Course Overview
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The Institute of Criminology has a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. The Cambridge PhD is a structured, yet flexible course of study. It helps students develop the core skills needed by an arts, humanities or social sciences professional researcher of the future, which are valued by both academic and non-academic employers. By the end of their studies students will have acquired the skills, experience and knowledge to undertake postdoctoral work (research and teaching) or pursue a career in other related professions. PhD students benefit from close links with the Institute's research centres, which provides them with unrivaled 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.
Are you from an underrepresented group looking for support in submitting your PhD application? If you are, you may wish to apply to the University's AIM: PhD programme.This programme is designed specifically to support applicants from underrepresented groups with their application for doctoral study at the University of Cambridge. Further details can be found here: https://www.crim.cam.ac.uk/aim-phd-progamme |
For further information about the course please:
- Read the information on this webpage;
- Watch the student videos below;
- And if you still have a question, please contact the Graduate Administrators: Mrs Charlotte Caselton and Mrs Faith Payne.
PhD in Criminology Course
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| Part-Time Study |
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Training, Support and Development Programme
The Institute runs a comprehensive training, support and development programme for its PhD students. Frequent seminars are designed to develop research skills, technique and thinking. While you are likely to be starting the PhD course with a background of suitable research training which you undertook before admission, e.g. through your Masters or MPhil degree, during your time at Cambridge you can broaden this as much as you wish with the number of different opportunities available. You are advised to discuss your training needs with your supervisor and record any training undertaken.
- Researcher Development Programme: The School of Arts and Humanities organises a Researcher Development Programme covering a range of topics from PhD skills training, to language training and writing and editing skills.
- Cambridge Research Methods Programme (CaRM): This programme is an interdisciplinary initiative offering high-quality research methods training to postgraduate students. The courses offered by CaRM cover skills relevant across the social sciences in a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, from basic training to advanced statistical analysis.
- Seminars and Events: The Institute holds weekly seminars and events, and PhD students are strongly encouraged to participate in the wider research culture of the Institute. These include the 'Brown Bag' seminars (aimed at criminologists at all levels of career progression within the Institute), guest speaker seminars and MPhil teaching seminars.
- Personal and Professional Development: The University's Skills Portal provides information on the transferable skills PhD students may wish to cultivate and enhance, and lists training opportunities available across the University, together with links to useful resources outside the University.
- The Language Centre supports the teaching and learning of languages throughout the University and is an excellent resource for academic purposes, whether you need to improve your language skills to help with your research or before undertaking fieldwork.
Supervisors and PhD Research Topics
PhD applicants are required to nominate a potential supervisor on their application form.
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Before applying, please consult the list below to see which members of staff are currently available to supervise PhD students. (An individuals availability depends on several factors: including the number of students already being supervised by each member of staff, their other contractual commitments and sabbatical leave arrangements). To get an idea of the type of PhD research topics that are supervised, we would recommend that you also look at our current PhD students webpage. If you are confident that your proposed research would be a good fit we recommend that you contact them in advance to discuss the feasibility of your proposal. (See information below).
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When choosing who to nominate as a potential supervisor, it is important that there is some overlap with your own research interests or approach.If you don't name a potential supervisor in your application, the Admissions Committee will try to match your application with a suitable academic member of staff, based on their academic interests and area of expertise. However, there is no guarantee that this will be possible and applications are unlikely to be successful if there is no suitable supervisor available.
Contacting a Potential Supervisor before applying
If you have any questions about whether your research topic will be a good fit with your potential supervisor’s interests, you may email them attaching both a CV and a brief research proposal (1-2 pages max). There is no need to attach references or transcripts.
In this email we recommend that you:
(i) include a short statement about your academic background (what you have studied so far, your degree result or grade average, any relevant experience) and your research interests;
(ii) indicate why you wish to work with that member of staff, in particular (not just Cambridge in general); and what you can bring to their research group. You will need to demonstrate your awareness of their research and how it aligns with your research interests.
Please Note:
- Our PhD supervisors receive large numbers of enquiries and therefore cannot give detailed feedback on your proposal or engage in extended email correspondence.
- No preference will be given to applicants who have made informal contact before submitting their application. Decisions regarding admission to the PhD programme are made soley by the Admissions Committee, and not by individual academic staff members. Accordingly, no member of academic staff can cause an offer of admission to be made. Furthermore, competition for places on the PhD programme is intense, and each year many excellent candidates do not receive an offer.
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Supervisor Name |
Research Interests |
Contact Details |
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Policing & experimental criminology. |
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[Sabbatical Leave 2025-2026] |
Criminal networks; organised crime; issues related to gangs & migrant smuggling. |
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| Penal power; the texture and experience of imprisonment; long-term and life imprisonment; the social world and culture of prisons; prison management; penal policy. | ||
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Violence research; causes of aggression and violence, & prevention and intervention research. |
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Gender, race & criminal justice; sexual violence & criminal |
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Community structures and processes impact on crime, victimization & social control. |
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Youth justice, education and the arts in criminal justice & experiences of prisoners' families. |
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Penology; staff-prisoner relationships |
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Police and state legitimacy, corruption, police violence & vigilantism. |
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Criminal behaviour & Situational Action Theory (SAT). |
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[Sabbatical Leave 2025-2026] |
Antisocial behaviour, crime and violence. |
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Evidence based crime prevention; school exclusion & bullying; randomised control trials. |
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Penal Theory and Ethics, morality of punishment. |
Academic Requirements
New Admissions |
We expect (full-time and part-time) PhD applicants from outside the University of Cambridge to have a Master's degree, with a distinction or close to distinction or equivalent, preferably in a social science discipline although applicants from other disciplines will also be considered. The Institute welcomes applications from suitably qualified applicants of all nationalities. Proposals for doctoral research on any criminological topic will be considered. |
Continuing from MPhil to PhD (current Cambridge students) |
The Institute's MPhil course provides excellent preparation for doctoral study, and many of our MPhil students choose to stay at Cambridge to pursue a PhD. Continuation from the MPhil course is subject to a MPhil student achieving at least 74% overall. |
How to Apply
Full-time and part-time applications for the PhD in Criminology must be made through the University's Postgraduate Admissions Office Applicant Portal. Only applicants have access to their application(s) on the application portal. The Institute is not able view an application until it is complete. Please note the following:
Full-time study |
We only accept full-time PhD applications with a Michaelmas Term (October) start date. Applications received to start full-time study in the Lent and Easter terms will be automatically rejected by the department. |
Part-time study |
Part-time applicants can apply to start in any term. Applications for part-time study will be assessed as to whether:
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Completing the online Application Form (Full-time and Part-time applicants)
Statement of Interest
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On the application form your statement of interest should:
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Reasons for Applying |
On the application form your Reasons for Applying statement should be no more than 1500 characters long (including spaces and punctuation between words). |
The Research Proposal |
The research proposal should be no more than four pages (~2,000 words) in length (not including the bibliography). Further guidance on what to include in your research proposal is included below:
NB: All proposals will be submitted to Turnitin, an online service that checks work submitted to it for matches with an online database, for possible plagiarism. |
Sample of Work |
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The PhD course code is: LWCR21 |
Apply Now
When will I receive a decision?
- Full-time and part-time PhD applications are considered on a rolling basis (as they are received) up until each Term's application deadline.
- We aim to assess and make a decision within twelve weeks of receiving a complete application form (which includes two academic references). As part of the decision making process, you will be invited to attend an interview (usually in January) with your prospective supervisor and another member of the Admissions Committee. Interviews will either be conducted in person or via Zoom. [Part-time applications: If the department decides to make you an offer the applicant will also be interviewed by their proposed supervsior to establish a five-year research plan, which will set out your attendance requirements for training and seminars, frequency of supervisions and progress stages.]
Admission Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Postgraduate Admissions Office has a comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions relating to the applications process. Please refer to these while making your application and throughout the process of applying.
The Postgraduate Admissions website provides full details on course fees and living costs, and their finance overview tool will help you calculate your costs. They also provide information on possible funding opportunities at Cambridge University, and there is also a funding search tool which will help you identify possibly funding opportunities. The Institute also has several funding opportunities, details of which can be found on our funding page.