Units of study
What undergraduate units would you study?
Find out about our core and elective units.
| CORE UNITS | |
 |
CRIM100 Understanding Crime This introductory unit will challenge your current understanding of crime and criminality. It examines the social construction of crime and deviancy; crime patterns associated with gender, youth and ethnicity; and contemporary crime concerns, such as the threat of terrorism and the rise of cyber, internet and white collar crime. |
 |
CRIM101 The Australian Criminal Justice System In this unit you will gain knowledge and understanding of the major institutions and policies of the Australian Criminal Justice System and consider contemporary debates about criminal justice. |
 |
CRIM344 Criminology and Justice Systems Ideally, criminology aims to be an objective and value-neutral social science. It offers explanations for what is observed rather than what some might believe is immoral. These are perspectives, not the truth. In this unit you will need to check your prejudices from the start; some will be challenged, some may find support. Be prepared to confront the explanations, analyse them with the tools available, and then decide how you can use them in your life and work. |
 |
SOCY104 Deviance Deviance is a core concern of social science and fundamental to studies in sociology and criminology. What is deviance, why does it occur, how do social actors react to it, and how does it affect social groups? This unit explores these issues by examining a range of topics including gang formation and behaviour, drug and alcohol consumption, sexual and gender deviations, abortion, mental illness, disability, body imagery, and even actions like rudeness and lateness. |
 |
FSC102 Fundamentals of Forensic Science This unit examines the role of the forensic scientist and discusses the principles of crime scene investigations. The latest investigative methods and techniques for bloodstain pattern analysis, computer crime, firearms, drugs, toxicology and DNA fingerprinting are discussed. Case studies are presented to illustrate why and how examinations are performed to generate forensic evidence. |
| ELECTIVE UNITS | |
 |
CRIM304 Forensic Science and Criminal Justice This unit examines the use of forensic identification techniques within criminal proceedings. The benefits and limitations of forensic science are discussed. Sociological concepts such as class, race and gender are explored in relation to the introduction and use of forensic identification techniques. |
 |
CRIM314 Policing and Social Control (not offered in 2013) If you are interested in joining the police force, this unit is for you. The unit considers key issues in policing, such as the history, context and structure of policing in Australia, police models, roles, skills and operations, and the ethical issues and problems confronting police officers in their duties. The unit features an online discussion with students in the US and the UK and police officers as guest lecturers. |
 |
CRIM324 Prisons and Punishment Want to know more about how we punish offenders in society? This unit examines sentencing, imprisonment and rehabilitation. Topics consider the social impact of the prison experience on individuals, exploring areas such as gender, ethnicity, generational groupings and social class. |
 |
CRIM334 Crime Prevention This unit examines the theory, policy, practice and politics of crime prevention. You will develop skills that will enable you to evaluate the effectiveness of different crime prevention policies and practices and acquire practical knowledge related to the design, planning and implementation of crime prevention strategies and policy in a range of community and organisational contexts. These skills will be invaluable in any future career but also for developing practices for protecting your community and your own personal and property safety. |
 |
CRIM390 Crime in Rural Communities While crime is common to both rural and urban settings, the way crime occurs and the way it is responded to in rural areas is very different. Topics include livestock theft and other crimes on farms, rural policing and crime prevention, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and rural life for young people and Aboriginal communities. |
 |
CRIM394 Transnational and Comparative Criminology Organized crime and its control is a growing worldwide concern. This unit will examine crimes that cross national borders, crimes committed by nation states, and compare diverse cultural definitions of criminal conduct and criminal justice systems across countries. |
 |
SOCY317 The Sociology of Everyday Life How people engage in and organise the activities of everyday life - activities such as washing dishes and solving jigsaw puzzles, playing soccer and driving-in-traffic, working as a secretary and conducting laboratory experiments - are fundamental issues in sociology and abiding concerns of ethnomethodological research. |
 |
SOCY354 The Sociology of Youth and Delinquency This unit examines the social history of childhood and the emergence of categories of delinquency and dependency. It also discusses the roles of various government and non-government organisations that deal with the needs of youth. Relevant policy issues are also considered. |