Welcome to the DCGC Programme

The originality of the Doctorate in Cultural and Global Criminology lies in the development of an international and inter-cultural outlook on crime and crime control, facilitated by the interdisciplinary convergence of the two components of criminology: social science and law. This groundbreaking approach, using innovative methodologies, enables a far better criminological understanding and response to new crimes and related social problems. Hence the programme has a critical focus on the direct relevance of academic work to civil society action and criminal justice policy, mirrored in its synergistic relationship to key national and international agencies in civil society action and criminal justice policy. Through an international and inter-cultural perspective, it addresses the concerns of both academics and policy makers who increasingly reflect on the problem of ‘harm’ in two different ways: first, the varying ways in which harm is criminalised and, second, the balance of harms caused by crime and crime control. Associated with this societal engagement is a novel cultivation of the transferable skill set of global-critical citizenship, which is embedded in all aspects of the programme. Finally, in its structures and processes, the doctorate fully integrates the philosophy of international, inter-cultural and intersectoral mobility with its global and cultural research perspective

What can the DCGC offer you?
  • A focus on emerging, culturally-relevant, global, criminological issues, including international security, transnational crime and criminal justice, green criminology, human rights, social change and exclusion.
  • The alliance of global and cultural criminological perspectives with innovative research methodologies and a combination of unique expertise in cultural criminology, green criminology, transnational organised crime research, human rights research, and qualitative methodology.
  • Collaborative European and international cooperation involving four centres of excellence and four distinctive cultural contexts, each providing different yet complementary specialisms, supervision and training in an integrated programme.
  • Interdisciplinary provision with a unified criminological focus and approach, and a balanced input from the social sciences (Kent, Hamburg) and law (Utrecht, Budapest).
  • In addition to training in transferable employability skills, an emphasis on the competence of global-critical citizenship, directly relevant to and emerging from mobility between the university and non-university sectors located in wider society.
  • Directly related to supervised research in areas relevant to policy and social action, as well as the key transversal competency of citizenship, work with a range of local, national and international organisations in the governmental, non-governmental and criminal justice sectors.
  • An integrated, structured training programme incorporating core taught courses, and a range of specialised courses offered by each of the centres, which can be taken according to the research path of the individual.
  • A programme drawing on the doctoral candidates’ different, national and cultural identities, perceptions, and disciplinary backgrounds as a key resource in their mutual training. Not only do candidates have the opportunity to understand, respect and assimilate the cultural perspectives of the other doctoral candidates, but the mobility experience is integral to the development of the wider global and cultural understanding of crime which is the basis of the programme.
  • Integral international mobility flexibly mapped according to candidate research, supervision and training requirements, including attendance at international conferences of the Common Study Programme in Critical Criminology.
  • The production of doctoral graduates who are equipped to follow research and/or academic careers, to work in the public sector and civil society in a range of fields at national, European and international level, including criminal justice policy development and implementation, harm reduction, law enforcement, social campaigning, and analysis of the impact of policy.