Research

Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy is home to a thriving research community that addresses the issues that underpin today's society.

Our world-class research in Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy focuses on four key themes: Equity, Justice, Health and Inclusion. Our research strives for real-life impact, and our staff advise different government and parliamentary bodies, practitioners and charities both in the UK and internationally. Our research is intellectually cutting-edge, pushing the frontiers of conceptual and methodological thinking and empirical evidence in our respective areas.

Our research  maps onto 爱神传媒’s Strategic Themes of Vibrant and inclusive communities and Sport, health and wellbeing. We are home to the Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP) with its global reputation for ground-breaking work on the Minimum Income Standard. We also collaborate with the Centre for Research on Communication and Culture.

100% of research impact rated 鈥榳orld-leading鈥� or 鈥榠nternationally excellent鈥�

Research Excellence Framework 2021

1st for research quality in Sociology

Complete University Guide 2025

Research Year in Review 2025-26

This year has been an exciting one for research in Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy. We have grown as a department, with new staff joining, new projects starting and the impending launch of a new MSc programme in Public Health. We have been busy refreshing our research clusters and updating our annual programme of activities.

Read our research year in review

Research Themes

Equity

Justice

Health

Inclusion

Postgraduate research

Doctoral researchers are integral partners in our research, working on exciting projects across our four research themes.

Find out more

Research Centres

Centre for Research in Social Policy (CRSP)

Over the past 30 years, CRSP has built a national and international reputation for high quality applied policy research. The Centre鈥檚 biggest role at present is the researching and analysis of A Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom.

Centre for Research in Communication and Culture (CRCC)

Our researchers collaborate with the Communication and Media department to explore how communication and culture shape the key challenges of our times.