A degree in criminology can open many doors. We spoke to Murdoch alumnus, Chelsea Weir, about her experience studying Bachelor of Criminology and how she landed her dream job after graduating.
Chelsea started her journey as a criminology student in 2016. With the guidance of her lecturers and tutors, and hands-on experience she received throughout her studies, she managed to land the job of her dreams in sentence management.
Chelsea’s study journey at Murdoch
Chelsea made the move to Perth from the UK with her family at a young age. With an interest in crime and why criminal behaviour, she decided to study a criminology degree at Murdoch.
One of the benefits that Chelsea had studying criminology at Murdoch was being able to tailor her degree to specialise in her main interest: corrections.
“During my time at Murdoch, I got to choose units that focused on corrections, which was great, but I also loved learning the broad range of skills relevant to the justice system. It really helped me apply what I learnt to the workplace.
“These units looked at why people commit crimes and what led them to be in these situations. Understanding this helped me develop as a person and prepared me for what prisons are like and what corrections is.”
Eye-opening experiences and learning from the best
One of the highlights for Chelsea whilst studying an undergraduate degree at Murdoch was the field trip to Casuarina Prison in her last year.
“We got to go to Casuarina Prison, which was an eye-opening experience. It really made me understand how prisons ran as the atmosphere was so real,” she says.
She also enjoyed learning industry relevant topics from her lecturers, in particular Associate Professor Guy Hall, who has over 20 years of experience working in prisons.
“I had Guy for a lot of my classes, and he was great! He really made the classroom interesting and I learnt so much from him. He definitely helped with my learning and what I know now working in the criminology field.”
Fast forward to after graduation, Chelsea is working in corrections and sentence management. Her work focuses on understanding the needs of prisoners, what they can do to get parole, making sure they get parole and managing where they should be placed.
“When I was doing my criminology course, I was told I wouldn’t get a job. But I did get a job, I got an amazing job and I got the job of my dreams.”
Where could a criminology degree take you?
Studying a degree in criminology at Murdoch allows you to choose and specialise in different areas depending on your interests and career goals. You'll learn about what can influence crime and criminal behaviour, as well as growing crime rates using real local and international data.
Associate Professor Guy Hall is one of the many experienced academics who teach criminology at Murdoch with years of knowledge in the area of policing.
“You can take your degree across a range of areas as there is an extraordinary breadth of research and experience across criminology at Murdoch,” he says.
“We have academics who have worked in policing, cold cases, prison management, international agencies including the FBI, psychological behaviour and cybercrime.”
Depending on where your interests lie, the criminology course at Murdoch covers everything to satisfy your crime-fighting curiosity.
You can focus on embezzlement, money laundering and fraud in White Collar and Corporate Crime or learn how to apply scientific problem-solving skills to investigate criminal cases and explore patterns of crime in Crime Science.
You can also learn about human trafficking, crimes against humanity, and social and welfare law in Legal Studies or learn about the causes, interventions and prevention of criminal behaviour in Criminal Behaviour.