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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. This 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 (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

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 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


Build a comprehensive set of 21st century policing skills with this multidisciplinary data-driven Master’s, co-designed by leading academics and law enforcement, counter-terrorism and intelligence agency practitioners. 

You’ll 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’ll 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’ll explore how these theoretical models are applied in different countries and cultural contexts (with varying results). You’ll also see how they relate to policing tactics such as hot-spot, zero-tolerance and broken-windows policing. Using the multidisciplinary crime science approach developed by the UCL  Security and Crime Science department, you’ll 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. It is suitable for police officers or staff in related crime agency roles 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 an internationally-accredited postgraduate degree from a top-ranked university. 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.
  • Study in the UCL  Security and Crime Science department, the first research institution in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime. 
  • 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. 
  • Hone advanced skills in statistical analysis, quantitative methods and research design. You’ll learn to manipulate large datasets and extract evidence to apply to real-world crime and policing problems. 
  • 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. 
  • 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.
  • Study in the world's best city for university students (QS Best Student Cities 2024). UCL’s Bloomsbury campus is in the heart of a London district famous for its cultural and educational institutions.
Read about what you'll get out of a graduate programme
Making an impact
UCL Portico building with welcome sign between columns.

Case study: Police: get the evidence

Our work with the Home Office assessed the evidence on graduate-entry police training

The foundation of your career

You can also 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. 

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.

Employability

Students will gain the skills required to conduct rigorous analysis, use evidence-based approaches, make sound policy decisions, and become leaders in modern police forces. It will also enable them to work in law enforcement and security related organisations and gain expertise in crime prevention with transferable skills in critical thinking and problem solving.

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 and security practitioners. 

Networking

You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your Master's. 

  • Benefit from the 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

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 varies throughout the terms, and depends on the module choices of the student.

You should expect a working schedule of approximately 35-40 hours a week, divided between contact hours, self-directed learning, and preparing for assessments.

Modules

This is a full-time one-year MSc programme. The programme consists of five core 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 one and two, with the dissertation commencing in term two and being completed in the summer term.

Optional modules will be on 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 core 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 the diet 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









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

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

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 & 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. Further information is available on the 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 below points 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 at UCL
  • 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 of 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 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

UCL is regulated by the Office for Students.