The course was one of the first to take an internationally comparative perspective across a broad range of criminology and criminal justice issues. It is designed to meet the needs of three groups of potential students: those requiring a thorough research training specialising in criminology and criminal justice; those who are interested in pursuing criminology and criminal justice to an advanced level; and practitioners in the criminal justice field who wish to expand their horizons from national to international levels. The programme components consist of a generic research module (The Research Process) for training in qualitative and quantitative research methods in the Social Sciences, specialised training in Applied Research Criminology and a module on international case studies in Criminology, which allows students to incorporate their particular research interests and areas of enquiry in comparative criminological and criminal justice research. The MA includes a 20,000 word dissertation.

The course prepares for a wide range of employment including:

• Law-enforcement agencies: the police, customs, the prison service
• Public administration: including crime prevention units, offender management, general administration, international institutions
• Political associations, work for members of parliaments, for lobby groups related to the criminal justice system and to issues of social justice broadly conceived
• Research institutes, researching criminological and sociological issues
• Academic institutions such as universities