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Security Science MRes + MPhil/PhD

London, Bloomsbury

The Department of Security and Crime Science is widely recognised for the impact that its research has had on real-world crime problems. Consequently, we have long established links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence and security organisations from both the UK and further afield. The MRes allows students from a wide variety of backgrounds to make the best use of our excellent taught modules to give them the skills needed to subsequent succeed with their research studies towards an MPhil/PhD.

UK students International students

Study mode

UK tuition fees (2023/24)

£5,860

£2,930

Overseas tuition fees (2023/24)

£32,100

£16,050

Duration

4 calendar years

6 calendar years

Programme starts

September 2023

Applications accepted

All applicants: 17 Oct 2022 – 30 Jun 2023

Applications open

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.

The English language level for this programme is: Level 2

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. International Preparation Courses

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

Security and Crime Science (SCS) uses evidence-based techniques to prevent and control crime and security problems, and to detect offenders. SCS is devoted to reducing crime and terrorism through teaching, research and public policy analysis. The department has strong links with security practitioners and policymakers as well as researchers and institutions worldwide. It is multidisciplined in its approach and draws on both the social and physical sciences. We focus strongly on providing interactive classrooms where a mix of practitioners and new students keen to work in these fields can learn from each other.

The MRes will provide students with the foundations of security and crime science and the skills to effectively conduct independent research. From the start of your degree, you will work together with your research supervisor. Together you will choose further optional modules that support your proposed research direction. The MRes features a substantial research project to explore this direction and create research aims for your subsequent research.

After successfully completing the MRes you will move on to the MPhil/PhD research degree.

Who this course is for

We seek graduates from all disciplines who want to solve real-world security and crime problems. The MRes + MPhil/PhD program is aimed particularly at those who bring in relevant expertise from other fields but are less familiar with the foundations of research in security and crime science. The MRes dissertation also offers an ideal opportunity to read widely and scope out a feasible PhD topic.

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

What this course will give you

The UCL Department of Security and Crime Science is devoted specifically to reducing crime through teaching, research, public policy analysis and by the dissemination of evidence-based information on crime reduction. Our mission is to change crime policy and practice.

Security and Crime Science is a multi-disciplinary subject, drawing on expertise in psychology, social science, statistics, mathematics, architecture, forensic sciences, design, geography and computing. This is reflected in our students, who come from a variety of backgrounds, making the department an interesting and stimulating environment in which to study.

Find out how your research could have an impact

The foundation of your career

The four-year PhD programme is a well-established programme that draws in students from around the world who have gone on to exciting careers in security and crime sectors. It is the first programme 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. Our aim is to produce a new generation of crime and security practitioners with the skills to tackle modern and evolving crime threats. With over 60 partners in industry and the public sector and some of the world's leading academics at UCL working in these areas we provide excellent supervision and career prospects.

Collaborative working is an important aspect of this multidisciplinary programme, and the MRes + MPhil/PhD in Security Science gives students the opportunity to mix with peers from backgrounds including architecture, computer science, statistics, electronic engineering, chemistry, forensic sciences, psychology, philosophy, ethics and laws.

Employability

Graduates from our research programmes go on to research careers and to lecturing posts in academic institutions. Others have taken up policy-related positions in the public and private security sectors.

Our students possess skills modern employers in these sectors are looking for such as: (i) how to work in multidisciplinary teams; (ii) how to apply their knowledge to practical interventions; (iii) how to engage with industry; (iv) a PhD from a world-renowned research institute at one of the world's most highly ranked universities.

Networking

UCL SCS is widely recognized for its knowledge transfer activities, and the impact that its research has had on real-world crime problems. Consequently we have long-established links with police forces, policy makers at all levels, academic research centres of excellence and security organisations from both the UK and further afield.

Teaching and learning

The structure of the MRes + MPhil/PhD Programme includes both a one-year MRes Degree and a three-year MPhil/PhD Degree. Automatic progression from year one (MRes) to year two (MPhil/PhD) is subject to achieving an average mark of not less than 60% in the independent, original research components of the programme, and not less than 50% in the taught elements.

Students take a total of 180 credits in the MRes year. In case students have taken similar modules before or if their research would benefit from a different selection of modules (for example for research in forensics, laws, or psychology), the list of modules can, in agreement with the programme director and the student’s supervisor be altered.

Compulsory modules:

The remaining 45 credits should be spent by choosing three modules (worth 15 credits each). Two of them should be from the list of optional modules below, and one elective module (worth 15 credits) can be chosen from level 7 modules from across UCL (examples are given below, but please bear in mind that any modules taught by other departments at UCL will be at the discretion of the department concerned and we cannot guarantee availability in advance).

Optional modules may include:

Applied Cryptography
Computer Security 1
Computer Security 2
Cybercrime
Information Security Management
Introduction to Cryptography
Introduction to Cybersecurity
People and Security
Quantitative Methods
Research in Information Security
Spatial-Temporal Data Analysis and Data Mining (STDM)
Statistical Models and Data Analysis
Introduction to cybersecurity
People in security
Quantitative methods
Research in information security
Spatial-temporal data analysis and data mining (STDM)
Statistical models and data analysis

Elective modules could include:

Anthropology of politics, violence and crime Applied data science
Emergency and crisis planning
Introduction to machine learning
Perspectives on organised crime
Perspectives on terrorism

Years Two, Three and Four:

Research years, ending with submission of PhD thesis and viva.

Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.

Research area and structure

Our students conduct research across a wide range of areas covering four domains: crime and security analysis, design and technology, forensic science, and future crime.

Crime and security analysis

Design and technology

Forensic science

Forensic geoscience
DNA
Fingerprints
Trace evidence dynamics
Forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology
Inference and interpretation
Cognitive forensics

Future crime

Applications e.g. drones, autonomous vehicles, non-GPS navigation, Blockchain, performance-enhancing prosthetics
Background changes e.g. climate change, mass migration, antimicrobial resistance, new finance/banking models, commodity scarcities
Generic technologies e.g. AI, robotics/nanobots, quantum computing, 3D printing, hyper-connectivity, smart materials, Internet of Things (IoT), wearable ICT

Research areas and structure

Design and technology

Forensic science

Forensic geoscience
DNA
Fingerprints
Trace evidence dynamics
Forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology
Inference and interpretation
Cognitive forensics

Future crime

Applications e.g. drones, autonomous vehicles, non-GPS navigation, Blockchain, performance-enhancing prosthetics
Background changes e.g. climate change, mass migration, antimicrobial resistance, new finance/banking models, commodity scarcities
Generic technologies e.g. AI, robotics/nanobots, quantum computing, 3D printing, hyper-connectivity, smart materials, Internet of Things (IoT), wearable ICT

Research environment

The UCL Department of Security and Crime Science (SCS) is widely recognised for the impact that its research has had on real-world crime problems. The department has a distinctly interdisciplinary outlook on the prevention of crime, terrorism and organised crime. Consequently we have long established links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence, and security organisations from both the UK and further afield. The department has a successful track record of working closely with practitioners and is widely recognized for its knowledge transfer and exploitation activities, as well as the impact of its research on real world crime problems. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise, the Department’s impact activity was rated as 100% world leading, a score attained by only 0.02% of all assessed departments nationwide (n=7550). As a Security and Crime Science MRes and PhD student, you will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, this research culture.

The Department attracts the leading figures in the field to our extensive programme of events which inform debates around crime prevention. Regular events include the annual International Crime Science conference, regular seminars and outside speakers. These events reflect the diversity of disciplinary inputs that inform Crime Science.

A PhD at Security Science allows you to pursue original research and make a distinct and significant contribution to your field. We are committed to the quality and relevance of the research supervision we offer and as an MRes and MPhil/PhD student; you could work with academics at the cutting edge of crime prevention scholarship. Furthermore as a research student, you will be an integral part of our collaborative and thriving research community. To foster your academic development we also offer additional departmental funds, which can assist you with the costs of conferences and other research activities.

The length of registration for the MRes is 1 year.

The length of registration for the research degree programmes is 3 years for full-time and 5 years for part-time.

This PhD programme is part of the department doctoral programme, it follows successful completion of the MRes Security Science and cannot be taken as a stand alone programme. After you successfully complete the MRes, you will be registered 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 register as a completing research student (CRS) while you write up your thesis.

To successfully upgrade to a PhD you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually a literature review of your topic plus one empirical chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder). 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 PhD programme is expected to be completed within three years for full-time students, and over five years for part-time students. If you are not ready to submit at the end of the third year, you may be allowed to transfer to CRS for a maximum period of one calendar year (full time) or two calendar years (part time).

Accessibility

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble accessable.co.uk. Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support & Wellbeing team.

Visit us

All open days and events

30 March 2023

Online and On campus at Roberts Building G06 Sir Ambrose Fleming Lecture Theatre - Open day

UCL's Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (SECReT) PhD Open Evening

18:00 — 21:00

Join us for UCL's Security Science Doctoral Research Training Centre (SECReT) hybrid open evening where you can find out more about our PhDs. At the open evening, you will hear from the programme leads and current students. We will explain the aim and content of the programme and also discuss the scholarships we currently have available. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students

Fee description	Full-time	Part-time
Tuition fees (2023/24)	£5,860	£2,930
Tuition fees (2023/24)	£32,100	£16,050

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

No additional costs.

For more information on additional costs for prospective students please go to our estimated cost of essential expenditure at Accommodation and living costs.

Funding your studies

See our website for details.

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

We only offer a full-time programme with a single intake in September. Entrance is therefore every September. 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 remotely).

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.