Criminology

Criminology is the critical examination of crime and justice policy and practice. Criminology at Melbourne seeks to understand how society constructs and responds to crime.

Criminology at Melbourne

We take a critical approach to understanding crime. We work in partnership to create new ways of addressing violence and injustice, and achieving just outcomes. We raise questions and challenge assumptions about laws and law enforcement. Why are some criminalised and others are not? Who defines ‘crime’ and what counts as violence? Which policies and practices hold promise for reducing violence and inequality, and for achieving justice?

In seeking answers to such questions at individual, corporate and state levels, we apply knowledge from a wide range of disciplines to challenge everyday assumptions and to collaborate on new approaches to understanding and addressing crime.

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As the oldest continuing Criminology program in Australia, we look at crime and justice locally and globally, from youth justice to state crime, homelessness to drug policy, policing to prisons, gender violence to terrorism, and corporations to Treaty and truth commissions. We have a strong commitment to partnering with communities and organisations to make research matter, and create social and structural change.

Associate Professor Diana Johns, Chair in Criminology

Explore our research

Criminology at Melbourne draws on a multidisciplinary field, applying theories and translating research to understand local and international crime problems, to inform the development of effective crime and justice policy and practice.

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Partnerships, engagement and philanthropy

Study with us

Our subjects give you skills in critical thinking, conceptual analysis, and specialised and practical justice knowledge.

Undergraduate

Graduate coursework

Graduate research

Meet our Criminology staff

Criminology at Melbourne is taught by a team of engaged and passionate teachers and researchers. We work across the intersections of law, society and culture, studying the local and global dimensions of crime, social harms and trauma, and the policy and practice implications of criminological research.