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Policing MSc

London, Bloomsbury

Police forces face an ever-evolving array of complex crime challenges and ethical responsibilities, while making sure their actions can withstand increasing public scrutiny. Our Policing MSc will help you rise to these challenges, using scientific methods and evidence-based approaches to protect life and property, preserve order and uphold justice. 

UK students International students
Study mode
UK tuition fees (2026/27)
£19,300
Fees to be confirmed
Programme also available on a modular (flexible) basis.
Overseas tuition fees (2026/27)
£39,200
Fees to be confirmed
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

Applicants should have, or expect to obtain before entry, a lower second-class Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. criminology, psychology, sociology, law, geography or hard science) from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Candidates who have at least five years' relevant professional experience are also eligible. In exceptional circumstances, students who do not fulfil these requirements may be considered.

Please note you are required to nominate at least one academic reference from someone who has taught you at degree level. If you have been out of higher education for more than four years you can provide a professional reference instead. Your second reference can be academic or professional. Please do not nominate personal referees, nor use non-institutional email addresses.

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


Build a comprehensive set of 21st-century policing skills with this multidisciplinary data-driven Policing MSc. This course has been co-designed by leading academics and law enforcement, counterterrorism and intelligence agency practitioners and draws directly from today’s most pressing issues in the field. 

On this programme, you will develop an advanced toolkit of research design and statistical analysis techniques that will allow you to solve real-world problems and security issues using data. 

Working alongside a diverse group of peers from all kinds of professional and academic backgrounds, you will acquire an expert understanding of how crime reduction policing models, such as problem-oriented or intelligence-led policing, are used by law enforcement agencies across the world. 

You will explore how these theoretical models are applied in different countries and cultural contexts and see how they relate to policing tactics such as hot-spot, zero-tolerance and broken-windows policing. Using our multidisciplinary crime science approach, you will examine the relationship between policing ethics and public relations. 

You’ll focus on identifying flashpoint issues and learn real-world strategies to mitigate conflicts between the police and the public in specific situations.

Who this course is for

This programme is ideal if you are interested in gaining the skills to use evidence to improve policing for everyone. 

Our Policing MSc is suitable for those who want to specialise in certain areas of policing, for example, cybercrime, organised crime, or terrorism.

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. 
  • Shape your studies to match your interests, with a wide range of optional specialisms including management skills for police leaders, investigation and detection, and cybercrime. 
  • UCL’s Bloomsbury campus is famous for its cultural and educational institutions.
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 prevention, in law enforcement and security-related organisations.  

In addition to policing, you can go on to explore a range of security-focused careers in the private sector, covering areas such as data science, risk management, fraud and security analysis. 

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

Graduates from this programme have gone on to diverse roles in Sussex Police, Singapore Government, Thai Police, and the Public Secretariat Mato Grosso, in Brazil (Graduate Outcomes Survey 2017-2022).

Employability

Whilst studying on this programme, you will gain the transferrable skills required to conduct rigorous analysis, use evidence-based approaches, make sound policy decisions, and become leaders in modern police forces and beyond. 

You will also master 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.

You will develop advanced skills in statistical analysis, quantitative methods and research design, learning to manipulate large datasets and extract evidence to apply to real-world crime and policing problems. 

Networking

As part of our Policing 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 UK and overseas universities.

Teaching and learning

You will be assessed through unseen examinations, coursework, presentations, reports and project assignments.

The programme is delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops. Distance learning students will have access to enhanced Internet-based tools and resources and virtual links between staff and students. 

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 35-40 hours a week, divided between 15-20 contact hours and 15-20 hours of self-directed learning and preparing for assessments.

Modules

This is a full-time one-year MSc programme. The programme consists of five compulsory modules (with a choice between Designing and Doing Research OR Quantitative Methods), three optional modules and a dissertation/report. 

Students will undertake taught modules in Terms 1 and 2, with the dissertation commencing in Term 2 and being completed in the summer term.

Optional modules will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.

This programme can be undertaken for up to 5 years for modular-flexible students. The programme consists of 5 compulsory modules (with a choice between Designing and Doing Research OR Quantitative Methods), 3 optional modules and a dissertation/report. 

Modular-flexible students should take the Foundations of Security and Crime Science module first, and their dissertation as their final module. Other modules in our offering can be taken in any configuration over up to 5 years. 

The dissertation cannot be taken during the first year of registration. Optional modules will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.

We recommend that modular-flexible students who are also working full-time spread the degree over at least 3 years to allow them to maintain a reasonable work-life balance.

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 Policing.

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 Fees to be confirmed
Tuition fees (2026/27) £39,200 Fees to be confirmed

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:

  • why you want to study policing at graduate level
  • why you want to study policing in the UCL Security & Crime Science Department, rather than elsewhere
  • what particularly attracts you to this programme
  • how your academic and professional background meets the demands of this challenging programme
  • where you would like to go professionally on completion of 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 our postgraduate programmes. While we do not require students to have a background in mathematics or statistics, it is vital for our students to show a 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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