In this crucial field of social science research, the Wales DTP pathway offers both critical mass and a strongly interdisciplinary research environment. The pathway straddles the Cardiff University School of Social Sciences (SOCSI) and the Department of Criminology at Swansea. SOCSI is one of the largest such schools in the UK and a recognised centre of research excellence. At Swansea, criminology sits within the College of Law and Criminology, adding complementary interdisciplinarity in legal studies, the Wales Observatory on Human Rights of Children and Young People, and the collaborative Centre for Criminal Justice and Criminology.

At Cardiff, there is established focus on transnational and corporate crime, and its regulation, on policing and on the governance of security. The School also hosts the Centre for Crime, Law and Justice, the Universities’ Police Science Institute, the University Institute for Crime and Security, the Centre for Open Source Communications, Analytics and Research and the Social Data Science Lab. SOCSI is also part of the ESRC/College of Policing University Consortium for Evidence-Based Crime Reduction. Criminologists at the Social Data Science Lab work closely with industry partners on crime and security research, including the Airbus Group, Cambrensis, EE, BT, and Admiral Insurance. At Swansea, the Centre for Criminal Justice and Criminology undertakes interdisciplinary empirical research on youth justice policy, community-based supervision, sex work, anti-social behaviour, white-collar crime and cybercrime. Swansea University also hosts the ESRC Administrative Data Research Centre (Wales), which facilitates access to linked, de-identified administrative data in a secure environment.

Students following a ‘1+3’ route will undertake a Masters that develops a breadth of methodological capacity as well as having specialist modules and a supervised dissertation that is more subject-specific. Students are based in either of the two locations whilst often working across them. Throughout, students come together for joint workshops, residential courses and annual conferences. Seminars include those we organise with the Wales Branch of the British Society of Criminology; conferences include the annual Welsh Criminology Conference (held at Gregynog since 2009) which now includes a residential postgraduate training day. In these and other events, students work and present alongside established researchers.