The National University of Ireland, Maynooth
BA Criminology
Maynooth, Ireland
BA
DURATION
3 up to
4 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 17,000 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
- Criminology can be described as the study of crime, criminal behaviour and societys reaction to it. This three-year degree programme allows students to study criminology in depth, equipping you with the skills to examine criminal behaviour and understand what drives it.
- Maynooth University is one of only two universities in the Republic of Ireland offering the opportunity to study Criminology as a single major.
- This is a unique interdisciplinary programme offering perspectives from sociology, psychology and anthropology, as well as law.
- Faculty include leading international experts in the field with research interests in prisons, policing, restorative justice, gender, ethnicity, human trafficking, terrorism and mental health.
- In first year, students acquire a thorough theoretical understanding of crime, both in an international and Irish context. This is built on in second and third year when students take core modules in subjects such as prisons and policing as well as optional modules in line with their interests.
1st year
- 30 credits of Criminology (group 2 and group 7)
- Up to 2 other subjects from the remaining subject groups Subject Groups
2nd year
- At least 50 credits of Criminology
- Optional 10 credit Elective.
- Optional work placement or study abroad after second year subject to availability
- Students who take at least 15 credits of Law in year 1 of MH504, and who pass 1st year, are eligible to transfer into year 2 of the MH502 BCL Law and Criminology degree or year 2 of the MH501 LLB degree.
3rd year
- 60 credits of Criminology
The University will support you in the search for a placement job; however, the process is competitive.
- This programme allows students to explore career prospects in the criminal justice world, opening up potential careers in the Gardaí, security services, data analytics, probation, the prison service, the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) sector and research institutes.
- The skills you will gain from studying Criminology, such as a focus on evidence and data-based inquiry, are also highly transferable to other areas, including: law, journalism, social research, social work, counselling, community work, policy analysis and public administration.
- The School of Law and Criminology also offers a range of postgraduate study options in related fields including the MA in Comparative Criminology and Criminal Justice.