Professional Doctorate in Social and Criminal Justice

The Professional Doctorate in Social and Criminal Justice offers a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between research and practice.

A professional doctorate is an opportunity to combine professional practice with a research degree. This doctoral programme is the first of its kind in the UK to combine fields of social and criminal justice. The professional knowledge and expertise you bring to this programme coupled with the education you will receive from us about conducting advanced level research will ensure you gain the highest level of skills and knowledge and produce research with real-world impact. Years 1 and 2 are the ‘taught’ phase. Our programme is flexible but rigorous, designed to support your through the challenges of doctoral study and research. Years 3 and 4 are the thesis phase. In this phase you will undertake your independent research project, supported by an experienced supervisory team from within the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

This programme will be suitable for you if you are in professional practice in criminal justice and related organisations. This could include the police, prisons, probation, the Courts, forensic mental health services, and youth justice services as well as people working in policy development and organisational management in, for example, the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. Other professionals who this programme is aimed at include, but are not limited to, drug treatment services, women’s services, housing services, education, training and employment services, security services and the not-for-profit sector.

What you should know about this course
- This course allows you to combine professional practice with a research degree, conducting research in your field while advancing your career

- Our programme is the only Professional Doctorate to amalgamate the fields of social and criminal justice

- You will be working with an accomplished team of academics, with experience of professional practice in the social and criminal justice sectors

- The programme has embedded opportunities for developing academic skills

- We are committed to meeting the needs of researchers who want to study at the highest level, and you will welcomed into a thriving post-graduate research community.