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Crime Science with Serious Organised Crime MSc

This interdisciplinary Crime Science with Serious Organised Crime MSc shows you how to use science-based approaches to detect and disrupt organised crime networks and groups. Using these tools, you’ll rise to the challenge, reducing harms and mitigating the influence of organised criminals who persistently target some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

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 closed

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 a lower 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 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 degree and learn how to apply scientific methodologies drawn from a diverse range of disciplines to the problem of serious organised crime.

Our Crime Science with Serious Organised Crime MSc provides you with a robust conceptual toolkit, allowing you to critically evaluate any manifestation of organised crime and devise evidence-based strategies in response.

You’ll examine the group structures and governance models found in organised crime, developing a sophisticated understanding of how crime groups try to embed themselves in communities and social infrastructure.

You’ll hone advanced skills in statistical analysis, quantitative methods and research design. Drawing on a diverse range of disciplines, including social sciences, you’ll become skilled at manipulating large datasets and extracting evidence to apply to real-world serious crime problems.

You’ll also develop tools to help you tackle specific organised crime activities like human trafficking, smuggling and exploitation. Going beyond the narrow lens of criminal justice, you’ll gain an appreciation of the structural and systemic drivers of these crimes through the study of workers’ and migrants’ rights, and questions of agency and restraint.

In addition to our Crime Science with Serious Organised Crime MSc, we also offer several routes for students interested in specialising in certain fields: 

Who this course is for

Our Crime Science MSc 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.

This programme is ideal for those with a passion for problem-solving seeking to make a positive impact on society through security and crime science. 

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

What this course will give you

This degree offers you the following benefits and opportunities:

  • Get a world-class postgraduate degree from UCL, ranked 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.
  • Shape your studies to match your interests, with a wide range of optional specialisms including economic crime, intelligence gathering and analysis, risk and contingency planning, and cybercrime.
  • Work with UCL’s renowned academics from across the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities.
  • 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.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme

The foundation of your career

Our graduates are fully equipped for exciting careers on the frontlines of crime science, in areas such as intelligence and crime prevention analysis. 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.

Many of our graduates now work in the fields of crime prevention, crime detection, and community safety, in both the public and private sectors, with Graduates from our department going on to work for organisations such as the Home Office, Ministry of Defence, CPS, Ministry of Justice, National Crime Agency and the Cabinet Office (Graduate Outcome Surveys 2017-2022). 

There is also a range of security-focused careers in the private sector available to you, covering areas such as data science, risk management, fraud and security analysis. Other graduates go on to further doctoral research.

Employability

Whilst studying on this programme, you will use real-life case studies to develop a comprehensive understanding of organised crime across both local and international jurisdictions and legal contexts.

You will 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.

Networking

As part of our Crime Science with Serious Organised Crime 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, counter-terrorism professionals, and researchers from the 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 project reports, unseen written examination, 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 15-20 contact hours and 15 hours of self-directed learning and preparing for assessments.

Modules

During this programme, you will undertake eight taught modules plus the dissertation. The programme consists of four compulsory modules, four optional modules, and a research dissertation. 

Full-time students undertake taught modules in Terms 1 and 2, with the dissertation commencing in Term 2 and being completed during the summer term. 

During this programme, you will undertake eight taught modules plus the dissertation. The programme consists of four compulsory 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 can be taken in any configuration in up to five years. 

The dissertation will commence in Term 2 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 option.

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

Research Methods for Crime Science






Optional modules

Qualitative Research Methods













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 with Serious Organised Crime.

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.

Postgraduate Taught students benefit from a cohort guarantee, meaning that their tuition fees will not increase during the course of the programme, but UCL reserves the right to increase tuition fees to reflect any sums (including levies, taxes, or similar financial charges) that UCL is required to pay any governmental authority in connection with tuition fees.

The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Where the course 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 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 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 UCL Security & Crime Science Department, rather than elsewhere
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this programme
  • whether 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
  • whether you're aware and comfortable with the fact that the programme differs from a traditional criminology programme, focusing 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 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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