The Master of Studies (MSt) in Applied Criminology and Police Management is a part-time course that takes place over two years starting in the Spring.

There are three teaching blocks in the first year: Block A (April), Block B (July) and Block C (September).

The teaching blocks incorporate four key modules:

• Criminological Theory;
• Evidence-Based Policing;
• Leadership and Management; and
• Research Methods.

The modules cover a range of topics and use a range of delivery styles including seminars, lectures, symposia, practical exercises and project work. Reading lists are provided for each session, giving required and suggested further reading.

Students will have access to college library facilities as well as the Radzinowicz (Institute of Criminology), Squire (Faculty of Law), the Cambridge Judge Business School and University libraries.

Student support materials will also be available via a virtual learning environment (VLE).

Students are allocated a personal supervisor with whom they can discuss any aspect of the course (essay choice, dissertation topic, time management, sources of information, academic development and support) on a one-to-one basis. Independent study time is incorporated into the teaching blocks. In the second year, supervision may pass to another member of staff who is better suited to supervise the dissertation topic and in some cases a separate subject-specific thesis advisor may also be allocated to work alongside the supervisor.

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Our Master of Studies (MSt) course in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management is a part-time, two-year programme that equips senior practitioners and future leaders in criminal justice with the skills and knowledge to reflect on their professional world and build towards better policy and practice.

Through this intensive programme across two years of study students are introduced to key criminological concepts, including: legitimacy; compliance; desistance and deterrence; key criminal justice policy and practice debates; and key methodological skills, including: qualitative and quantitative approaches; ethics; action and insider research.

There are three residential blocks in Cambridge each year.

Year 1: Block A, Block B and Block C

Year 2: Block D (an eight-day residential block), Block E (a five-day residential block) and Block F (a five-day residential block)

There is also a three-day remote Winter teaching block, in January i.e. between years one and two of the course.

The 2026 course dates are:

Remote Winter Teaching Block:

13 January 2026 – 15 January 2026

Block A:

06 April 2026 – 10 April 2026

13 April 2026 – 17 April 2026

Block B:

12 July 2026 – 17 July 2026

20 July 2026 – 24 July 2026 (24 July is a non-residential day)

Block C:

7 September 2026 – 11 September 2026

14 September 2026 – 18 September 2026 (18 September is a non-residential day)

Developed originally in the 1990s, in partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS), the MSt programme has since broadened to welcome criminal justice professionals from probation and community justice, the voluntary and third sectors, and the legal community and allied professions such as psychologists and psychiatrists. We also welcome applications from beyond England and Wales, including overseas jurisdictions. We take an inclusive approach to recruitment, which focuses on candidates’ motivations, professional skills, experience and potential.

We warmly welcome applications from people who have little previous experience of formal education, as well as people who have lived experience of the criminal justice system.

The content of our course reflects the diversity of the socio-political, professional and educational backgrounds of our students. We aim to equip students with cutting-edge knowledge of criminological theory and research, and provide high levels of academic support so that they can develop independent research skills to locate, interpret, analyse and evaluate research, and explore and apply it in their work as senior criminal justice professionals, including through an independent research dissertation in the second year of the course.

Through an intensive programme of three nine-day; one eight day; and two five-day residential blocks in Cambridge, across two years of study, students are introduced to:

• Key criminological concepts, including: legitimacy; compliance; desistance and deterrence; important criminal justice policy and practice debates; and
• Cutting edge methodological skills, including: qualitative and quantitative approaches; ethics; and insider research.

Ideas are explored ‘in context’, with course content designed to provoke reflection on some of the most urgent current challenges in criminal justice, including by reference to long-standing and, ongoing debates and empirical knowledge in the field. We encourage students to think historically, comparatively and broadly about the contemporary nature and experience of criminal justice theory, policy and practice. Many alumni have gone on to hold senior leadership roles in the criminal justice system.

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The PhD in Criminology is an advanced research degree awarded on the basis of a thesis and an oral examination (viva voce). The PhD's primary purpose is to prepare and present a substantial piece of independent and original academic research. The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. PhD candidates benefit from close links with the Institute's six dedicated research centres, providing them with unrivalled opportunities and the support to develop as independent researchers while being part of an integrated community of criminologists working at different levels and through multidisciplinary approaches.

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The Cambridge Institute of Criminology offers a one-year (10 months), full-time MPhil in Criminology.

The programme has a high national and international standing and regularly recruits around 40 students from around the world each year.

The MPhil in Criminology runs from 1 October to 30 July.

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