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Crime Science MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Multidisciplinary scientific approaches are rapidly becoming one of our most effective weapons in the fight against crime. This MSc will give you the tools and knowledge you need to understand, prevent and reduce crime using scientific methodologies. 

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
£18,400
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26)
£36,500
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Duration
1 calendar year
5 calendar years
Programme starts
September 2025
Applications accepted
Applicants who require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 27 Jun 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Applicants who do not require a visa: 14 Oct 2024 – 29 Aug 2025
Applications close at 5pm UK time

Applications open

Completed applications (those submitted successfully and application fee payment received) will be assessed in batches and you should receive a decision according to the following dates:
Application complete by 3 January 2025 – Decision by 10 March 2025
Application complete by 28 March 2025 – Decision by 26 May 2025
Application complete by 27 June 2025 – Decision by 31 July 2025

Apply for this course

Entry requirements

Normally a minimum of a second-class Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Relevant disciplines include science subjects, for example engineering or computer science; or social science subjects, for example, psychology, criminology or geography. Alternatively candidates may qualify for entry if they can offer five or more years of relevant professional experience (for example in the police service, or as a crime prevention worker).

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 Master's will allow you to specialise in crime science, developing data-driven strategies and initiatives to prevent crime, and more effectively detect and arrest offenders.

Combining expert analytical approaches from psychology, social science, statistics, mathematics, forensics, computing, geography and even architecture, you’ll develop creative problem-solving approaches. 

You’ll learn to think critically about complex and evolving crime issues from low-level interpersonal and property crimes in our communities, right through to larger scale financial crimes being committed by organised crime groups in cyberspace — then use advanced skills in statistical analysis and quantitative methods to design robust research projects to investigate them. 

Using real-life case studies and initiative design frameworks, you’ll develop a deep understanding of the theories, processes and application of crime prevention. 

This will enable you to assess the impact of planned crime reduction initiatives, and eventually generate your own novel proposals to address specific crime problems — and make a positive difference to the lives of UK citizens and communities.

Who this course is for

This programme is ideal for you if you want to gain the skills necessary for world-class security and crime science research. The programme is suitable for applicants from a range of different disciplines who want to pursue a lifelong career in research or work in the security and crime prevention industry.
Read about what it takes to study for a Master's at UCL

What this course will give you

  • 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. 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 by employers worldwide.
  • Absorb the key theories that explain the temporal and spatial patterning of crime and terrorism events, so you can develop and implement countermeasures to disrupt them.
  • Use your professional experience to qualify – we accept applications from candidates without a first degree if you’ve got five or more years of relevant experience, for example working as a police or crime prevention officer.
  • Shape your studies to match your interests, with a wide range of optional specialisms including organised crime, risk and contingency planning, cybercrime and applied data science.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme
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

Graduates go on to successful careers in crime prevention and detection, community safety, and policymaking. A significant proportion go on to study for PhD degrees at UCL and other institutions worldwide.

Employability

With over 60 industry and public sector partners, UCL Security & Crime Science will provide the specific preparation you need to join the ranks of a new generation of crime prevention and security practitioners.

Our 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 Master's.

  • Benefit from our department'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 and expert guest speakers.
  • Previous speakers include senior voices from within UK police forces, UK government departments, forensic science providers, and researchers from UK and overseas universities.

Teaching and learning

The programme is delivered through lectures, seminars, tutorials, projects and practical exercises. Practical work will involve the analysis and interpretation of datasets, and the development of new ideas for solving problems.

Assessment is through lab and project reports, practical exercises and computer-based tasks, unseen written examinations, coursework, 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 varies throughout the terms, and depends on the module choices of the student.

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

Modules

Students undertake eight taught modules plus the dissertation. The programme consists of four core modules, four optional modules, and a research dissertation. 

Full-time students will undertake taught modules in terms one and two, with the dissertation commencing in term two and being completed during the summer term. We also offer a distance learning delivery.

A Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) is also offered, comprising four compulsory and four optional modules. The difference between our PG Dip and our MSc is that the PG Dip does not include the dissertation.

Students undertake eight taught modules plus the dissertation. The programme consists of four core modules, four optional modules and a research dissertation. 

Modular-flexible students should take the module SECU0031 (Foundations of Security and Crime Science) first and their dissertation as their final module, but other modules in the diet can be taken in any configuration in up to five years. 

The dissertation will commence in term two and will be completed in the summer term. Students cannot start the dissertation during the first year of registration. We also offer a distance learning delivery.

A Postgraduate Diploma (PG Dip) is also offered, comprising four compulsory and four optional modules. The difference between our PG Dip and our MSc is that the PG Dip does not include the dissertation.

Compulsory modules







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 Crime Science.

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

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All open days and events

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Where can a UCL Engineering degree take you? Join us for a panel and Q&A event with UCL Engineering alumni. You'll learn what you can expect from postgraduate study at UCL Engineering and get application advice from previous students! This is an opportunity for all applicants to hear personal experiences of studying with us, but may be most relevant to those applying from the USA, Latin and South America.

Online - Open day

Graduate Open Events: Where can a UCL Engineering degree take you - Alumni Perspectives

—

Where can a UCL Engineering degree take you? Join us for a panel and Q&A event with UCL Engineering alumni. You'll learn what you can expect from postgraduate study at UCL Engineering and get application advice from previous students! This is an opportunity for all applicants to hear personal experiences of studying with us, but may be most relevant to those applying from the USA, Latin and South America.

Fees and funding

Fees for this course

UK students International students
Fee description Full-time
Tuition fees (2025/26) £18,400
Tuition fees (2025/26) £36,500

Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.

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

For Full-time and Part-time offer holders a fee deposit will be charged at 10% of the first year fee.

For flexible/modular offer holders a £500 fee 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.

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

UCL Security and Crime Science is offering a number of scholarships of up to £10,000 to outstanding applicants who have been offered places on one of our MSc programmes.

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 programme 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 points below in your personal statement.

When we assess your application we would like to learn:

  • what particularly attracts you to this particular programme.
  • why you want to study this subject in the Faculty of Engineering Sciences at UCL, rather than elsewhere.
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme.
  • if you're 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.
  • if you're aware and comfortable with the fact that the programme differs from a traditional criminology programme, and instead focuses practically on how to prevent and detect crimes by treating the crime rather than the offender as the subject of analysis.

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 courses. Whilst we do not require students to have a background in mathematics or statistics, it is vital for our students 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 programmes (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: 2025-2026

Apply for this course

Got questions? Get in touch

Security and Crime Science
Security and Crime Science

scs-admissions@ucl.ac.uk

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