Criminology (Corporate Crime and Corporate Responsibility) MSc - 2024/5

Other information

1: Year 1 (full-time) Full-Time FHEQ Level 7 (180 credits)

1: Year 1 (part-time) Part-Time FHEQ Level 7 (90 credits)
2: Year 2 (part-time) Part-Time FHEQ Level 7 (90 credits)

In semester 1 of this year long (FT) programme, students acquire core skills in Criminology, Corporate Crime/Corporate Responsibility and social science with modules focussed upon quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, together with key criminological frameworks and an introduction to corporate sustainability. Semester 2 builds upon this knowledge with a more specific focus upon the nature of corporate criminality, together with offending patterns more widely. The legal and social control responses to corporate crime are analysed to provide students with a comprehensive framework for the extended research project they complete over the summer for their MSc dissertation. The PT programme mirrors this structure over a 2-year period.



The MSc Criminology (Corporate Crime and Corporate Social Responsibility) within the Department of Sociology seeks to provide graduates with a firm grounding in the five pillars of Global and Cultural Capabilities, Digital Capabilities, Employability, Resourcefulness and Resilience and Sustainability.

i. Global and cultural capabilities

Understanding the diverse global and cultural issues raised by the conduct of transnational corporations is a central theme within the Corporate Crime and Corporate Social Responsibility pathway of the MSc Criminology.

For example, on the module SOCM050 Corporate Crime and Corporate Social Responsibility, students learn about the origins of the corporation as chartered companies which helped drive colonial expansions across Asia, the Americas and the Global South. They acquire an understanding of the global trading system and the ways in which contemporary corporations are able to operate across national boundaries. The impacts of this upon local enforcement and the role of international conventions in regulating corporate misconduct are considered in depth.

On the module SOCM032, Criminological Theories, students are introduced to key ideas around cultural-societal constructions of crime such as labelling theory, Sutherlands differential theories of crime and cultural criminology itself. In SOCM026, Law, Society and Social Control students acquire an understanding of how legal systems function in global terms and what this means for the global order. In the dissertation module SOCM032, they have the opportunity to demonstrate in detail their understanding of the global challenges being posed by conduct of transnational corporations and are able to evaluate how they operate within diverse cultural and political systems.

ii. Digital capabilities

A key aim of the MSc Criminology (Corporate Crime and Corporate Social Responsibility) is to enhance student understanding of the ways in which corporate agents have adapted to a hyperconnected, digital age. Changes to the nature of the corporation being brought about by digital technology, whether in terms of its employment policies or its ¿platformatisation¿ are considered in detail with case studies and examples.

Students are also introduced to some of the threats being posed to corporate networks by the globalisation of technical crime and the ongoing digital challenges such as data breaches and ransomware attacks. They are also thoroughly versed in the emerging role of digital technologies in the process of justice. For example, in SOCM008 they are introduced to new developments like virtual courtrooms and the digitisation of legal papers.
More widely students are assisted in using a wide range of digital tools for furthering their knowledge, such as online library catalogue or for enhancing their capacity in digital communication via platforms like MS Teams. And aside from the familiarity they gain with online learning systems like Surrey Learn, students acquire practical skills in handling cutting edge analytic tools used in social research like NVivo and R Studio. They learn how to engage with large datasets and to apply digital tools to these to find significant patterns and correlations.

By the time they graduate, students will have become highly skilled in evaluating their digital capabilities and understanding how these can be used to further enhance their understanding of digital crime and digital justice.

iii. Employability

The MSc Criminology (Corporate Crime and Corporate Social Responsibility) has a strong practitioner focus which provides students with a range of applied skills that will assist them in finding success in the workplace. By providing a rounded training in the management and interpretation of corporate governance, corporate ethics and corporate social responsibility graduates are well placed to benefit from the increasing demand from business for employees sensitive to issues around equality, diversity and responsibility in the workplace.

The MSc also meets the needs of those seeking careers in the criminal justice system or related fields. Extensive training in the applied aspects of justice systems is at the core of the programme and these provide a portfolio of skills which enable graduates to quickly adapt to the workplace.
Students benefit from the practitioner-oriented content of modules and have the opportunity to learn from the professional expertise of staff and guest lecturers within the field. They also benefit from access to nationwide programmes like ¿Learning Together¿, which enables student to gain experience in working in prisons which the Department of Sociology has helped pioneer across the UK.
The Tuesday & Friday structure of course delivery allows those already in the professional world to retain their positions whilst furthering skills which can advance them in the workplace. It also allows time for full time students to acquire work experience whilst still completing their MSc qualification. In addition, the placement component of the MSc, though student-led can further enhance skills and experience in a chosen field. More widely, key skills emphasized in the MSC dissertation such as the ability to link theory with practice; to analyse and appraise data all contribute to promoting their appeal to employers.

iv. Resourcefulness and resilience

The postgraduate orientation of the MSC encourages student independence and proactivity in their learning. Whilst they are always supported by staff, they are also expected to demonstrate resilience, self-regulation and agility in accessing learning materials and delivering assessments by relevant deadlines.
Self-reflection and critical awareness are central to the module on the programme and seminar activities allow students to gain skills in leadership, and problem-solving.

The year long MSC year dissertation promotes resourcefulness and problem solving in conducting research and acquiring data and students are also required to engage with ethical considerations in formulating proposals and working with research students. Many of their research topics may require collaboration with professionals in the field and being sensitive to how to overcome challenges which may arise as a result.

v. Sustainability

Sustainable practice is an increasingly important challenge for transnational corporations and the MSc Criminology (Corporate Crime and Corporate Social Responsibility) provides a firm grounding for students in this area. For example, on the module ENGM305 Corporate Sustainability students directly engage with what it means for corporation to act sustainably and are introduced to a range of practical instances of this in action. On SOCM050 issues around environmental sustainability, more effective workplace practices and enhancing social responsibility are explored and students have the opportunity to produce a developed case study covering these issues.

Issues around social order and justice are also at the heart of sustainable societies and the programme is well tailored to assist students in developing skills and capacities in these areas. Understanding how social division and structural inequality often foster criminality ¿ and thereby damage sustainable societies are central to the criminological theories studied on SOCM032, whilst SOCM019 is designed to make sense of offending patterns and their roots in poverty, prejudice and a failure to address.
Issues around gender bias and racial inequality are similarly core to understanding how criminal justice systems, law and social control function and are addressed in modules such as SOCM008 & SOCM026.

The Dissertation or independent project allows students to consider wider issues around sustainability and the threats posed to by illicit or illegal behaviours in greater depth. For example, in relation to green and environmental crime, corporate misconduct, and problems in managing the health and well-being of corporate employees. In turn, the ethical sensitivities they are encouraged to develop during the research process ensure they are able to act upon challenges to sustainability as well as to understand their causes and origins.