Graduate Certificate of Criminology

2025 Deakin University Handbook

Year	2025 course information
Award granted	Graduate Certificate of Criminology
Deakin course code	A504
Faculty	Faculty of Arts and Education
Campus	This course is only offered Online
Online	Yes
Duration	Trimester 1: 1 year part-time Trimester 2: 1 year part-time
Course Map - enrolment planning tool	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
CRICOS course code	0102047 Burwood (Melbourne)
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8

Course sub-headings

Course overview

Studying the Graduate Certificate of Criminology gives you a solid base of knowledge in crime and criminal justice. Begin to approach criminal behaviour, crime policy and prevention from a different angle, applying your learnings to further study or directly in the workforce.

Are you ready to start building your own network of industry connections?

Deakin's postgraduate criminology courses are designed with input from a variety of industry partners and relevant stakeholders including police, policy and regulatory agencies so you can be confident that the skills you develop studying Deakin's Graduate Certificate of Criminology will be relevant to your future or existing career.

You'll push the boundaries of the way we currently look at justice and creatively examine areas of ongoing and emerging criminological concern. Get ready to engage and debate pressing issues of local, national and global concern.

Your core subjects will focus on crime and innovative justice and criminological policy and criminal justice practice. You can also choose elective units, allowing you to create a degree built for your unique career goals. Your elective unit options include:

Critical Criminology Theory
Public Criminology and Criminological Knowledge
Challenges to Democratic Governance
Human Rights in World Politics

While the course is conveniently offered on our premium online learning platform, there are also opportunities to engage in practical learning. During the course, you can utilise Deakin's cutting-edge immersive learning environments to experience lively and engaging content.

Career opportunities

As a graduate, your deeper understanding of crime and criminal justice will be in high demand by agencies focused on specific areas of the community. If you're already in the workforce, you'll be prepared for roles that require advanced knowledge, ensuring you're capable of making well-rounded decisions that will positively impact lives.

Once successfully completing this course, you'll also be eligible to apply for the Master of Criminology - a further step in the right direction to becoming a senior criminological expert.

With a Graduate Certificate of Criminology, you can confidently apply for roles as a corrections officer, case manager/worker or specialist adviser and explore a variety of areas, including:

anti-corruption agencies
correctional facilities and prisons
community services
criminology research
government agencies
intelligence and security services
sociology and youth work
state and federal police

For more information go to DeakinTALENT.

Participation requirements

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. More information available at Disability support services.

Pathways

Students who successfully complete this course would meet the entry requirements and therefore be eligible to apply for admission into the A704 Master of Criminology (or similar).

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Use advanced and integrated knowledge of criminological scholarship to review and analyse key issues in the definitions, history, causes, harms and prevention of different types of crime and criminal behaviour within Australia and internationally
Communication	Communicate the findings and analyses of criminological theories, concepts and their application to real-world contexts, in a broad range of written, oral and digital formats, to different audiences associated with or engaged in criminological activities
Digital literacy	Employ a broad range of digital technologies to communicate types and forms of crime and appropriate prevention responses to a diverse range of audiences, including the public and individuals and groups associated with or engaged in criminal justice policy and practice
Critical thinking	Exercise independent and critical judgement to organise, synthesise and evaluate complex theoretical approaches to defining and explaining crime and criminal behaviour in order to make recommendations to improve current policies and practices that address crime and criminal behaviour
Problem solving	Analyse differing perspectives and approaches to preventing and responding to crime and criminal behaviour in a variety of contexts and employ creative problem solving skills to investigate complex problems in a systematic manner as well as to generate creative, contextually aware solutions to those problems
Teamwork	Collaborate productively in teams to research and evaluate explanations for and responses to complex issues in crime and criminal behaviour in a variety of national and international contexts
Global citizenship	Analyse and respond to criminological issues, in domestic, regional and international contexts, as a reflective scholar and practitioner, taking into account cultural and socio-economic diversity, social and environmental responsibility and adherence to professional and ethical standards in a variety of contexts

Approved at Faculty Board March 2020

Course rules

To complete the Graduate Certificate of Criminology students must pass 4 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:

DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
2 credit points of core units
2 credit points of course electives

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.

Note:

This course is part-time only.

Course structure

Core Units

DAI001

Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin

ACR701

Crime and Innovative Justice

ACR703

Critical Criminological Perspectives

Course Electives

Plus 2 credit points of electives from:

ACR704

Public Criminology and Criminological Knowledge

ACR705

Digital Surveillance, Law Enforcement and Civil Liberties

ACR707

Populism and Policing Futures

ACR709

Global Crime, Prevention and Responses

AIP781

Political Communication: Public Watchdog Or Propaganda Machine?

AIR726

Human Rights in World Politics

AIR732

Terrorism in International Politics

Course duration

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing placements.

Further information

Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.

Contact Student Central

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.