Bachelor of Science in Criminological Sciences

Nowadays virtually every newspaper or newsfeed contains references to some type of ‘criminal’ behaviour. The Criminology programme studies these forms of behaviour, as well as the processes leading up to and following it. A criminologist studies a broad scope of transgressive and socially deviant behaviour. This includes organised crime, as well as various less visible forms such as economic, tax, and environmental crimes. In so doing, criminology not only focuses on perpetrators, but also on public responses, the fate of crime victims, the social origin of criminal law, the functioning of the police, the prosecutor’s office, the magistracy and administration.

Bachelor

The curriculum of the Bachelor's programma contains various curricular strands

• It includes introductory course units in auxiliary disciplines that provide vital sources of inspiration for criminologists: psychology, sociology, economics, and national politics. A selection of legal course units introduces essential legal concepts and institutions, criminal law and criminal proceedings. In the discipline-specific course units, you will become acquainted with the police, the judiciary, the social sector, social work, the semi-public and private sectors, and criminology research focused on these actors. The curricular strand on methodology prepares you to design and conduct independent academic research. You will learn the complexities of the research cycle, the various methods of data collection, and how to analyse and interpret both quantitative and qualitative data.
• The third-year curriculum allows for electives.
  • Students can choose from programme-specific course units such as methodology, legal, and language units, along with options from other Ghent University programmes, including Economics, Political Sciences, History, Communication Sciences, Psychology, and Educational Sciences, as well as a variety of university-wide electives.
  • Another option is to take course units from the Master of Science in Teaching in Behavioural Sciences. Upon successful completion, you will gain direct admission to the Master of Science in Teaching programme.
  • Finally, third-year students also select one course unit from a list of “Selected Issues,” which are all taught in English and based on the specific expertise of our lecturers. These course units serve to enhance your English proficiency and contribute to the further internationalisation of our programme.

Master

Once you obtain your Bachelor’s degree, you can further specialise by selecting either our one-year Master’s programme in Criminology or our two-year international Advanced Research Master in Criminology. The former emphasises a 300-hour work placement in the police force, the justice department, the social sector, or R&D. Meanwhile, the latter is a research programme featuring classes taught at Ghent University and Erasmus University Rotterdam. You will engage in various fundamental and methodology course units, focusing on international criminology in general and transgression, safety, and social justice in particular. There is also the option to pursue a work placement or conduct fieldwork abroad. Both Master’s programmes culminate in a Master’s dissertation.

• Your Bachelor’s degree in Criminology also provides access to other Master's programmes beyond the ones mentioned here. Please review the 'Postgraduate Studies' tab.

Criminology graduates have a wide range of interesting job opportunities in a large variety of sectors. They usually find employment at government agencies and non-profit organisations. In addition to the more traditional employment opportunities (police forces, penal institutions, and counselling), new job opportunities have arisen in the past few decades. Working for the government, for example, now includes positions as prevention officers or as victim support liaison officers, or positions in houses of justice, and in alternative sanctions. Additional job opportunities in the profit sector are on the rise: in the (private) security sector, for example, there is an increasing demand for criminologists in various management positions. In the financial sector, criminologists are often employed in positions dealing with fiscal compliance.

• Take a look at our faculty website for career testimonials by Criminology graduates (in Dutch).