Criminology and American Studies (United States) (term abroad)

Our course gives you an excellent understanding of the global patterns increasingly found in criminal justice policies and criminal offences. We take a social view of crime, a view which links crime to issues of power, resources, rights, (in)equality, governance and culture. This leads us to ask, for example, why certain groups of people are more likely than others to become offenders, why certain kinds of offenders are more likely than others to be caught, how some governments commit ‘state crime’ and why so many people are simultaneously fearful of, yet fascinated by, crime.

Crucially, you also have the opportunity to spend either a term or a full academic year studying in the United States, so you can explore and become immersed in American culture.

The degree is built to be extremely flexible and student-led, and as you progress through the course you can choose from an enormous range of options from across the humanities and social sciences, including:

• Contemporary social issues, such as the struggles for racial justice

• The legacies of slavery and the civil rights movement

• Environmental protection of the ‘wilderness’ of the Far West

• Native American histories and rights

• Organised crime, surveillance and counter-terrorism

• Environmental harm

• Visual criminology

• Social history and crime

Based within our Interdisciplinary Studies Centre (ISC), American studies offers a truly multidisciplinary approach, giving you knowledge of the many ways to understand key areas of the American experience. You draw on multiple perspectives in order to reach a deeper understanding of the world we inhabit, opening up exciting possibilities to discover the American continent. The cities, vast open plains, mountains and deserts shape diverse and intriguing ways of life.

By encouraging you to think and operate across traditional boundaries, our course has produced confident, assertive and intelligent graduates who have become successful in many professional fields.

Our criminology modules are taught by our Department of Sociology, which is rated Top 10 in the UK for research quality (REF 2014).

Many of our courses offer a choice of optional modules to tailor your learning experience. More information about these can be found on the University of Essex website.