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Security and Crime Science MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

This is the programme information for 2025 entry

If you require details of the previous year's programme, Security and Crime Science MPhil/PhD (2024), click here

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2025/26)

£6,215

£3,105

Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)

£36,500

£18,250

Duration

3 calendar years

5 calendar years

Programme starts

October 2025

February 2026

May 2026

Applications accepted

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but should be submitted at least three months prior to your preferred start date.

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Candidates with a UK Master’s in a science-based subject, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard are encouraged to apply.

Applicants must also consider whether the Department of Security and Crime Science has the relevant expertise available to offer sufficient supervision in their chosen area of research.

You will be expected to identify two UCL academics to supervise your research before applying. Ideally you will have contacted them before applying to ensure they are able to support your application.

Following consideration of applications at the department's Graduate Research Committee, students may be requested to attend an interview with prospective supervisors (either in person or by telephone.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 3

UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.

Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.

Equivalent qualifications

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.

About this degree

This unique PhD will let you hone your expertise, create real research impact, and develop professional skills in law enforcement.

Working as part of a research environment of leading academics and expert practitioners that was ranked 6th in this area by the Research Excellence Framework 2021(REF), you’ll help bring about systemic change in crime policy and practice.

Established in 2001, the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science (UCL JDI), is recognised across the world for its track record of close collaboration with practitioners and agencies through knowledge transfer and exchange activities. The JDI also hosts the UCL Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (UCL SECReT), an international centre for PhD training in security and crime science.

You’ll work across six centres of excellence, whose collective contributions to the field of crime science research were assessed as ‘world-leading’ by the REF for 87.5% of our submissions.

With specialisms such as crime mapping and counter-terrorism, you’ll contribute to the vital work of these research groups using the JDI’s unique multidisciplinary model. This broad approach combines expertise in science and engineering with social sciences, to make data-led connections between people, processes, technologies and policies.

Who this course is for

Security and Crime Science is a multidisciplinary subject, drawing on expertise in psychology, social science, statistics, mathematics, architecture, forensic sciences, design, geography and computing.

This programme is ideal for you if you have a first degree, and you want to solve real-world security and crime problems. We welcome your application if you bring relevant expertise from other fields, but are less familiar with the foundations of research in security and crime science.

Read about what it takes to become a UCL graduate research student

What this course will give you

This programme oﬀers you the following beneﬁts and opportunities.

A PhD from a top-ranked university. UCL is consistently ranked among the best universities globally (ranked 9th in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025), providing you with a prestigious qualification that is highly regarded worldwide.
Study at the first research institution in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime.
Collaborate with UCL’s renowned academics and peers from across the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities.
Prepare for your PhD with an internationally renowned department of research excellence – 87% of our research submissions were recognised as ‘world-leading’ in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (REF).
Build your research career and learn from the world’s most celebrated crime science experts at UCL Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (UCL SECReT), an international centre for PhD training in security and crime science.
Hone your expertise in collaboration across the department’s centres of excellence, with research group specialisms in counter-terrorism, crime mapping and geographical analysis, forensics, crime policy and evaluation, and the role of design in crime and crime reduction.
Study in the world's best city for university students (QS Best Student Cities 2025). UCL’s Bloomsbury campus is in the heart of a London district famous for its cultural and educational institutions.

Find out how your research could have an impact

Making an impact

UCL Portico building with welcome sign between columns.

Case study: Addressing crime hot spots in Latin America

We are supporting the implementation of hot spot policing in Latin America

The foundation of your career

This is the first programme of its kind to combine a multidisciplinary crime or security doctoral degree with a programme of taught modules (focusing on the application of scientific method to crime reduction) and professional skills training.

We draw students from around the world who have gone on to exciting careers in security and crime research and industry, including roles at UCL, UK Government, the German Cybersecurity Innovation Agency, and Central Police University.

Employability

With over 60 industry and public sector partners, the UCL JDI will provide the specific preparation you need to join the ranks of a new generation of crime and security practitioners. JDI graduates are fully equipped for exciting careers on the frontlines of crime science, in areas such as intelligence and crime prevention analysis.

The specific knowledge and skills you’ll gain from this programme will also qualify you for high-level jobs in research and policy, ranging from the civil service and academia to NGOs and think-tanks.

Networking

You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your programme.

Benefit from the UCL JDI’s long-established links and partnerships with police forces, academic research centres of excellence, policy makers at all levels and a range of security organisations both abroad and here in the UK.
Take part in an extensive programme of influential events that play a crucial role in informing the wider debates around crime prevention. Regular events include the annual International Crime Science conference and the Women in Security showcase, alongside an exciting schedule of seminars. Previous speakers include senior voices from UK police forces, UK government departments, forensic science providers, and global researchers.
Benefit from UCL's collaborative and interdisciplinary outlook. MPhil/PhD Security and Crime Science students have the opportunity to mix with peers from backgrounds including architecture, computer science, statistics, electronic engineering, chemistry, forensic sciences, psychology, philosophy, ethics and laws.

Teaching and learning

The initial registration on the programme will be on an MPhil basis. In order to progress to the PhD, students are required to pass an ‘upgrade’. The purpose of the upgrade is to assess your progress and ability to complete your PhD programme to a good standard and in a reasonable time frame.

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) consists of a piece of supervised research, normally undertaken over a period of three years of full-time or five years of part-time study. Assessment is by means of a thesis, which should demonstrate your capacity to pursue original research based upon a good understanding of the research techniques and concepts appropriate to the discipline.

You should meet frequently with your supervisors and engage with the departmental and UCL communities more widely through events, training, and networking opportunities.

The PhD is examined by a viva committee comprising two experts in the field, an external examiner, and an internal examiner. Your supervisor nominates suitable examiners during your final year, in consultation with you, and the nominations are scrutinised by UCL’s examinations office who may approve or reject them. You should not have had prior contact with either examiner. The viva usually takes two to three hours.

As a full-time student you are expected to devote at least 35 hours per week to your studies for the full duration of your programme. If you are studying part-time, you should expect to spend at least 17.5 hours per week on your studies.

As a research student, your principal supervisor will establish a timetable of regular meetings where all matters relating to your work can be discussed.

These meetings should take place at least once per month. Subsidiary supervisors should stay acquainted with the progress of your work and be present at annual supervisory meetings, as a minimum.

Research areas and structure

Our research is concentrated on new ways to cut crime and increase security, drawing upon multiple disciplines. As our work is focused on cutting-edge issues, we collaborate extensively with policymakers and law enforcement agencies. This integrated PhD programme is for students wishing to pursue multidisciplinary security or crime-related research degrees. We expect their research to be interdisciplinary and to involve some 'hard science' element. Supervision within this programme is available in an extensive range of research areas, including, but not limited to:

Science and technology innovation: to create the next generation of security technologies.

People factors: understanding and incorporating human factors (via behavioural science, decision-making techniques, etc.) into the development of security solutions.

Process factors: enhancing security processes by increasing our understanding of the operational processes of activities, organisations or infrastructures under threat.

Policy: contributing to the development of government policy through research findings.

Visit UCL Security and Crime Science’s research website for more.

Research environment

UCL Security and Crime Science has a distinctly interdisciplinary outlook on the prevention of crime, terrorism and organised crime. We have long-established links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence, and security organisations in the UK and worldwide.

We have a successful track record of working closely with practitioners; we are widely recognised for knowledge transfer and exchange activities, as well as the impact of our research on real-world crime problems.

As a Security and Crime Science MPhil and PhD student, you will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, this research culture.

The length of registration for research degree programmes is three years for full-time.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 9-18 months after initial registration.

Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may start a writing period called Completing Research Status (CRS), within which you write up your thesis.

To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to submit a piece of writing demonstrating sufficient theoretical, conceptual, and methodological development as well as a clearly articulated plan to finish the thesis.

You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

The length of registration for research degree programmes is five years for part-time.

You are required to register initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 24 months after initial registration.

Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may start a writing period called Completing Research Status (CRS), within which you write up your thesis.

You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team.

Where you'll study

UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science building

The Department of Security and Crime Science at UCL is home to ground-breaking facilities including the Jill Dando Institute Research Laboratory (JDIRL), a Police Assured Secure Facility for the storage and analysis of sensitive data - the first facility of its kind at a European university. Through this, student can use datasets that would not otherwise be easily accessible. Students and researchers now also have access to our newly opened Forensic Science Evidence Interpretation Lab, where we address the critical issue of the interpretation of forensic evidence, and the Crime Science Immersive Technologies lab where technology-based experiments can be undertaken.

Find out more

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£6,215	£3,105
Tuition fees (2025/26)	£36,500	£18,250

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees.

Additional costs

The costs associated with events, conferences and seminars arranged by the department are free to students.

There may be some costs to PhD students associated with optional external conferences, where you might attend to present a paper or for networking. These can range greatly depending on location and length of conference, from approximately £200 up to £2000. However, students can apply to a departmental fund, which will cover a proportion of the costs.

UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide.

Funding your studies

For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

See all the ways you can fund your studies

: CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship

Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme)

Criteria Based on academic merit

Eligibility: EU, Overseas

Next steps

If you meet the entry requirements, you will need to identify at least two UCL academics with the expertise needed to assess your technical skills and act as your supervisors. To support with this, we suggest you check our departmental website to identify the interests and areas of expertise of current academics.

Before applying, please ensure you focus on a research proposal of approximately 3000 words which introduces the research questions and hypotheses you would like to investigate, and the research methods you would like to apply in your work. Clearly indicate how the required data will be obtained, and what resources you need for your project. You can find guidance on writing a research proposal online.

Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements, so please check with the department or academic unit before applying to see if you need to consider these. In most cases, you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application.

For more information see our How to apply page and ensure you visit our website.

Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.

This programme requires two references. Further information regarding references can be found on this Selecting your references page.

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.