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Corporate and business crime presents one of the key contemporary challenges to society, not only in terms of the difficulties it poses to the criminal justice system, but also in relation to the wider social harm it furthers. The study of this highly relevant and rapidly developing area of criminological research prepares students to make a real contribution to shaping policy around corporate accountability and corporate control.
The combination of analytic criminological knowledge and applied research skills on this programme will equip you with a sophisticated understanding of current challenges and perspectives in the area of corporate crime and corporate responsibility, whilst also enhancing your understanding of the main theories and ideas within contemporary criminology.
The Masters in Criminology and Social Research (Corporate Crime and Corporate Responsibility) is aimed at graduates, professionals and practitioners with an appropriate first degree who have an interest in corporate crime or the fields of corporate ethics, governance and criminal behaviour.
It will also suit graduates and practitioners considering a PhD in this area; and practitioners and professionals in companies, business organisations, the criminal justice system and related government and voluntary agencies who wish to apply knowledge of criminology, corporate crime and corporate responsibility within their present position.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time over two academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and a dissertation.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
The department supports students in finding three-to-four-week research placements during spring and summer vacation periods, and this approach has recently been supplemented to include strategies of support for students seeking a wider range of opportunities for professional development in the first-hand experience of research organisation – including such activities as part-time internships over longer periods, workplace visits, or shadowing research professionals.
This introduces further flexibility in a student-led process of professional development in light of increasing external pressures on students’ commitments and responsibilities. All, however, involve opportunities to consider issues in career development and professional skills.
The support process involves the department working closely with students on a one-to-one basis toward their goals and requirements, in association with the University’s Careers Service, to offer pastoral advice and support.
Organisations the department has worked with in the past have included the Office of National Statistics, Cabinet Office, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Sussex Youth Offending team and Surrey Police.
In some cases, the work experience may also be with projects in academic contexts. Students seek experiential learning opportunities with the support of the department’s Senior Placement Tutor, and assistance from the Faculty Placement Office.
The MSc pathway in Corporate Crime and Corporate Responsibility will combine grounding in the discipline of criminology and training in the full range of qualitative and quantitative methods of social research with specialised understanding of the key issues attached to a criminal offending by corporate agents.
It is designed to meet the needs of students graduating from a first degree who have an interest in corporate crime, people who are currently employed and wish to apply knowledge of criminology, corporate crime and corporate responsibility within their present job, or those who wish to move into specialised research or practice in the fields of corporate ethics, governance and criminal behaviour.
The degree provides an ideal foundation to undertake a part-time or full-time PhD.
The degree is suitable for a wide range of students in terms of age, professional background, and current occupation and circumstances.
Because of this diversity of experience, students on the degree learn a great deal from each other, including at the residential Weekend Conference in the middle of the first semester, and the Day Conference at the end of the first semester.
The full-time MSc is taught over 12 months and the part-time course over 24 months. Students who do not wish to undertake the Masters dissertation can obtain the Postgraduate Certificate in Criminology and Social Research (Corporate Crime and Corporate Responsibility) after gaining 60 credits, or the Postgraduate Diploma after gaining 120 credits.
Students studying for the MSc in full-time mode are required to submit their dissertation during the academic year in which they commenced registration.
It is expected that students studying part-time will have obtained a minimum of 60 credits by the end of the first 12 months of registration in order to proceed into the second year.
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
Do you want to understand the role of Mexico in the cocaine trade, why a Dutch multinational dumps waste on an African country, or how young Dutch Muslims are recruited for fighting in Syria? Are you curious about phenomena such as Internet fraud, food criminality or mobile banditry? Old and new forms of global crime are rapidly expanding, as are the means to control it. The Netherlands serves both as a major crossroad in the illegal flow of goods, people and services and as a key host for international organisations such as Europol, Greenpeace and the International Criminal Court. Drug trafficking, human trafficking, international terrorism, corruption, environmental harm, financial and corporate crime and conflicts over natural resources all have global dimensions. Tackling these issues requires modern instruments that transcend national boundaries.
You can choose from two distinctive tracks within the Global Criminology programme. Find out more about the following tracks:
The MA in Global Criminology is a one-year Master’s programme that equips students with the knowledge, skills, and understanding required to work with local and global crime issues, crime policies and crime control strategies.
The programme offers a multidisciplinary, critical and comparative perspective in criminology, open for students with a BA degree in law, criminology, social sciences, or any other related social discipline such as economy, history or media studies, to name a few.
During this programme, you’ll study key issues such as organised and corporate crime, prison systems, security policies or the relation between ethnicity and crime. You will also develop essential skills that will benefit you in both your professional and personal life. You will be able, among other things, to:
This programme explores the many facets of international commercial law; addressing the many conflicts that arise of which law applies between international parties when a dispute occurs. The course will also establish the challenges of International Corporate Crime (ICC), and what measures are in place to tackle it.
The LLM International Commercial Law equips law graduates and professionals with the understanding and skills to enable them to address these issues of economic globalisation. As a student, you will be able to apply these skills to enhance your professional and academic development.
You will benefit from studying in a University with an established reputation for the excellence of its teaching and research within Law, with a dedicated team of lecturers, many of whom have substantial commercial and professional legal backgrounds.
This course will develop analytical, evaluative and research skills and provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the tensions that exist in the contemporary domestic and international legal framework.
The modules offer you a chance to explore international bodies such as the EU, its member states and the wider international community from the perspective of private, corporate and intellectual property law. You will also have the opportunity to investigate into an area of particular interest when you produce your dissertation. You will be supported by experienced lecturers who use a range of innovative teaching methods, which will enhance your studies.
You will generally study three or four modules in each semester, followed by the dissertation.
To be eligible for the award of LLM International Commercial Law, you must successfully gain 180 credits from the below compulsory modules. If you must successfully gain 120 credits from the below but not including the Dissertation you would be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma, if you gain 60 credits not include the Dissertation you would awarded the Postgraduate Certificate.
-Principles of European Law
-Private International Law
-International Corporate Law
-Intellectual Property Rights Law
-Research Methods
-International Corporate Crime
-Dissertation
The LLM is offered for full-time study over 12 months, there are also options for part time and distance learning study. You will typically study three or four modules in each semester. This is followed by the dissertation period of 18 weeks.
This course is also available through distance learning, as well as taught at the University of Northampton. The distance learning element of the course delivery will vary module by module but typically includes podcasts of lectures combined with weekly or fortnightly online reading, exercises and discussions using a range of platforms, including blogs and discussion boards.
Where appropriate, Powerpoint slides will be available online at the same time as the lecture podcast. The readings will be in the form of links to online documents, case reports, book extracts or similar and will be available through online systems. Formative assessment is carried out regularly so that you can ensure on a regular basis that you are at the right place in the course. You will be allocated a personal tutor and will be able to arrange live one-to-one tutorial sessions using Skype or Google Hangout as necessary.
Formal course assessment is centred on module essays and submission of a dissertation, although the precise method of assessment may vary across modules. In addition, students may be informally assessed in a number of different ways, including individual presentations.
-Strong staff expertise, with substantial teaching experience on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
-An enthusiastic teaching team providing a supportive atmosphere for research.
On completion of the course, students have gone on to pursue careers in academia, in the United Nations, and many have used the LLM as a stepping stone for promotion in their existing legal careers.
The Master of Criminology programme is designed to provide students with an advanced understanding of crime, public response to crime and, specifically, criminal justice in Europe and beyond.
The programme is characterised by a strong link between education and research, an explicitly international orientation, and a comparative approach, with special attention to the cross-border character of criminality.
General subjects include criminological theories and models of law enforcement, psychology, law and criminal justice, youth criminology and juvenile justice, and research methods. The programme also offers cutting-edge courses on international police and judicial cooperation, political crimes and transitional justice, restorative justice, terrorism, and organised and corporate crime – research fields in which our Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC) professors are internationally renowned experts.
LINC is the most recent institutional incarnation (2007) of the criminological tradition in Leuven, which began with the establishment of the School for Criminology in 1929. Excellence in criminology continues today, combining solid research with a deep commitment to society structured within ten research lines. LINC is composed of 11 professors and more than 70 assistants and fellows involved in criminological research and education.
Prospective students should possess:
Goals
Final terms
Knowledge: The graduates need 1) to obtain specialized and more in-depth theoretical insights into the criminology; 2) to know facts concerning the developments and (the possible solutions for) problems in policy and practice of institutions that are involved in dealing with criminality. 3) to have specialized knowledge of recent developments in the field of methodology that allows to examine the problems from a point of legal and empirical-criminological view.
Skills: The graduates must be able to make an autonomous contribution in the development in the search to solutions for complex social and individual questions on the field of crime and the treatment of crime. More specifically: to be able to formulate relevant challenges for further criminological research; to observe, detect and analyze the large variables and indicators; to collect information independently; to comment and report in a methodically founded statement; can possibly function in (multidisciplinary) surroundings with eye for its own input and the guarantee of its quality.
Attitude: the graduates need to develop a discerning mind and recognize the importance of theoretical, methodological and moral reflection, both to guarantee the quality of policymaking as the quality of the own vocational practice. From an ethical notion the students develop further sensitivity for the tensions which occur at the treatment of crime and (in)security, at the individual, institutional and social level on the one hand and between these levels on the other hand.
The programme is intended to prepare students for research and professional employment in national and international policy and operational agencies in the fields of criminal justice and victim assistance.
Graduates find employment in the domains of:
This programme focuses on key conceptual and practical issues in commercial law and business transactions. It is developed to provide a commercial context for career progression in national and international law firms or relevant government departments. It combines traditional study of commercial law and cutting-edge aspects of corporate and commercial law with hands-on practical experience.
The programme is innovative in that it combines the study of aspects of commercial law with a more contextual and critical appreciation of key current debates in corruption, corporate governance and responsibility, corporate crime, and the study of law and development.
Graduates of this programme go on to academic careers, apply their LLM practically as lawyers and solicitors, or take their knowledge of law into international business or consultancy work.
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that all modules described are optional and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Knowledge and understanding
Intellectual / cognitive skills
Professional practical skills
Key / transferable skills
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
The LLM International Business and Corporate Law uses the globalised economy as the context for an in-depth study of corporate law. It enables you gain a coherent international and European perspective on corporate and business law, and to examine the strengths and weaknesses of UK corporate law in the global context. Combining core and elective modules, you can explore a wide range of globally and commercially significant issues while developing specialist expertise. The degree is taught by the research-active academics based in our prestigious Law School and offers you the opportunity to engage with teaching staff who are working at the forefront of international research.
Our Law School is home to the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, the Centre for Law and Society, and the Centre for Child and Family Justice; these influential centres underpin our postgraduate teaching, which is research-led and research-informed.
There are two pathways for the LLM, both of which enable you to pursue your own interests:
Your core modules are Corporations in International Business Law and the LLM Dissertation. The module in Corporations in International Business Law uses the globalised economy as the context for an in-depth study of corporate law. You will have the opportunity to examine the strengths and weaknesses of UK corporate law as judged against international standards. Strong links to practitioners will inform your insights.
The dissertation is an independent, in-depth inquiry into a research topic of your choosing. The topic will link to a key legal question or issue and may also directly relate to your professional/career interests. This is your opportunity to make a contribution to the legal and academic community with new, original research and writing. A dissertation supervisor will provide you with support and introduce you to relevant legal material and research; their personal research interests will closely align with your chosen topic wherever possible.
We pride ourselves on the choice and breadth of elective modules available, offering you access to sought-after expertise in highly-relevant and growing fields such as Intellectual Property Law, European Union Law, The Law of International Organisations and Institutions, Contracts and Companies, and International Environmental Law.
Our teaching approach is international in scope and comparative by nature, and we actively encourage you to build a beneficial network of academics, peers and alumni during your time with us. All of this will help you to broaden your experience, deepen your understanding, and prepare for your next step.
Your postgraduate LLM degree opens doors to a huge range of careers. You will develop the skills required to critically evaluate research relating to international business and corporate law; skills which are highly prized by employers in the UK with international commercial interests, and by international corporations. The analytical and communications skills developed through your studies are a real boost in any sector. The LLM is also an ideal stepping stone to PhD study and academia.
Please note: there’s an option for Law graduates to study this programme with a January start. For more information about this please contact us at [email protected].
You will study a range of modules as part of your course, some examples of which are listed below.
Core
Optional
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, but changes may be necessary, for example as a result of student feedback, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes, and new research.
Coursework and dissertation
Criminologists investigate the causes, consequences and reactions to crime – and this course gives you hands-on experience in real-world situations, designing, analysing and evaluating criminal justice and crime control strategies.
With an interesting and varied curriculum, this programme has a very strong emphasis on applied knowledge and job market skills. You’ll learn by doing; bridging the gap between the classroom and the police station, the lecture theatre and the community centre, and between research and policy. This course is intended to create sophisticated criminological practitioners, able to navigate the realities of criminal justice and crime control, with superior experience, skills and knowledge of how to think, act and reflect criminologically.
This MA has a strong emphasis on communication, research, problem-solving, teamwork, and policy analysis. These skills will be developed through classroom discussion and debate through practical engagement with external criminal justice and community safety organisations. You’ll be taught by a team of expert criminologists from a variety of specialist backgrounds, including: law, sociology, psychology, history, and politics.
Classes will be interactive, discursive, and task-based. There will be few traditional ‘lectures’, but plenty of workshops where you’ll be involved in planning, preparing and leading. With support from staff, you’ll have the freedom to shape the course of your learning and focus on your personal interests and career ambitions.
The course is flexible, teaching is blended between fortnightly 2-hour workshops interspersed with preparation and online support. Assessment is task-based and varied, and will include: written essays, oral presentations, events organisation, engagement projects, research projects and problem-solving exercises. The Crime Control and Community Safety Hub provides a separate resource room and office space for students on this degree to meet and undertake project work.
You’ll be provided with a high level of support throughout your studies, and academic support tutors work with small groups to provide support and advice.
The MA in Criminal Justice and Crime Control aims to produce postgraduates who are versatile communicators, effective problem-solvers, policy analysts, and evidence-led decision makers.
Completing this course opens up a wide range of careers in the following fields: policing, probation, offender management, prison service, community safety, crime prevention, private and corporate security, civil service, border agency, customs and excise, military policing, security services, legal professions, social housing, offender rehabilitation, youth justice, supporting people, crime analysts, victims and survivors support, local government, and retail / industrial surveillance.
The skills you’ll develop on this programme will be transferable in a number of other careers, including: information technology, management, and administration. Careers in retail and hospitality management, marketing and sales, financial services, research and product development are also successfully pursued by graduates with criminology qualifications.
* All modules are subject to availability.
