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Institute of Criminology

 

Welcome to Cambridge

This Course webpage has been designed to provide you with essential information about the University, Institute of Criminology and how to successfully embark on the MSt in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management.


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

Developed originally in the 1990s, in partnership with Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS), our MSt programme has since broadened to welcome criminal justice professionals from probation and community justice, the voluntary and third sectors, the legal community, and allied professions such as psychologists and psychiatrists. We welcome colleagues beyond England and Wales, including from elsewhere in Europe and beyond. We take an inclusive approach to recruitment, which focuses on candidates’ motivations, skills, experience and potential. We warmly welcome applications to study from people who may have little previous experience of formal education, as well as people who have lived experience of criminal justice involvement or supervision.

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 students 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 four 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, key criminal justice policy and practice debates, and key 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, ongoing debates and empirical knowledge in the field. We encourage students to think differently and broadly – historically, comparatively, and across the criminal justice system as a whole – about the contemporary nature and experience of criminal justice theory, policy and practice.


Teaching Blocks

Year one comprises three formal residential blocks in Cambridge, each of eight days duration, supplemented by some pre-recorded lectures and additional days of remote study and supervision. 

Year two comprises one further eight day residential block (supplemented by an additional day of remote study and supervision) and two one-week residential blocks (supplemented by a week each of remote study and supervision).  Students live in College accommodation during blocks and attend a full daily schedule of lectures and workshops, as well as individual teaching sessions (‘supervisions’) with academics, and evening guest lectures. All teaching takes place at the Institute of Criminology or in university buildings nearby.

Year one of the programme focuses on substantive criminological knowledge and the development of essential academic skills. The course is loosely structured around five key ‘strands’:

• criminological theory & research
• prisons and imprisonment
• criminal justice & the community
• sentencing, the legal context & court issues
• leadership and management in criminal justice


Term Dates 2023

Year One

Block A  

Monday 27 March - Thursday 6 April 2023

Block B

Monday 3 July - Friday 14 July 2023

Block C

Monday 4 September - Friday 15 September 2023

Year Two

Block D  

Monday 3 April - Friday 14 April 2023

Block E

Monday 10 July - Friday 21 July 2023 [10 - 14 July: residential, 17 - 21 July: remote]

Block F

Monday 11 September - Friday 22 September 2023 [11 - 15 September: remote, 18 - 22 September: residential]


Term Dates 2024

Year One

Block A  

Tuesday 2 April - Friday 12 April

Block B

Monday 14 July - Friday 26 July

Block C

Monday 2 September - Friday 13 September

Year Two

Block D  

Monday 18 March - Friday 29 March

Block E Monday 8 July - Friday 19 July [8 - 12 July: remote, 15 - 19 July: residential]
Block F Monday 9 September - Friday 20 September [9 - 13 September: remote, 16 - 20 September: residential]

Course and Application information

Applications for 2024 open Monday 4th September 2023


Funding Opportunites

The Institute has a limited number of studentships that MSt students can apply for. Details and application deadlines can be found on the Funding Opportunities webpage.


For more information on the MSt in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management please click on the links below:

The University and Institute of Criminology

An introduction to the structure of the University, and key information about colleges and the Institute of Criminology

The Institute of Criminology will be the department within the University to which you will belong. As a graduate student your department is responsible for your teaching. You’ll find brief introductions to some of the MSt teaching team in the 'Your Support Network' section of this webpage.

All MSt Penology students matriculate as members of Homerton College – one of the 31 colleges in Cambridge. During each teaching block you will live at Homerton and you have access to all College facilities (gym, cafeteria, library etc) during your time in Cambridge. The College is focused on student welfare, and provides all students with a Tutor who provides responsive support.


Our History

Founded by Sir Leon Radzinowicz in 1959, the Institute of Criminology was one of the first centres of criminological excellence in the UK. The Institute has exerted a strong influence on the development of the discipline. 

Housed first in temporary accommodation in Scroope Terrace and then in West Road, the Institute moved into its current permanent home on the Sidgwick Site in 2005.


Our Director and Institute Research Centres

The current Director of the Institute is Professor Manuel Eisner. The Institute's activities are structured around six active research centres: the Jerry Lee Centre for Experimental Criminology, the Centre for Analytical Criminology, the Centre for Penal Theory and Ethics, the Prisons Research Centre, the Centre for Community, Gender and Social Justice, and the Violence Research Centre.


Our Students

The Institute offers both full and part time PhD programmes, two full time MPhil programmes and two part-time Master of Studies programmes, one in Policing and one in Penology. Criminology at Cambridge is currently ranked at number 2 in the UK by the Complete University Guide.


The Radzinowicz Library

The Radzinowicz Library houses the most comprehensive criminology collection in the United Kingdom, and has one of the largest collections in the world on crime, deviance and related topics, including a wide selection of periodicals, pamphlets and publications of historical, as well as contemporary, interest. The library is also home to a beautiful collection of art produced by people living in secure environments. Course participants are encouraged to make full use of this valuable resource.

The Course Structure and Assessment

Aims of the Course

The MSt programme in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management aims to:

  • Introduce senior criminal justice professionals to some of the most important and cutting-edge ideas and research in criminology, penology, leadership and management, grounded in contemporary challenges and experiences of criminal justice, as well as longstanding themes and debates;
  • Provide students with opportunities to reflect on their own practice, as well as criminal justice policy and practice more broadly;
  • Equip students with methodological skills so that they can locate, understand, undertake and evaluate research, and apply it in their professional practice; and
  • Provide world-leading instruction, and academic, pastoral and administrative support that enables students to realise their educational goals and gain a University of Cambridge Postgraduate Certificate or Master's Degree in Applied Criminology, Penology and Management.

    Learning Outcomes

    Through an intensive programme of four eight-day and two five-day residential blocks in Cambridge plus 18 further days of remote learning and study, 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, and insider research.


    Course Structure

    During Blocks A - D, students are expected to be in residence in Cambridge from Tues - Fri, and then Mon - Thurs, starting late morning on the Tuesday and ending early afternoon on the Friday. Please note this may change if the week is affected by a bank holiday.

    The Monday prior to each residential period (Blocks A - D) will be designated as a dedicated (remote) ‘reading day’, to help students to prepare for each block, while the Friday at the end will be designated an ‘essay planning day’, during which time supervisors will make themselves available for remote supervision. 

    Blocks E and F (July and September of Year 2) will each entail five days of residential teaching. These are periods during Year Two when students are working on their dissertation. Students will be expected to commit themselves to one week’s remote learning prior to or following the residential period, during which time they will have access to remote supervisions and surgeries (e.g. on data analysis; dissertation writing; etc).


    Year One

    Assessment

    Year One is assessed by three essays, each of 3,000 words, from titles that students select from topics that are covered by the course.

    One of these three essays must explore one of the taught criminological theories. Students must achieve an average mark of 65 in all of their essays to be invited to proceed to year two of the course and complete the full MSt. Students who do not proceed to year two can be considered for the award of a Postgraduate Certificate.

    Supervision

    One hour per week of residential and remote teaching periods.

    Seminars

    We provide approximately 40 hours of seminars per residential teaching block in Year One, including a small number of discussion sessions based on pre-recorded lectures.

    We provide an average of approximately 25 hours per residential teaching block in Year Two. There are three residential teaching blocks per year.

    Lectures

    Most teaching is in the form of seminars, but the course content also includes a small number of pre-recorded lectures, which will form the basis for discussion groups.

    In the second year of the course, students produce a dissertation. Dissertation research frequently entails the collection of primary empirical data, requiring fieldwork. To support students to develop these skills and analyse their data, optional practical research methods surgeries and workshops are held during appropriate teaching blocks in year two.

    Feedback

    Detailed written feedback is provided for all six assessed elements. Oral feedback is provided following oral presentations.


    Year Two

    Year Two is mainly focused on research methods training. This equips students with the knowledge they need to write a substantial dissertation, which may be based on either library or fieldwork.

    Assessment

    Students must:

    • Answer one essay question of no more than 3000 words.
    • Complete a research methods assignment (of no more than 4000 words)
    • Complete a dissertation (of no more than 18000 words, including footnotes or endnotes, but excluding appendices and bibliographical references).

    There is additional information on the course structure and assessment processes in the Course Handbook (COURSE HANDBOOK 2022-2023).  You will be provided with a copy at the beginning of your course.


    Planning your Work and Studies

    Studying remotely at the University of Cambridge demands good planning and self-discipline, especially when combined with ongoing employment. 

    You are expected to allocate at least 8 to 10 hours per week to studying (during the online phases) and writing (during the assessment phases), as well as making yourself fully available during the residential weeks.


    Guidance on Essay Writing

    The maximum word length for each essay is 3,000 words (4,000 for the research method assignment).
    Essay writing tips
    Essay writing guide


    Guidance on Referencing

    The link sets out essay referencing rules for all circumstances. Many of them will not apply to you and a simplified version of the rules will be the subject of a lecture in Block A. In the 'Useful Links' section on this page there are some websites you can also visit for assistance.

    Harvard Referencing Guidance

    MSt Penology Teaching Staff / Support Staff

    This is an introduction to the people who will teach, support and encourage you to realise your ambitions during your studies.


    Teaching Team

    MSt students are taught by an academic team with world-leading criminological expertise, rooted in prolonged empirical engagement and interest in the real world criminal justice contexts in which our students work. 

    We are committed to teaching and learning practices that nurture collaborative learning, critical thinking and reflective practice. We actively draw on our students’ varied professional experiences and perspectives to enrich our collective learning and to deepen the positive professional networks that develop throughout the course. Through these networks, increased knowledge and skills, and exposure to new ways of thinking, our students are equipped to return to their professional contexts with new possibilities for advancing criminal justice policy and practice.

    Professor Ben Crewe – Course Director

    Professor Ben Crewe is Deputy Director of the Prisons Research Centre and Professor of Penology and Criminal Justice. Ben has researched widely on prisons and imprisonment, on topics including the ‘inner life’ of prisons, staff-prisoner relationships, prisoner adaptation and prison governors. He is particularly interested in how power is exerted in prison and how it is experienced by prisoners. His book (with Susie Hulley and Serena Wright) 'Long-term imprisonment from young adulthood: adaptation, identity and time' will be published in 2019, and he is currently leading a follow-up study of this research, in which he and his colleagues hope to re-interview everyone from the original project. Ben is also leading a five-year European Research Council consolidator grant, titled: penal policymaking and the prisoner experience: a comparative analysis. He is one of the founding editors of the journal Incarceration, and is an International Associate Board member of Punishment & Society and Theoretical Criminology. He is also one of the series editors of Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology (with Yvonne Jewkes and Thomas Ugelvik) and a Trustee of the Prison Reform Trust.

    Dr Jane Dominey

    Dr Jane Dominey is a Senior Research Associate at the Centre for Community, Gender and Social Justice.  Her research interests include probation practice, desistance from offending, supervising offenders ‘through-the-gate’ and in the community, and the work of the penal voluntary sector.  Current and recent projects include: evaluating services for women supervisees at risk of breach and recall, staff perceptions of telephone supervision, and new developments in Integrated Offender Management.

    Professor Manuel Eisner

    Manuel Eisner is the Wolfson Professor of Criminology and the Director of the Institute of Criminology. He is a historian and sociologist by training, and joined the Institute of Criminology in 2000. His research revolves around the role of violence and its control in the development of human societies, and in the development of humans over the life course. He has conducted research on the history of homicide since the middles ages, and how violence is shaped by structures of power, state control, and the ways in which the self is defined by cultural forces. He is also the principal investigator of the Zurich Project on Social development from Childhood to adulthood. This is a 20-year longitudinal study of young people (and their children) who entered primary school in 2003.

    Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe

    Professor Loraine Gelsthorpe is Emeritus Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge. Loraine was Director of the Institute of Criminology from 2017-2022. She is also Director of the Centre for Community, Gender and Social Justice, one of the six research centres within the Institute, and Director of the Cambridge ESRC Doctoral Training Partnership – across all the social sciences in Cambridge. Loraine has wide interests in the links between criminal justice and social justice, looking at race, gender and social exclusion, women and sentencing, and at the effectiveness of youth and community penalties in particular. Loraine also has a strong interest in research methodologies and research ethics. She is a fellow of Pembroke College.

    Mr Tom Hawker-Dawson

    Tom Hawker-Dawson is the Brenda Hale Fellow in Law at Girton College and an Affiliated Lecturer at the Faculty of Law. His research concerns sentencing law, theory, and practice, including the legal framework in England and Wales and connections with the philosophy of punishment. He has recently focussed on the communicative dimensions of courtroom sentencing and the use of Prison Court Video Links. This involved conducting interviews with Crown Court judges and observing sentencing hearings in order to develop a framework for understanding communicative practices in court. His criminological interests extend further to include technology and criminal justice more generally, as well as public attitudes regarding crime and punishment.

    Dr Susie Hulley

    Dr Susie Hulley is a Senior Research Associate in the Prisons Research Centre. She has worked on various projects, including an examination of staff and prisoner quality of life in private and public prisons. She has co-led a major study of the experiences of men and women serving long life sentences, which they received when they were young, and a ground-breaking study of practitioners’ and young people’s conceptions of friendship and violence in the context of joint enterprise. She is currently Co-Investigator on the follow-up study of men and women serving long life sentences, which aims to revisit interviewees involved in the original research to understand their experiences over time

    Dr Susie Hulley

    Dr Alice Ievins

    Alice is a Lecturer is Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology at the University of Liverpool, and prior to that she was a Research Associate at the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge. Her research revolves around punishment, in particular the imprisonment of men convicted of sex offences, but also the relationship between punishment, penal theory and the anthropology of ethics.

    Dr Caroline Lanskey

    Dr Caroline Lanskey is a University Lecturer in Criminology and Criminal Justice and a deputy director of the Centre for Community, Gender and Social Justice.  After an earlier career in teaching and educational research she joined the Institute of Criminology in 2006. Her research interests stem from her cross-disciplinary experience of education and criminology and include youth justice, education and the arts in criminal justice, citizenship and migration, the experiences of prisoners' families and research methodologies. Over the past fifteen years she has worked on a number of research projects including an evaluation of a training intervention for staff in secure settings for young people; a study of the education pathways of young people in the youth justice system, a historical review of safeguarding children in the secure estate and an evaluation of restorative prison and probation programmes in Hungary, Germany, Latvia and Bulgaria. She recently led the Families and Imprisonment Research (FAIR) Study (www.fair.crim.cam.ac.uk) and is currently co-leading three research projects:  Inspiring Futures an evaluation of the role and meaning of arts programmes in criminal justice (www.if.crim.cam.ac.uk);  a research study of youth justice and rurality with Dr Joel Harvey and an evaluation of the National House Project.

    Professor Alison Liebling

    Alison Liebling is Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Cambridge and the Director of the Institute of Criminology’s Prisons Research Centre. Alison has extensive research expertise in prisons, leading studies on wide-ranging topics including suicide and self-harm, close supervision centres, incentives and earned privileges, staff-prisoner relationships, the location and building of trust in high security prisons, the work of prison officers, and measuring the moral quality of prison life, including comparative work between public and private sector prisons. Her books include Prisons and their Moral Performance, The Effects of Imprisonment, and The Prison Officer. She has recently been awarded a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship (2020-22) to carry out the project, ‘Moral rules, social science and forms of order in prison

    Professor Fergus McNeill

    Fergus McNeill is Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow where he works in the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research and in Sociology. Prior to becoming an academic in 1998, Fergus worked for a decade in residential drug rehabilitation and as a criminal justice social worker. His many research projects and publications have examined institutions, cultures and practices of punishment and rehabilitation and their alternatives. Currently, Fergus is working on ‘Distant Voices: Coming Home’ which is a major, multi-partner 3-year Economic and Social Research Council/Arts and Humanities Research Council project exploring re-integration after punishment through creative practices and research methods. His most recent books include ‘Reimagining Rehabilitation: Beyond the Individual’ (with Lol Burke and Steve Collett) and ‘Pervasive Punishment: Making sense of mass supervision’.

    Professor Nicola Padfield

    Nicola Padfield is Professor of Criminal and Penal Justice at the Law Faculty, University of Cambridge, where she has worked for more than 30 years.  She was Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge from 2013 - 2019 and is now a Life and Honorary Fellow.  She has a broad research lens, engaged in both ‘hard’ law and in socio-legal-criminological research. She is a leading European expert on sentencing law, including the law and practice of release from (and recall to) prison.  A barrister by training, she has published widely on criminal law, sentencing and criminal justice. Her books include The Criminal Justice Process: Text and Materials (5th edition, 2016); Criminal Law (10th edit, 2016); Beyond the Tariff:  Human rights and the release of life sentence prisoners (2002).  She has edited collections of essays, and was for many years the editor of the influential monthly Archbold Review.  She sat as a Recorder (part-time judge) in the Crown Court from 2002-2014, and is a Bencher of the Middle Temple, where she chairs the Education and Training Committee.  Her main project at the moment is on the effectiveness of inquests.

    Dr Bethany Schmidt

    Dr Bethany Schmidt is a Lecturer in Penology within the Prisons Research Centre. Her work explores the moral, social, and political dimensions of prison life. She leads several research projects aimed at refining and adapting Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) in a variety of different contexts, including in longitudinal and international studies. Her particular research interests lie in the sociological intersections of democracy, citizenship, and punishment. Bethany is in the midst of an ongoing study of Tunisian prisons, following the country’s democratic revolution in 2011. She, in partnership with Dr Andrew Jefferson from the Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY), have recently written a chapter on ‘sensing transition’ in post-revolutionary prisons in Tunisia for the new collection Sensory Penalities: Exploring the Senses in Spaces of Punishment and Social Control (2021; Emerald Publishing), which was co-edited by Bethany.

    Dr Justice Tankebe

    Justice Tankebe is a Lecturer in Criminology. His interests lie in policing, legitimation and legitimacy, organisational justice, corruption, vigilantism and extra-legal punishment, comparative criminology, sociology of law, crime and criminal justice in sub-Saharan Africa. His current research projects include work that is exploring legitimacy and counter-terrorism policing, corruption among prospective elites, sentencing decision-making in Ghana, the death penalty in Africa, and police self-legitimacy.

    Dr Lucy Willmott

    Dr Lucy Willmott is a Teaching and Research Associate at the Institute of Criminology. Lucy’s interests are cross disciplinary, covering programme design, development and evaluation; the treatment and management of patients and prisoners with personality disorders, formerly on the specialist high security units and now across the PD pathway.  She also has a strong interest in the politics of prison and probation policy.

     

    Dr Ali Wigzell

    Ali is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the Institute of Criminology. Her research interests include youth justice, the professional relationship, community supervision, emotions in criminal justice, and desistance from offending. She is currently leading a research study, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and Isaac Newton Trust, exploring the nature of care and its ethical dimensions in youth justice across custody and the community in England and Wales. Prior to joining the Institute, Ali worked as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Criminal Policy Research (ICPR), Birkbeck, University of London. Here she was involved with studies on a range of topics, from the impact of restorative justice training in prisons and probation services, to the effect of the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction on the use of evidence in policing.

     

     


    Support staff at the Institute of Criminology

    Senior Graduate Coordinator

    Di Kennedy

    The Senior Graduate Coordinator has overall responsibility for the MSt, MPhil and PhD courses at the Institute. She is based in Room 1.2, which is on the first floor of the building, and you are welcome to drop in or contact her by email or phone with any questions you may have.

    Email:sgc@crim.cam.ac.uk

    Phone: +44 (0)1223 335367

    MSt Course Administrators

    Sara Tattam and Emma Challis

    Sara and Emma are your first point of contact for any course queries. They are based in the MSt Office (Room 1.1), which is on the first floor of the building, and you are welcome to drop in or contact them by email or phone with any questions you may have.

    Email: mst.administration@crim.cam.ac.uk

    Phone: +44 (0)1223 767339

    Librarian

    Stuart Stone

    Stuart, together with his team, curate our world-leading collection. The Library staff are always happy to support you to make the most of our resources within the library, both print and electronic. When you are in Cambridge, they will be happy to discuss any help you need, otherwise you can contact them by email at any time.

    Email: crimlib@hermes.cam.ac.uk       

    Phone: +44 (0)1223 33538

     


    Support as part of the broader University​

    Homerton College Logo

    Graduate Tutor

    Every University of Cambridge student has a Tutor. As a graduate student, you will be allocated a Graduate Tutor through Homerton College. Your tutor is there to support you outside of your academic department. Their main role is to help with any pastoral matters should you need it, including support with study skills, accommodation, mental health and wellbeing, and making the most of living and studying at Cambridge. Dr Melanie Keene is the current Graduate Tutor for MSt students at Homerton.


    Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre

    A disability is a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. 

    If you have a disability, the University’s Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC) is on hand to ensure that you receive appropriate support in your studies. We encourage our students to share information about their disabilities or broader specific learning needs with supervisors, or our Course Director, but you can also disclose a disability through the ADRC by completing the online form. The ADRC can help set up a range of support to help with your disability during you time studying with us, including formal assessments, allocating you a disabilities adviser, enabling the recording of lectures, and helping you with assistant technology.


    University Counselling Service

    Entrance to the University Counselling Service

    Should you have need of it, the University Counselling Service offers a variety of services to help support you while you are a student with us. They can provide individual counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, access to guided self-help and longer-term support in for form of group counselling. Counselling Service staff are experienced in supporting students from many different backgrounds and cultures, and can help with personal or work related issues. To make and initial appointment with a counsellor you will first need to complete a student pre-counselling form.


    Graduate Union

    Graduate Union Logo

    As a graduate student, you are automatically a member of the Graduate Union. The Graduate Union (GU) focuses on four main areas – representation, welfare/support, events and services/facilities. The Students’ Unions’ Advice Service, which is run jointly with CUSU (Cambridge University Students’ Union), offers free confidential and independent support. The GU also arrange a variety of activities and events throughout the year in which you can take part.


    Alumni Network

    Once you have finished your course, you will become part of our dynamic alumni network – a community of more than 250 leaders in criminal justice. As an alumnus, you are always welcome to visit us, and we frequently offer opportunities for our alumni to return, sometimes for dinners, and sometimes to contribute to seminars. We welcome further ideas for collaboration so do get in touch if you have an idea that you’d like to share.

    The Cambridge Residential

    All MSt students live in Cambridge for the duration of each of our two week teaching blocks. We hope that the practical information below will help you to prepare for living at Cambridge, enabling you to ‘hit the ground running’ when you arrive.


    Accommodation

    MSt students matriculate as members of Homerton College. Homerton is your home base during teaching blocks. You’ll sleep there, eat there, and may choose to take advantage of the various sporting facilities, libraries and beautiful gardens.

    Homerton College

    Getting to Homerton is easy. The College is conveniently located, close to the railway station and with easy access from the M11. The College has a large car park located down Harrison Drive, which is off Hills Road. You will need to use the parking codes sent to you in your welcome letter to access the car park during your residential blocks. The College postcode is CB2 8PH.

    Your room at Homerton will include bedding, towels and tea and coffee making facilities. If you have need of a hairdryer, one can be loaned from the lodge. Breakfast will be provided each morning but there are also communal kitchens that you can use in the residential blocks.

    On arrival to Homerton for the first time, please follow signs to the Porters’ Lodge, where porters will assist you to locate your room. In case of any difficulties, the porters can be contacted on 01223 747111.

    Learn more about Homerton College

    Homerton is the newest Cambridge college, having a rich educational history going back over two centuries. Beginning life in London as a Dissenting Academy and then a teacher training institution, it moved to its current location in 1894. Homerton is one of the largest colleges in terms of student numbers, with a thriving and diverse population. Students from all over the world study a full range of subjects, from Ancient Greek to Zoology. Homerton has particular connections to Education and teacher training, and are building new links with the nearby biomedical research campus at Addenbrookes. A regular series of talks and events brings together and celebrates the diverse academic community. Set in attractive and spacious wooded grounds near to the train station, Homerton enjoys a mix of modern accommodation and historic buildings.

    The library is modern, well-stocked, and a light and airy place to work. Students dine in a splendid gothic hall built in 1890, work out in the on-site gym, play sports on the football field, eat or drink in the Griffin bar and buttery, relax in the graduate Common Room or just wander through the orchard.  All student rooms have been either rebuilt or refurbished to a very high standard within the last ten years. Your room will be en suite, include bedding and towels and have tea and coffee making facilities. Graduate students are also represented by a lively union, the MCR, which organises social events as well as supporting many different clubs and societies for music, rowing, drama, and more.


    Getting around

    Homerton is a 30-minute walk from the Institute of Criminology. 

    Buses - Buses run every ten minutes from outside the College into the centre of town and the Institute is a 10-minute walk from the centre of town. You may find the Universal bus helpful - see the timetable and map

    Bikes - Many people move around Cambridge by bike. You can hire an ofo bike through the ofo app or borrow a Cycle.land bike, which you can find via the cycle.land community.

    Taxis - Cambridge is well served by taxis. The main taxi ranks are in Drummer Street, St Andrews Street and at the railway station. You can also book through Panther Taxis on 01223 715715 or via their mobile app. Uber has limited presence in Cambridge.

    Please note that parking on the Sidgwick Site is not permitted so driving to the Institute of Criminology is best avoided. If you do decide to travel by car, please use the pay-and-display parking on West Road or Sidgwick Avenue.

    Useful Links and Contacts

    General Information

    These links can offer more information on for you to look at if you would like to look into anything in more detail.


    Student Links

    These links cover the social groups and support services available to students.

    These are links to websites to use during your studies.


    Study Skills

    Links for things that can help you with your studying.

    Links covering plagiarism and referencing help.

    Links to help you get started with the University's IT services.