Security Science MRes + MPhil/PhD
London, Bloomsbury
This is the programme information for 2025 entry
If you require details of the previous year's programme, Security Science MRes + MPhil/PhD (2024), click here
Launch your security science research career with this integrated, 4-year MRes + MPhil/PhD. This exciting programme gives you the skills and knowledge needed to progress to your PhD, and apply scientific methods to investigate some of the most challenging security and crime problems society faces today.
UK tuition fees (2025/26)
Overseas tuition fees (2025/26), programme starts, applications accepted.
- Entry requirements
A minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s degree or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard. Candidates with a UK Master’s in a science-based subject, or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard are encouraged to apply.
The English language level for this programme is: Level 3
UCL Pre-Master's and Pre-sessional English courses are for international students who are aiming to study for a postgraduate degree at UCL. The courses will develop your academic English and academic skills required to succeed at postgraduate level.
Further information can be found on our English language requirements page.
Equivalent qualifications
Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website .
International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below. Please note that the equivalency will correspond to the broad UK degree classification stated on this page (e.g. upper second-class). Where a specific overall percentage is required in the UK qualification, the international equivalency will be higher than that stated below. Please contact Graduate Admissions should you require further advice.
About this degree
Designed by leading UCL academics in collaboration with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and an array of public and private sector organisations working in crime reduction security and law enforcement, this innovative integrated programme gives you the chance to position yourself at the forefront of security and crime science research – with or without a background in this area.
The unique multidisciplinary approach developed by the UCL Jill Dando Institute (JDI) of Security and Crime Science draws together expertise from across social sciences, engineering and computing. We use evidence-based techniques to prevent and control crime and security problems, and to detect offenders.
You’ll work alongside a diverse group of peers from all kinds of professional and academic backgrounds, developing an advanced toolkit of research design and statistical analysis techniques. You’ll then put these skills to good use, analysing real-world problems and security issues and devising data-led strategies, culminating in your own self-directed research project.
Established in 2001, the JDI is recognised across the world for its track record of close collaboration with practitioners and agencies through knowledge transfer and exchange activities.
Who this course is for
Security and Crime Science is a multidisciplinary subject, drawing on expertise in psychology, social science, statistics, mathematics, architecture, forensic sciences, design, geography and computing.
This programme is ideal for you if you have a first degree, and you want to solve real-world security and crime problems. We welcome your application if you bring relevant expertise from other fields, but are less familiar with the foundations of research in security and crime science.
What this course will give you
This programme offers you the following benefits and opportunities:
- Study at the UCL Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science , the first research institution in the world devoted specifically to reducing crime.
- Work with UCL’s renowned academics from across the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities. UCL is consistently ranked among the best universities globally (ranked 9th in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025), providing you with a prestigious qualification that is highly regarded worldwide.
- Prepare for your PhD with an internationally renowned department of research excellence – 87% of our research submissions were recognised as ‘world-leading’ in the Research Excellence Framework 2021 (REF).
- Shape your studies to match your interests, with a wide range of optional specialisms from crime reduction, cybercrime, forensic sciences, geospatial analysis, organised crime and terrorism, amongst others.
- Be part of UCL SECReT, the international centre for PhD training in security and crime science, and of our student-run SECReT Society .
Making an impact
Case study: Addressing crime hot spots in Latin America
We are supporting the implementation of hot spot policing in Latin America
The foundation of your career
This is the first programme of its kind to combine a multidisciplinary crime or security doctoral degree with a programme of taught modules (focusing on the application of scientific method to crime reduction) and professional skills training.
We draw students from around the world who have gone on to exciting careers in security and crime research and industry.
It was very interesting working with students from all backgrounds to better understand and improve global security. It gave me a grand understanding of the complexity and importance of this field. Dr Selina Kolokytha Research Degree: Security Science Find out more about the SCS postgraduate research experience
Employability
With over 60 industry and public sector partners, the Jill Dando Institute will provide the specific preparation you need to join the ranks of a new generation of crime and security leaders.
Graduates of this programme have gone on to prestigious careers in crime reduction, security and academia with organisations such as the UK Home Office, DSTL (the UK Defence Science and Technology Lab), Rapiscan, Darktrace, the UK National Crime Agency and a range of top universities.
You’ll have regular opportunities to connect, collaborate and build professional contacts as part of your programme.
- Benefit from the UCL JDI’s long-established links and partnerships with police forces, academic research centres of excellence, policy makers at all levels and a range of security organisations both abroad and here in the UK.
- Take part in an extensive programme of influential events that play a crucial role in informing the wider debates around crime prevention. Regular events include the annual International Crime Science conference and the Women in Security showcase, alongside an exciting schedule of seminars. Previous speakers include senior voices from UK police forces, UK government departments, forensic science providers, and global researchers.
- Benefit from UCL's collaborative and interdisciplinary outlook. MRes + MPhil/PhD Security Science students have the opportunity to mix with peers from backgrounds including architecture, computer science, statistics, electronic engineering, chemistry, forensic sciences, psychology, philosophy, ethics and laws.
Teaching and learning
The programme is delivered through a mixture of lectures, seminars, tutorials, projects and practical exercises.
The structure of the MRes + MPhil/PhD Programme includes both a one-year MRes Degree and a three-year MPhil/PhD Degree. The MRes is only delivered as a full time, one year programme.
Automatic progression from year one (MRes) to year two (MPhil/PhD) is subject to achieving an average mark of not less than 60% in the independent, original research components of the programme, and not less than 50% in the taught elements.
Students take a total of 180 credits in the MRes year. In instances where students have taken similar modules before, or if their research would benefit from a different selection of modules the list of modules can be altered, with agreement with the programme director and the student’s supervisor.
Please refer to UCL’s module catalogue for module descriptions and the full list of modules on offer in our department and across UCL.
Compulsory modules:
- SECU0044: Research project (90 credits)
- SECU0027: Designing and doing research (15 credits)
- SECU0031: Foundations of security and crime science (15 credits)
- SECU0056: Horizon Scanning and the Changing Nature of Crime (15 credits)
The remaining 45 credits should be spent over three modules (worth 15 credits each). Two of these should be from the list of optional modules below, and one elective module (worth 15 credits) can be chosen from level 7 modules from across UCL (please bear in mind that any modules taught by other departments at UCL will be at the discretion of the department concerned and we cannot guarantee availability in advance).
Optional modules may include (all 15 credits each):
- Applied Cryptography, Introduction to Cryptography
- Introduction to Cybersecurity, Computer Security 1, Computer Security 2
- Cybercrime, People and Security
- Risk and contingency planning, Information Security Management, Research in Information Security
- Quantitative Methods, Statistical Models and Data Analysis, Spatial-Temporal Data Analysis and Data Mining (STDM)
Years Two, Three and Four: These are research years, ending with submission of PhD thesis and viva.
Please note that the list of modules given here is indicative. This information is published a long time in advance of enrolment and module content and availability is subject to change.
During the first MRes year, students will be assessed as required by the compulsory and optional modules chosen. This may include individual and group coursework, oral and written exams, or class tests.
As a full-time student you are expected to devote at least 35 hours per week to your studies for the full duration of your programme. If you are studying part-time, you should expect to spend at least 17.5 hours per week on your studies.
During the MRes and in terms one and two, you will typically be spending 12 hours per week in lectures and seminars, small tutorial groups, and fieldwork. The remaining time will be spent on student-led class work, group work with peers, and independent study.
During the first two terms you should meet with your principal research supervisor at least once per term.
In subsequent years, as a research student, your principal supervisor will establish a timetable of regular meetings where all matters relating to your work can be discussed. These meetings should take place at least once per month. Subsidiary supervisors should stay acquainted with the progress of your work and be present at annual supervisory meetings, as a minimum.
Research areas and structure
Our research is concentrated on new ways to cut crime and increase security, drawing upon multiple disciplines. As our work is focused on cutting-edge issues, we collaborate extensively with policymakers and law enforcement agencies. Supervision within this programme is available in an extensive range of research areas, including, but not limited to:
Crime and security analysis : big data analysis; ecological modelling; scripting and process analysis; geographical analysis; social network analysis; human error analysis.
Design and technology : UAVs; radar; chemical sensors; x-ray scanners; cyber; ethics and technology.
Forensic science : forensic geoscience, DNA; fingerprints; trace evidence dynamics; forensic archaeology and anthropology; inference and interpretation; cognitive forensics.
Future crime : applications (drones, autonomous vehicles, non-GPS navigation, blockchain, performance-enhancing prosthetics); background changes (climate change, mass migration, antimicrobial resistance, new banking models, commodity scarcities); generic technologies (AI, robotics, quantum computing, hyper-connectivity, Internet of Things (IoT), wearable ICT).
Visit UCL Security and Crime Science’s research website for more .
Research environment
UCL Security and Crime Science has a distinctly interdisciplinary outlook on the prevention of crime, terrorism and organised crime. We have long-established links with police forces, policy makers, academic research centres of excellence, and security organisations in the UK and worldwide.
We have a successful track record of working closely with practitioners; we are widely recognised for knowledge transfer and exchange activities, as well as the impact of our research on real-world crime problems.
As a Security Science MRes and MPhil/PhD student, you will have the opportunity to learn from, and contribute to, this research culture.
The length of registration for the MRes is one year. The MRes is only delivered as a full-time, one-year programme.
The length of registration for research degree programmes is three years for full-time.
This PhD programme is part of the department doctoral programme. It follows successful completion of the MRes Security Science and cannot be taken as a stand-alone programme. Automatic progression from year one (MRes) to year two (MPhil/PhD) is subject to achieving an average mark of not less than 60% in the independent, original research components of the programme, and not less than 50% in the taught elements.
After you successfully complete the MRes, you will be registered initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 9-18 months after initial registration.
Upon successful completion of your approved period of registration, you may start a writing time period called Completing Research Status (CRS), in which you write up your thesis.
To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually a literature review of your topic plus one empirical chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder). You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.
The length of registration for research degree programmes is five years for part-time.
After you successfully complete the MRes, you will be registered initially for the MPhil degree with the expectation of transfer to PhD after successful completion of an upgrade viva 24 months after initial registration.
To successfully upgrade to a PhD, you are required to submit a piece of writing (this is usually a literature review of your topic plus one empirical chapter from your thesis and a chapter plan for the remainder).
You are also required to present and answer questions about this work to a panel consisting of your subsidiary supervisor and another member of the faculty who acts as an independent assessor.
Accessibility
Details of the accessibility of UCL buildings can be obtained from AccessAble . Further information can also be obtained from the UCL Student Support and Wellbeing Services team .
Where you'll study
The Department of Security and Crime Science at UCL is home to ground-breaking facilities including the Jill Dando Institute Research Laboratory (JDIRL), a Police Assured Secure Facility for the storage and analysis of sensitive data - the first facility of its kind at a European university. Through this, student can use datasets that would not otherwise be easily accessible. Students and researchers now also have access to our newly opened Forensic Science Evidence Interpretation Lab, where we address the critical issue of the interpretation of forensic evidence, and the Crime Science Immersive Technologies lab where technology-based experiments can be undertaken.
Fees and funding
Fees for this course.
The tuition fees shown are for the year indicated above. Fees for subsequent years may increase or otherwise vary. Where the programme is offered on a flexible/modular basis, fees are charged pro-rata to the appropriate full-time Master's fee taken in an academic session. Further information on fee status, fee increases and the fee schedule can be viewed on the UCL Students website: ucl.ac.uk/students/fees .
Additional costs
The costs associated with events, conferences and seminars arranged by the department are free to students.
There may be some costs to PhD students associated with optional external conferences, where you might attend to present a paper or for networking. These can range greatly depending on location and length of conference, from approximately £200 up to £2000. However, students can apply to a departmental fund, which will cover a proportion of the costs.
UCL’s main teaching locations are in zones 1 (Bloomsbury) and zones 2/3 (UCL East). The cost of a monthly 18+ Oyster travel card for zones 1-2 is £114.50. This price was published by TfL in 2024. For more information on additional costs for prospective students and the cost of living in London, please view our estimated cost of essential expenditure at UCL's cost of living guide .
Funding your studies
See our website for details.
For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website .
CSC-UCL Joint Research Scholarship
Value: Fees, maintenance and travel (Duration of programme) Criteria Based on academic merit Eligibility: EU, Overseas
We only offer a full-time programme with a single intake in September. Entrance is therefore every September. Applicants must also consider whether the UCL Department of Security and Crime Science has the relevant expertise available to offer sufficient supervision in their chosen area of research.
If you meet the entry requirements, you will need to identify at least two UCL academics to supervise your research before applying. To support with this, please check our departmental website to identify the interests and areas of expertise of current academics.
Before applying, please write a personal statement with a research proposal, the main skills and knowledge you could contribute to this programme and your reasons for selecting this integrated taught doctoral programme. The research proposal should include a brief description of the research fields and research questions you are most interested in studying during your PhD.
Following consideration of applications at the department's Graduate Research Committee, students may be requested to attend an interview with prospective supervisors (either in person or remotely).
Please note that you may submit applications for a maximum of two graduate programmes (or one application for the Law LLM) in any application cycle.
Choose your programme
Please read the Application Guidance before proceeding with your application.
Year of entry: 2025-2026
Year of entry: 2024-2025, got questions get in touch.
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