About us
The Department of Criminology at Stockholm University is an environment where cutting-edge research and education go hand in hand, addressing some of the most pressing issues facing society today. It brings together researchers and students who seek to deepen the understanding of crime, punishment, safety, and social justice — and to contribute to meaningful change.
The Department’s focus is closely connected to current policy issues and public debate. Preparing consultation responses is a recurring part of our work, and both students and researchers engage with real-world challenges such as criminal policy, crime prevention strategies, and rule-of-law issues in an interdisciplinary context. The Department is at the forefront of combining in-depth theoretical perspectives with empirical research and fostering critical discussions about the role of research in societal development. Through seminar series, research projects, and collaborations with public authorities and other stakeholders, the Department of Criminology actively contributes to public debate on crime and safety.
The Department brings together professors, researchers, senior lecturers, postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, doctoral candidates, and students within its core field. We offer a dynamic research environment and provide education at undergraduate, Master’s, and doctoral levels. Teaching is closely linked to ongoing research, ensuring that our teaching is informed by the latest developments in the field. Since the early 1990s, research at the Department has covered a wide range of topics, including economic and organized crime, victimology, life-course studies and social exclusion, trends in youth offending, state crime, and criminal policy. Read more about our ongoing research projects.
The Department of Criminology is part of the Faculty of Social Sciences and a central actor in Swedish academic criminology. Our programmes provide students with in-depth knowledge of the structure of crime, social problems, and criminal policy, as well as the analytical tools needed to examine societal phenomena from a criminological perspective. Our programmes and courses include both theoretical and methodological components that are essential for future experts in research, public administration, crime prevention, and policy development.
The Department in numbers
The Department of Criminology remains a relatively small department but has grown steadily since its founding. Today, the Department has just over 50 employees, including doctoral candidates. More than 900 students are currently enrolled in undergraduate education.
Our history
Stockholm University. Photo: Helene Komlos-Grill
The Department of Criminology has a unique history: Stockholm University established Sweden’s first undergraduate programme in criminology. The year was 1970, and for a long time our Department was the only academic unit in the country specifically dedicated to the discipline.
The first professorship in general criminology was established at the University in 1964, at that time within the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Social Sciences. Since 1987, the Department of Criminology has been an independent department with a strong tradition of both education and research.
Contact
You can find contact details for our staff on the Contact page.
Department of Criminology visiting address
Universitetsvägen 10 C
Floor 6, South Houses
Postal address
Stockholm University
The Department of Criminology
106 91 Stockholm
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Invoice address
Information to you as a supplier
Phone Stockholm University
+46 (0)8 16 20 00
Corporate identity number
202100-3062 (Stockholms universitet)
Last updated: 2026-03-01
Source: Department of Criminology