Education

The Master of Science in 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. It includes instruction in general topics such as criminological theories and models of law enforcement, psychology, law and criminal justice, youth criminology and juvenile justice, and research methods. It also includes a number of cutting-edge courses in areas in which LINC professors are internationally renowned as experts: international police and judicial cooperation, political crimes and transitional justice, restorative justice, and terrorism, organised and corporate crime.

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. It is characterised by a strong link between education and research. In this graduate degree programme, students study with a staff of criminology experts that have first-rate expertise in a wide range of topics, from the theoretical to the applied.

The Master's programme has an explicit international orientation that strongly promotes a comparative approach. In this way, students' critical and reflective attitudes, methodological skills and area of specialisation are strengthened.
The Master of Science in Criminology is an initial Master's programme. You can follow this programme on a full-time or part-time basis.

Profile

Prospective students should possess:

- a critical-reflective attitude towards law (as a normative behavioural regulating framework), community and crime
extensive knowledge of basic research methodology, including:
  * familiarity with specific criminological sources as well as legal, psychological and sociological sources
  * the ability to consult these sources efficiently and independently
  * the ability to formulate research questions from existing literature
  * basic knowledge concerning (quantitative and qualitative) data collection
  * the ability to independently carry out analysis and report results
- theoretical knowledge of applied psychology, sociology and anthropology within the field of crime and the treatment of crime
- basic skills of oral and written reporting, especially in a criminology context
- an interest in and sensitivity for interaction between theory and practice
- an ability to apply criminological theory in practice (for instance, in an internship, case study, etc.)
genuine interest in (inter)personal and social interactions
basic knowledge of English, that is, the ability to read and understand English texts and comprehend seminars and lectures taught in English

For specific admission requirements, click on the desired programme in the 'Choose your courses of study' section.

Objectives

Goals:
-  the criminological program provides an appealing specialized, European and internationally oriented and research-based study of crime and the way of dealing with it as well as the study of the processes of (de)criminalization
-  to optimize methodological skills and attitudes in order to make autonomous constructive and high standing contributions to the field as well as further research possible
-  an international and comparative approach has been highlighted in the Master program, bearing in mind however the characteristic Belgian situation

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.

After graduation

A successful graduate of the Master of Science in Criminology programme distinguishes him or herself from other academic and professional colleagues active in the domains of safety, police, justice, youth care, execution of sentences and penal measures and forensic mental healthcare thanks to the methodological skills and critical and reflective attitude acquired during the programme. Sectors in which criminologists are employed include policing and justice, youth care, the private sector focussing on security and safety as well as civil service and the non-profit sector.

Information sessions

KU Leuven organises a Verderstudeerbeurs each spring. In addition, faculties also organise information sessions for many of their bridging and graduate programmes.

All information sessions for (future) Master's students

Spotlight

Launched in January 2007, the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC) is composed of eleven professors and more than seventy assistants and fellows involved in criminological research and education within the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the KU Leuven Faculty of Law.
LINC is the most recent institutional incarnation of the criminological tradition in Leuven. LINC started with the establishment of the School for Criminology in 1929 and continues the Leuven tradition of combining solid research with a deep commitment to society. To achieve this goal, LINC has developed a vibrant programme of research structured within ten research lines.

Contact

Faculty of Law
Gema Rodríguez Valls
tel. + 32 16 32 53 12
grvalls@law.kuleuven.be

General
Study Advice Service
Naamsestraat 80 bus 5415
3000 Leuven
To contact us please complete the contact form on our website.

Download this brochure

Download this Master's brochure.