BSc Sociology and Criminology with a Placement Year

Compulsory modules

Thinking Sociologically

Examine different approaches to the study of society and social behaviour, including positivism, interpretivism, social constructionism, and feminism, and the kinds of evidence upon which they draw. You will think critically about how these different approaches can be used to make sense of contemporary societies and to answer big questions about social order and social change.

Gender, Race, and Class: Social Differentiation and Stratification

Explore the key theories which underpin the study of social differentiation and stratification, including Marxism, functionalism, Weber, and feminism. You will examine some dimensions on which social differentiation and inequality are mapped such as gender, race/ethnicity, and social class, and consider the inequalities associated with age, education, disability, and religion.

British Society

Delve deeper into contemporary British society, examining how it has changed since the second world war and why, and analysing the changing relationship between the state, social institution and citizens. You'll explore topics such as multicultural Britain and Britain as a class society, crime and deviance, the role of mass media, and the increasing power of the food industry.

Introduction to Criminology

Explore crime, justice, punishment and social harm as you study the discipline of criminology. You’ll learn about criminology’s main concepts and theoretical perspectives, the nature of crime, and the correlation of social inequalities such as class, age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, and disability with victims.

Introduction to Criminal Justice

Study the process for preventing and managing crime. You’ll be introduced to the main criminological traditions and perspectives relevant to studying criminal justice, focusing on the development, role, organisation, and governance of the main institutions and agencies involved in crime control and punishment.

Optional modules

Inequality

Analyse and understand the evolution of inequality, both over time and across developed countries. You’ll explore the economic, normative, and political implications of different forms of inequality, particularly in relation to gender and race.

Law and Society

Discover the role that law plays in modern society as you examine some of the profound changes that have taken place in society over the last 200 years. You’ll critically analyse the ways law has evolved to meet the changing needs and values of our society and assess whether the legal system has been successful at keeping pace.

Introduction to Cultural Diversity

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2025/2026 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Research Methods

Explore research processes employed in sociological research with an emphasis on critically evaluating methodical choices, conclusive research design, and research ethics.

Sociological Theory

Examine classical and contemporary sociological theories and explore how they can inform our understanding of the social world, how it is structured, and how it is changing. You will engage directly with key theoretical texts, exploring what they say, the context in which they emerged, and their contemporary relevance. A strong emphasis is placed on the role of contemporary sociological theory in aiding our understanding of issues such as inequality, power and surveillance, culture, risk, the self and identity, and the family.

Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice

Study the administration of criminal justice and the agencies involved, including how they have evolved and how they engage with governmental bodies. You’ll study contemporary policy debates in criminal justice in the context of broader social changes, inequalities, and political and ideological processes.

Advanced Criminological Theory

Gain insight into the development of key criminological perspectives since the 1960s and their continuing relevance for understanding crime and processes of criminalisation. You’ll examine contemporary concepts and study the interconnections between crime, criminalisation, victimisation and social inequalities.

Optional modules

Work Placement and Project

Undertake a work placement or an internship with an external organisation broadly related to the general sphere of your degree studies. You’ll deliver an oral presentation directly based on your experience, including findings from a project undertaken within the placement.

Learning Gender: Exploring the links between gender, education, and society

Examine links between gender, education and society that impact individual opportunities and outcomes. Topics include constructions of femininity, feminist standpoint theory and performing gender.

Crime and the Media

Learn to think critically about the relationship between the media and crime. You’ll study theoretical perspectives on representation and the research methods needed to analyse media representations of crime in everyday life. Explore critical perspectives about media institutions and analyse how they build ‘crime stories'.

Critical Victimology

Analyse the experiences of victims and the processes by which the experience of being a victim is recognised by the criminal justice system. You’ll consider the main theoretical perspectives of positivist, radical and critical victimology as you develop a deep understanding of the role of ‘the victim’ and how crime impacts the individual.

The Media, Society, and Politics

Develop understanding of the role and power of mass media in contemporary society and political life. You will explore the world of broadcasting and the social construction of news and produce a pre-recorded ‘documentary’ on a topic of your choosing which you’ll present as part of a radio broadcast in our on-campus radio studio.

Global Historical Sociology

Discover the historical rise and fall of social orders through global and transnational dynamics and bring greater historical and sociological awareness to contemporary debates in world politics.

Women, Crime, and Justice

Explore women’s experiences of offending, victimisation, criminal justice and punishment. You’ll analyse women’s experience in historical and contemporary contexts from a range of perspectives, relying on key theories and methodologies that employ a feminist analysis of crime and justice.

Society, Thought, and Art in Modern Europe

Discover the birth of modern humanity in late 18th-century Europe and the revolutionary changes that Enlightenment and Romanticism intellectual movements brought in all spheres of thought and social life. You’ll also explore how different European nations contributed to innovation, how modernity diffused beyond the Western world, the transformations brought by non-European influences, and the leading role of art in the modernisation process.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2025/2026 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Placement Year.

Our placement coordinator will support you in securing your placement and throughout your placement year. As part of your placement reflection, you'll be required to prepare and deliver a presentation and submit a written report detailing your experience and what you’ve learned.

Compulsory modules

Dissertation in Sociology

Design, conduct, and produce your own independent sociological research-based project on a topic you are interested in, with support by a specialist supervisor. You’ll identify the research question, critically evaluate the relevant literature, apply theoretical frameworks and research methods to your research questions, and learn to analyse and synthesise the research findings.

or

Criminology Dissertation

Embark on a research journey that allows you to implement all you‘ve learned about crime and criminal justice. You’ll identify your own research question, conduct research, and analyse relevant law and literature to organise and articulate an extended written project.

Optional modules

Global Justice

Explore some of the main debates around justice at a global level, focusing on how theoretical arguments are applied to real-world challenges. You’ll examine discussions around various topics, including open borders, climate change and countries’ responsibilities, colonialism and reparations, and economic globalisation.

Experiencing War

Examine the roles and experiences of human beings at and in war and examine the key actors in war: combatants, civilians, and third parties.

Feminism and Political Theory

Explore the role of feminism in the political landscape and the theoretical controversies surrounding it. You’ll examine a range of pressing issues in feminist politics, such as abortion, surrogacy, pornography, marriage, and the body.

Young People, Crime, and Justice

Delve into the history and theory of young people's offending. You will develop a critical understanding of childhood and delinquency and explore explanations for youth offending and experiences in youth justice systems.

Crimes of the Powerful

Moving away from ‘street-based’ crime, you’ll consider the ways in which some of the most harmful crimes are committed by powerful actors within society – including state actors and corporations. You’ll examine the nature, extent and impact of the harms of the powerful and explanations for these types of activities.

Contemporary Issues in Punishment

Explore contemporary theories, debates and issues in penology and punishment. You’ll analyse the changing social, cultural and political meanings of formal and informal modes of punishment and custodial social regulation.

Marx, Durkheim, Weber

Study the sociological methodologies, concepts and theories of three seminal thinkers: Marx, Weber, and Durkheim. You will learn about the dramatic social contexts in which they were were writing and their continuing relevance to contemporary societal challenges.

Gender and Politics

Critically examine how gender is manifested in the political domain and explore complex questions such as “why do women remain under-represented in politics?”, “are voters sexist?”, and “how do stereotypes about masculinity and femininity shape political campaigns or political leadership?”.

Prisons in Crisis

Explore how criminologists make sense of key debates surrounding prisons and failure of criminal justice. You’ll study crises related to prison violence and suicide, racialised mass incarceration in American prisons, the overcrowding of English prisons, and warehousing of prisoners in Brazil.

Race, Ethnicity and Justice

Investigate the relationship between race, ethnicity and criminal justice as you examine key institutions such as the police, prosecution, defence, judges and juries. You’ll learn from the point of view of race and racism, exploring the long history of holding these organisations to account for racial and ethnic disparities.

Green Criminology: Environmental Crime and Climate Justice

Study environmental harm through a criminological lens as you ask questions about the forms of harm being done, where, by whom, to what effect, and what consequences and responses there might be. You’ll consider humans relationship to nature and the underlying political, social and cultural determinants of humans abuses to the natural world.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.