Criminology (2024)

Criminology is available as a first major for the Bachelor of Social Sciences (BSocSc). Criminology may also be taken as a second major or minor in other undergraduate degrees, subject to approval of the Division in which the student is enrolled.

To complete Criminology as a single major for the BSocSc, students must gain 135 points from papers listed for Criminology, including 105 points above 100 level, and 60 points above 200 level. Students must complete SOCIO102, SOCIO204, SSRES200, CRIMN301, SOCIO311, and SOCPY303.

To complete Criminology as part of a double major for the BSocSc, students must gain 120 points from papers listed for Criminology, including 90 points above 100 level, and 45 points above 200 level. Students must complete SOCIO102, SOCIO204, SSRES200, CRIMN301, SOCIO311, and SOCPY303.

To complete a minor in Criminology, students must complete 60 points from SOCIO102, SOCIO204, CRIMN301, SOCIO311 or SOCPY303.

On this page

• Prescriptions for the GradCert(Crim) and GradDip(Crim)
• 100 Level
• 200 Level
• 300 Level

• Prescriptions for the GradCert(Crim) and GradDip(Crim)

  A Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma are available to graduates who have not included Criminology at an advanced level in their first degree.

  For further details, contact the Division of Arts, Law, Psychology and Social Sciences Office.

• 100 Level

  Code	Paper Title	Points	Occurrence / Location
  CRSCI101	Introduction to Security and Crime Science	15.0	24A (Hamilton) & 24A (Online)
  This paper introduces the topics, theories, and approaches that make up Crime Science. The central focus is on understanding crime.
  FPSYC101	Introduction to Forensic and Criminological Psychology	15.0	24B (Hamilton) & 24B (Online)
  This paper introduces students to forensic psychology and encompasses a wide range of topics derived from the intersection of psychology with the crime, the legal system and the criminal justice system.
  HISTY107	Aotearoa Histories: Past and Future	15.0	24B (Hamilton)
  This introductory paper provides students with an overview of Aotearoa New Zealand's histories through hundreds of years of Maori and Iwi history and British Colonial invasions, to the present. Students explore popular overarching myths and narratives of Aotearoa NZ history, key events, peoples and leading scholarship in the field....
  MAORI150	Te Tiriti o Waitangi: An Introduction to the Treaty of Waitangi	15.0	24A (Hamilton), 24B (Hamilton), 24I (Hamilton) & 24X (Hamilton)
  This paper seeks to provide a sound understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It reviews historical and contemporary interpretations and takes into account the interplay of contextual issues of the time.
  PACIS100	Introduction to Pacific Histories, Languages and Cultures	15.0	24A (Hamilton) & 24A (Secondary School - Unistart)
  This paper introduces students to foundational elements of Pacific Studies, including various histories, languages and cultures and their importance to contemporary societies, surveying a number of Pacific Nations.
  PHILO106	Social and Moral Philosophy	15.0	24A (Hamilton), 24A (Online) & 24A (Tauranga)
  An investigation of contemporary moral and social issues from a practical ethics perspective. Issues may include abortion, animal welfare, discrimination, euthanasia, freedom of speech, genetic enhancement, privacy, punishment, and your online life.
  SOCIO102	The Sociology of Crime, Deviance and Social Justice	15.0	24A (Hamilton) & 24A (Tauranga)
  This paper provides students with an introduction to criminology and the criminal justice system, with a focus on the New Zealand context.

• 200 Level

  Code	Paper Title	Points	Occurrence / Location
  CRSCI201	Understanding Crime Events	15.0	24B (Hamilton) & 24B (Online)
  The focus of this paper is on crime as a potentially preventable event. Crimes occur in a patterned way that is partly determined by situational factors and people's decision-making. This paper introduces students to theories about crime events, and approaches to analysing these events.
  FPSYC201	Psychology and Crime	15.0	24A (Hamilton) & 24A (Online)
  Crime is a result of how people think, feel, and behave within their ecological context, making psychology one of the core disciplines in understanding, explaining and addressing problems associated with crime.
  GEOGY219	Māori Lands and Communities	15.0	24B (Hamilton)
  This paper introduces students to Maori geographical perspectives and examines key events that shape Maori communities and their relationships to land, water and other taonga.
  LEGAL205	Foundations in Legal Studies	15.0	24A (Online)
  A paper to provide students with a basic understanding of the New Zealand legal system, and an introduction to the law of torts, contract, agency, sale of goods and services, persons, including corporate bodies, property and consumer legislation.
  PACIS200	Pacific Migration, Diaspora and Identity	15.0	24B (Hamilton)
  This paper looks at the various socio-historic influences on migration in the Pacific and the relationship between Indigenous cultures of origin and diasporic cultures and identities formed in countries such as Aotearoa/New Zealand, Australia and the US.
  POLSC224	Terrorism, Violence and the State	15.0	No occurrences
  Terrorism is an increasingly prominent global phenomenon. We will clarify it conceptually and situate it historically with theory and case studies in situating it in comparative political and International Relations analysis.
  PSYCH206	Social Psychology and Development	15.0	24B (Hamilton) & 24B (Tauranga)
  Social psychology topics include environmental psychology, social relationships, and helping and hindering others. Developmental psychology investigates why we develop as we do. Together, this paper explores why we do the things we do.
  SOCPY200	Social Policy and Social Issues	15.0	24A (Online) & 24A (Tauranga)
  The paper continues the study of social policy at 200 level. The focus of this paper is on the welfare state, the policy cycle as well as social problems, such as poverty.
  SSRES200	Social Science Research Methods	15.0	24B (Online)
  This paper introduces the core research methods used in the social sciences. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches are introduced, along with consideration of aspects such as ethics and the Treaty of Waitangi.

• 300 Level

  Code	Paper Title	Points	Occurrence / Location
  CRIMN301	Criminology	15.0	24B (Online)
  The paper overviews criminological approaches to the study of crime, causes of criminal behaviour, and society's responses, developing familiarity with the work of key theorists, including those developing matauranga hou.
  FPSYC301	Correctional Psychology: Theory, Research and Practice	15.0	24B (Online)
  This paper examines the application of psychological theory, research and practice to the operation of correctional systems and their various roles with the people in their care. There is a strong emphasis on New Zealand practice, including emerging Maori-led and Maori-influenced practices.
  GNSEX303	Intersectionalities: Identities and Inequalities	15.0	24B (Hamilton)
  This paper provides a comprehensive review of the historical context for understanding contemporary issues of race, gender, sexuality, and social class. It investigates micro and macro level experiences and the social construction of identities. In doing so, this paper looks at how power is distributed in society, the theories that...
  HISTY302	Blood, Land, DNA: Contemporary Indigenous Histories and Archives	15.0	24B (Hamilton)
  This paper explores critical questions about power, sovereignty, and belonging in contemporary Indigenous history, focusing on Aotearoa, the Pacific, and North America. Students will work with diverse archival sources to develop independent research questions.
  IRSST331	Cyber Security and the Global Politics of the Internet	15.0	24B (Online)
  This course explores the global politics of cyber security and the internet. It covers the major political/strategic/theoretical debates around enhancing the security of computer systems and how states and non-state actors are responding.
  LEGAL301	Crimes	30.0	24D (Hamilton) & 24D (Tauranga)
  An analysis of the general principles of criminal law and selected offences chargeable under New Zealand law; an introduction to criminal procedure from arrest to sentencing in both jury and judge-alone trials (excluding evidence); and an introduction to the criminal justice system.
  MAORI303	Critical Indigenous Theory	15.0	24B (Hamilton)
  This paper looks at the key theoretical influences, from Marxism to post-structuralism, upon critical Indigenous studies and the most significant writings by those Indigenous scholars who have chosen to engage with critical theory.
  PSYCH302	Community, Culture and Diversity	15.0	24B (Hamilton) & 24B (Tauranga)
  The focus of this paper is the study of social justice, intersectionality, transformative interventions, and social change strategies that are central to community, indigenous and liberation psychologies. Issues covered include inequalities, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class and (dis)ability. Key considerations are the broader co...
  SOCIO311	Current Issues in Crime Control and Social Justice	15.0	24G (Online)
  This paper examines sociological explanations for criminal behaviour and examines issues within criminal justice.
  SOCPY303	Critical Feminism and the Prison State	15.0	24A (Online)
  This paper employs anti-carceral feminist theories and frameworks to explore the phenomenon of mass female imprisonment across nation states, with a particular focus on Indigenous and Black Imprisoned Radical Tradition.