Developed in collaboration with industry and delivered by the largest and most experienced criminology team in South Australia, Flinders' Bachelor of Criminology degree equips you with the skills to examine criminal behaviour, understand what drives it, and learn how to make a real impact on society.
When you study at Flinders, you'll experience the state's longest-running criminology program, taught by internationally recognised experts in areas such as policing, corrections, criminal justice, social justice and more. Focus your career pathway with a specialisation in Cybersecurity or Innovation to deepen your understanding in the technical challenges of criminal justice or ways to increase positive social influence. Or, take your passion for Criminology to other industries with a combined degree in areas such as law, international relations, accounting, forensics or psychological science. Plus, you'll enjoy our strong industry partnerships with government bodies and public and private organisations that prepare you for real-world practice and give you the confidence to enter the job market.
Join our community of Flinders graduates who have rewarding careers in intelligence, cybersecurity, crime scene analysis, probation and parole roles, Chief Information Security Officers and domestic violence specialists.
Make a real impact on crime at Flinders University. Explore your study options across Bedford Park, online and at our new Festival Plaza Adelaide city campus — opening 2024.
No. 1 SA university
for learner engagement, skills development, student support and starting salary.
(The Good Universities Guide 2022 (undergraduate), public SA-founded universities only)
No. 1 SA university
for overall educational experience and full-time employment.
(The Good Universities Guide 2022 (postgraduate), public SA-founded universities only)
Five stars
for learner engagement, learning resources and skills development.
(The Good Universities Guide 2022 (undergraduate), public SA-founded universities only)
How to enter
1. Take and upload a photo that captures what criminal justice looks like to you or how it is presented in your community.
2. Write a short blurb about your photo — telling us about its context and what it depicts.
Competition closes Friday, 13 October 2023. Terms and conditions apply.
*Source: Labour Market Insights & The Future of Jobs Report 2020
You will benefit from our powerful industry partnerships that span all areas of the criminology sector. Our partners include government bodies, public and private organisations, as well as other universities across Australia and overseas.
Created in partnership with industry, our Criminology offerings will equip you with the practical, real-world skills that you need to examine criminal behaviour, understand what drives it, and crucially, make a real impact on society.
Want to dive deep into the world of Cybersecurity or Innovation? You can add either of these specialisations on to your degree, and graduate with knowledge tailored to these in-demand areas.
Criminology jobs are emerging as one of the top ten jobs in demand.* Specialists in this field will only grow in demand as scams and cybersecurity threats become more sophisticated.
*Source: Labour Market Insights & The Future of Jobs Report 2020
Interested in more than one area? Flinders has a number of combined degree programs with Criminology that allow you to combine in-depth study in exciting combinations.
SATAC code | 244112 |
By combining studies in laws and legal practice with criminology, you will develop the professional legal skills to prepare you for a job in the legal profession and gain an understanding of how justice and society influence each other.
The combination prepares you for a broad range of careers in law but also government, leadership and educational settings.
Successful completion satisfies the academic and practical requirements underpinning eligibility to be admitted as a barrister and solicitor in South Australia.
SATAC code | 224941 |
By combining studies in psychology and criminology, you will develop the professional skills to work in justice and human services fields.
This degree can be used as a first step to becoming a psychologist. To become a psychologist, you also need to complete further study at honours and master’s levels.
This degree is accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council.
SATAC code | 244702 |
By combining studies in IT and criminology, you will develop the professional skills to work in cybersecurity, network systems, cybercrime and much more.
Want to become a Chief Security Officer? This degree is for you.
SATAC code | 234282 |
By combining studies in Forensic Science and criminology, you will develop the professional skills to work as a crime scene examiner, a forensic pathologist, forensic IT specialist and much more.
Want to become a Forensic Expert? This degree is for you.
SATAC code | 234662 |
By combining studies in international relations and criminology, you will develop the professional skills to work in government settings at local, national and global levels.
Want to know how to stop crime before it even happens? Want to shape policy settings underpinning the justice system to deter crime rather than respond to criminal behaviour? This degree is for you.
“Criminology theory can apply to pretty much everything… you could go into research, forensics, statistics, policy, corrections - the opportunities are endless with a Criminology degree."
Our academic staff members have an internationally-renowned reputation for research, specialising in areas like policing, corrections, criminal justice, and more.
Professor Mark Halsey has an international reputation in the areas of prisons, rehabilitation and desistance from crime. Since 2003, he has conducted in-depth interviews with people convicted of such crimes as motor vehicle theft, armed robbery, rape and murder. Professor Halsey is the recipient of four Australian Research Council grants including a Future Fellowship which explored the causes and consequences of intergenerational imprisonment. Data from Professor Halsey's research is used extensively in the second year Bachelor of Criminology topic Punishment and Society.
Dr Marinella Marmo is an Associate Professor in criminology and investigates victimhood across borders, with emphasis on transnational migration and human rights. Her work has been published by leading journals, and appears in a number of books and edited collections. Her research has attracted significant international attention as evidenced by a substantial number of news print articles, including The Guardian, The New York Times and many others, and has been cited by leading practitioners, political figures and judges across Europe. Her contribution to excellence in teaching has been recognised by an Australian Government’s Citation for Excellence in Teaching in 2012. A/Prof Marmo is an assessor for the Australian Awards for University Teaching and belongs to the expert pool for Horizon 2020 grants (European Union).
Caitlin Hughes is an Associate Professor in criminology and drug policy, and Matthew Flinders Fellow at the Centre for Crime Policy and Research, Flinders University. Caitlin has spent 17 years researching drug and alcohol policy, including 12.5 years at the leading National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW, working as part of the Drug Policy Modelling Program.
Having joined Flinders University in July 2019 her research seeks to advance Australian and international drug policy by improving the evidence-base into the effects of different legislative and law enforcement approaches to drug use and supply and working directly with policy makers. Her research focuses on 1) drug laws and drug law reform (including depenalisation, decriminalisation, legalisation), 2) criminal justice policies (including policing and alternatives to arrest) and 3) drug markets, outlining what laws and policies are deployed, how they operate in practice, the impacts of this investment and identifying avenues for more effective responses that can reduce drug-related health, social and criminal justice harms.
Caitlin is also Visiting Fellow at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW, Senior Research Associate, International Drug Policy Unit, London School of Economics and Vice-President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy and is on the editorial board for the International Journal of Drug Policy and the Journal of Illicit Economies and Development.
Research Biography
I am interested in issues relevant to the criminal justice system. My research examines the social-psychological needs of perpetrators, as well as victim and community reactions to such acts, in particular, the use of punishment as a response to injustice. I also investigate the factors that lead to and maintain antisocial behaviour.
Research Interests
My current research interests include criminal justice, offender rehabilitation and reintegration, morality, and community attitudes. My PhD research was about self-punishment, as one way that individuals may attempt to restore their moral image after violating norms.
Katherine has extensive experience working in the criminal justice system. She has worked in roles focused on child protection and child exploitation, youth justice, police intelligence, crime policy and research, victim support, and corrections. She is currently a member of the Parole Board of South Australia and has interviewed hundreds of people who have offended, including life-sentenced prisoners. She is an award-winning teacher who joined Flinders Criminology in 2022 and has a professional interest in victimology, trauma-informed practice, sentencing, and violence against women and children.
Jeremy has a passion for social justice and for teaching which he brings to his role as a lecturer in criminology at Flinders University. In 2012, Jeremy initiated and produced a series of public exhibitions of art from the South Australian adult prison system until 2019. During this time Jeremy also worked at the Department for Correctional Services where he developed policy and helped initiate and facilitate several creative projects across different prison and community sites. These involved engaging artists with people in prison, and using art to engage people in prison with the broader community. Art can be an effective and powerful medium for participation and communication between those on the inside and those on the outside. Art, and education alike, are both important forces for individual and social change.
With a passion for harm reduction and social justice, Andrew specialises in research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and its relationship with drug policy, with a focus on methamphetamines and the experiences of young people. He is currently examining the challenges and risks to the community posed by the (ab)use of alcohol and illicit drugs in rural and regional areas of Australia. His broader research interests and expertise include academic integrity, specifically greater understanding and prevention of assignment outsourcing/contract cheating within higher education, as well as the criminological challenges for victims in the criminal justice system. Andrew has published in leading international journals in each of these areas and is undertaking a series of empirical projects.
Andrew is an experienced and passionate teacher, whose philosophy is about inspiring students to take an active role in their own learning by harnessing their strengths, interests, and curiosity, and supporting them to build knowledge, confidence, and transferrable skills to achieve excellence within and beyond the criminal justice sector.
Andrew also has experience working in the criminal justice system, having previously held the position of Senior Research and Evaluation Officer at the South Australian Attorney-General's Department, as well as completing several research evaluations for key justice sector organisations, including The Salvation Army, Victim Support Service (SA), and the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction.
Simone was admitted to practise as a barrister and solicitor in the Supreme Court of South Australia in 2004. Her research interests include serious youth offending, repeat incarceration and the prison. She began her legal career at the District Court of South Australia as a Judges Associate and has gone on to work as a Criminal Defence Solicitor with the Legal Services Commission of SA and also in private practise. Simone joined the law school in 2009 as Project Officer on the ARC funded project,Generativity in young male (ex)prisoners: Caring for self, other and future with and beyond prison. This research forms the basis of the book Young Offenders: Crime, Prison & Beyond (Halsey and Deegan, 2015) which was awaded the Australian and New Zealand Society for Criminology (ANZSOC) Margaret Alder Book Prize for it's outstanding contribution to Criminology (2017/2018).
Simone's doctorate, The Lives and Adjustment Patterns of Juvenile Lifers (2019) investigated opportunities for life-sentenced juveniles to cope, adjust and mature in prison environments and was awarded the Flinders University Vice Chancellors Medal for Doctoral Thesis Excellence (2020). In 2021, Simone was also awarded the ANZSOC New Scholar Prize for the best publication in Criminology for her work with families of juvenile homicide offenders. Until recently, Simone was also the Principal Advocate for all South Australian children and young people detained in training centres with the South Australian Office of the Guardian for Children and Young People.
Elvio has been an Associate Lecturer since 2023, and a casual teacher since 2019 at Flinders University.
In 2023, Elvio is teaching CRIM2206 – Analysing Cybercrime and Digital Risk and, cross-collegially, ITAL3215 – Italian Mafia. In past years he was also lecturer and marker for CRIM3302 – International Criminal Justice, CRIM3020 Industry Project: Crime and Justice, and LLAW1322 International Law and Global Perspectives.
Elvio currently possesses a Bachelor/Master's in Law in Italy and a Bachelor of Laws from Flinders University. He is also a graduate student in Bachelor of International Studies and Bachelor of Arts (Honours)(Italian) in South Australia, again from Flinders University. He was awarded in 2017 the Chancellor's Letter of Commendation for Outstanding Achievement for the Bachelor of International Studies, and in 2019 the Italian Honours Prize for best Honours thesis in Italian.
Elvio is close to submitting his PhD thesis in criminology, focusing on the level of social harm affecting workers in the gig economy (UberEats, Uber, Airtasker, etc.) in Australia. He co-published one academic article of the market power of the gig economy and submission to the Commonwealth Senate on reforming the gig economy in Australia.
Elvio is strongly interested in the intersection between law, criminology, and modern technology.
Take part in real-life projects and gain industry experience during your degree.
"Industry Projects push you out of your comfort zone so much... it's been so wonderful to learn that I can do anything I put my mind to." — Penelope Bryant, Bachelor of Business graduate
A career in criminology is rewarding and fulfilling, with broad-ranging opportunities to specialise in an area of your interest or you could combine your passion with psychology, law, international relations, IT (Network and Cybersecurity Systems) or forensic science.
Criminology jobs and careers in Australia include a multitude of occupations across psychology, law, science, and the public sector. According to the Australian Government’s Job Outlook this industry sector will see strong growth, and the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report indicates that Information Security Analysts are in the top ten in-demand jobs.
If you want to get serious about preventing crime and making a difference in creating a safer and healthier community, then criminology is for you. All careers in criminology are rewarding and present opportunities to be a change agent. Check out our criminology course offerings and consider a combined degree with psychology, law or forensic science.
You can do a degree in criminology and/or combine it with psychology, law, international relations or forensic science. According to the National Skills Commission in Australia, around 50% of people working in the public administration and safety area have a bachelor degree or higher in 2020.
Flinders Criminology degrees offer flexible study options including full-time or part-time study, and some topics can be studied online.
Flinders degrees are renowned for producing graduates earning impressive salaries. We are the No. 1 SA university for starting salary (The Good Universities Guide 2021 (undergraduate), public SA-founded universities only).
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