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Countering Extremist Crime and Terrorism MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Build an expert skillset in the scientific approaches used to combat terrorism and extremist crime. This Countering Extremist Crime and Terrorism MSc is developed in close collaboration with law enforcement agencies, intelligence and security professionals. 

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£19,300
£9,650
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£39,200
£19,600
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
2 calendar years
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2026
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 26 Jun 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 20 Oct 2025 – 28 Aug 2026
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally, a minimum of an upper second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline (i.e., psychology, criminology, policing, international relations, security studies, law, geography, sociology, political science) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Evidence of having completed modules in research methods, quantitative/qualitative methods, statistics or data science is an advantage. Alternatively, candidates may qualify for entry if they can offer five or more years of relevant professional experience.

The English language level for this course 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


Join us on this one-year multidisciplinary Countering Extremist Crime and Terrorism (CECT) MSc and learn how to use crime science to understand, analyse, prevent, disrupt, and detect terrorism and extremist crime.

Our programme was co-designed by world-leading academics and law enforcement, intelligence and security practitioners. 

The course equips you with the unique crime science approach developed here at UCL, by combining the latest insights from social and engineering sciences, crime and security methodologies.

You will examine the many facets and drivers of terrorism and extremism and use scientific principles to critically assess the tactics of terrorist actors as well as different countermeasures. 

You will also build an advanced toolkit of research design and statistical analysis techniques, allowing you to solve real-world crime problems and security issues using data.

Who this course is for

This programme is ideal for you if you want to gain the skills necessary for a world-class security and crime science professional. 

It is suitable for those who already work in security, intelligence, or law enforcement, or graduates with a relevant first degree who want to pursue a career in crime prevention or counterterrorism more broadly.

Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities:

  • Get a world-class postgraduate degree from UCL, ranked the 9th best university in the world (QS World University Rankings 2026).
  • Study in the UCL Security and Crime Science department, the first research institution in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime.
  • Work with UCL’s renowned academics from across the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities. 
  • Shape your studies to match your interests, with a wide range of optional specialisms including online extremism and hate crime, human trafficking and smuggling, and cybercrime and cybersecurity.
  • Use your professional experience to qualify. We accept applications from candidates without a first degree if you have five or more years of relevant experience, for example, working as a police or crime prevention officer.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Our graduates go on to successful careers in crime prevention and detection, community safety, and policymaking, working in police forces, governmental institutions and private security and intelligence companies (Graduate Outcome Surveys 2017-2022). 

Other graduates go on to study for PhD degrees at UCL and other institutions worldwide (Graduate Outcome Surveys 2017-2022).

The 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.

Employability

While working on this programme, you will develop a sophisticated understanding of terrorism and extremism, using multidisciplinary perspectives and data-driven approaches to formulate better preventive and disruptive tools to combat these evolving threats. 

You will also learn to apply scientific principles to tackle security problems and absorb the key theories that explain the temporal and spatial patterning of crime and terrorism events to develop and implement countermeasures.

Networking

As part of our Countering Extremist Crime and Terrorism MSc, you will benefit from our department's long-established links and partnerships with 60 industry and public sector partners, including 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.

We run an extensive programme of 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 and expert guest speakers.

Previous speakers include senior voices from within UK police forces, UK government departments, forensic science providers, and researchers from the UK and overseas universities.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, projects, and laboratory classes.

This programme is assessed via unseen written examinations, coursework, individual and group project reports, individual and group oral presentations, and the dissertation.

Full-time students can expect 15-20 hours of contact time per teaching week. The exact number of contact hours, composition, and assessment vary throughout the terms, and depend on the module choices of the student.

You should expect a working schedule of approximately 35 hours a week, divided between 15-20 contact hours and 15 hours of self-directed learning and preparing for assessments.

Modules

This programme is undertaken for one year full-time, during which you will take four compulsory modules, four optional modules, and a dissertation. 

Availability of external optional modules is dependent on the home department. 

Optional modules are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Modules will be taught in Terms 1 and 2. Work on the dissertation will commence in term two and will be completed over the summer term (Term 3). 

A Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) is also offered, comprising of four compulsory and four optional modules. The PG Dip does not include a dissertation. 

This programme can be taken for up to five years, during which you will undertake four compulsory modules, four optional modules, and a dissertation. 

Modular-flexible students should take the Foundations of Security and Crime Science module first, and their dissertation as their final module. The dissertation cannot be completed during the first year of registration. However, other modules in the diet can be taken in any configuration over up to five years.

Availability of external optional modules is dependent on the home department. Optional modules are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

A Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) is also offered, comprising of four compulsory and four optional modules. The PG Dip does not include a dissertation. 

Compulsory modules

Research Methods for Crime Science





Optional modules


















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 are subject to change. Modules that are in use for the current academic year are linked for further information. Where no link is present, further information is not yet available.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. Upon successful completion of 180 credits, you will be awarded an MSc in Countering Extremist Crime and Terrorism.

Accessibility

The department will endeavour to make reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities, including those with long-term health conditions, neurodivergence, learning differences and mental health conditions. This list is not exhaustive. If you're unsure of your eligibility for reasonable adjustments at UCL, please contact Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

Reasonable adjustments are implemented on a case-by-case basis. With the student's consent, reasonable adjustments are considered by UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services, and where required, in collaboration with the respective department.

Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble. Further information about support available can be obtained from UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services.

For more information about the department and accessibility arrangements for your course, please contact the department.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time Part-time
Tuition fees (2026/27) £19,300 £9,650
Tuition fees (2026/27) £39,200 £19,600

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

Additional costs

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a fee deposit will be charged at 2.5% of the first year fee.

For full-time and part-time offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of UK, a £350 deposit will be charged.

For modular/flexible offer holders with a fee status classification of Overseas, a £500 deposit will be charged.

Further information can be found in the Tuition fee deposits section on this page: Tuition fees.

There are no additional costs associated with this programme.

For in-person teaching, 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 £119.90. This price was published by TfL in 2025. 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

UCL Security and Crime Science has a bursary fund of £10,000 used to support outstanding applicants who have been offered places on one of our MSc programmes.

The total sum offered is dependent on the number of applications, with applicants being advised to be mindful that they should look for additional sources of funding, as the bursary is unlikely to cover all costs. 

For further information, please visit our Security and Crime Science departmental website.

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

Next steps

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

There is an application processing fee for this course of £90 for online applications. Further information can be found at Application fees.

You will need to complete our application, making sure to address the below points in your personal statement.

When we assess your application, we would like to learn:

  • what especially attracts you to this particular programme
  • why you want to study this subject in the UCL Security & Crime Science Department, rather than elsewhere
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
  • if you are aware and comfortable with the fact that the programme includes courses on statistics and quantitative analysis, as well as a general emphasis on the scientific method and empirical research
  • where you would like to go professionally with your degree.

Together with essential academic requirements, the personal statement is your opportunity to illustrate whether your reasons for applying to this programme match what the programme will deliver.

It is important to note that statistical analysis of crime data is an integral part of all of our postgraduate programmes. Whilst we do not require students to have a background in mathematics or statistics, it is vital to show an understanding and willingness to learn the concepts of statistics and quantitative research methods.

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

Choose your programme

Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.

Year of entry: 2026-2027

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Security and Crime Science
Security and Crime Science

scs-teaching@ucl.ac.uk

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