Overseas qualifications must be deemed by the Australian Education International - National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR) to be equivalent to Australian qualifications in order to be considered by UAC and Western Sydney University.
Program Structure
Qualification for this award requires the successful completion of 240 credit points including the subjects listed in the recommended sequence below
The Core Subjects listed below count towards completion of this program for students who passed these subjects in 2020 or earlier.
CULT 1020 - Working with Communities
HUMN 2049 - Social Research Methods
Minor elective spaces
Elective subjects may be used toward obtaining an additional approved minor (40 credit points). Western Sydney University offers minors in a range of areas including Sustainability and Indigenous Studies.
Western Sydney University also offers the following innovative transdisciplinary minors which we encourage those students who have elective space to consider.
