While not yet one of the most popular degrees, its popularity has been increasing rapidly over the last decade. In New Zealand in 2014, there were only 270 graduates. In 2024 there were 450 graduates [1]. A huge increase, considering many other majors that don’t lead directly to jobs like philosophy, english literature, sociology or anthropology have stable or falling numbers of graduates. Perhaps criminology has received a boost from the many "true crime" type documentaries shown on Netflix and other streaming services.

Much like psychology, there is no job that really requires a bachelor’s degree in criminology. Many of the suggestions like police officer, customs officer / border force officer, corrections officer, and so on don’t require any degree. If those roles are of interest, it would be much cheaper to do a shorter diploma at polytech or TAFE, get a bit of work experience, then apply. If you do want to get a degree, a different degree could serve you better in the future. Then, if you want to transition away from those jobs, or move to more senior roles, you have some relevant skills. Another commonly suggested role is an analyst for police, corrections, or another government agency. This is a possibility, but is also very competitive, moreover, a degree in criminology is not required. Other degrees or relevant experience will be accepted, even preferred.

Sometimes it is suggested that a criminology degree is good training for rehabilitating criminals. This isn’t the case and will not be accepted by most employers. Instead, they are looking for relevant qualifications in social work, counselling, mental health nursing, and psychology. Here is an example taken from an advertisement for a Forensic Clinician for Corrections Victoria.

Some university websites marketing the degree are good for a laugh. They make it sound like studying a degree in criminology will transform you into a Sherlock Holmes style crime fighter advising everyone from the police and intelligence services through to banks and insurance companies. Proponents of studying the degree will also bring up the arguments like transferable skills and versatility that we already debunked in an earlier chapter. As always, take a sceptical view of university marketing materials. Universities operate like a business and need to sell courses to make money. They will frequently stretch the bounds of credibility to get students to enrol.

Unlike some other degrees like psychology, where there exist post graduate qualifications that open up specific roles like clinical psychologist, this isn’t the case for criminology. A post graduate qualification in criminology isn’t especially useful. Roles like policy analyst don’t need a specific qualification in criminology, those with post graduate qualifications in other areas can also apply. As always, think carefully about what career is of interest and then work backwards to choose the best degree. Don’t enrol in a degree because it sounds interesting and then find at the end that there aren’t many jobs to apply for.