Cardiff University, Master's in International Criminology and Criminal Justice
Reviewed on Dec 18, 2025(Enrolled 2023)What Students Say
Likes
- They have very clean and tidy environment.
- Libraries are super helpful for even all night study sessions.
- Professors areamazing and very kind
Dislikes
- Even though they have a lot of communities and support system the way you feel at home is different.
- Finding job in Cardiff is very difficult, I did not have a part time job in my academic year, I only got a job after I submitted my dissertation.
- People are very friendly and nice, but during tough times it's a battle on your own.
Course Curriculum
10
- It was more theoretical, yes, and being from a science background, I struggled to fit in the right room with a bunch of people who only studied sociology and psychology. For me, it was harder because I never had to deal with a different academic structure overall, where they prioritized essays more than exams. Lectures, or as my professors used to say, Leminars (lecture +seminar) were usually held three days a week or two days a week. In the UK, most courses are self-study-based, where you study on your own rather than wasting time on a lecture for hours. This was what I struggled to cope with as well, because people always used to tell me what to study and what to prepare in India, and it was very hard for me not to get that support, and I kind of felt like everything was on me. In my course, there were only 12 students, and only one of them was Indian, me.
Admission Experience
- I applied to Kent, Durham, Nottingham, and Cardiff. Got in all three, just chose Cardiff cause of the expense and tuition fee. Cardiff has a lower cost of living compared to the others. Kent did not give me confirmation because they needed another SOP, a short SOP, and I did not go for it. For Durham, the course was not suitable; I talked about this in the next section. And Nottingham, also, the course was not what I wanted. Mostly, I would say that I chose Cardiff because it was Russell group, and in India, that has value, but I'm not sure if it has any value in the UK.
- I chose Cardiff because of my modules; the modules were diverse in my course. For Durham, the course was a little too much traditional criminology, which wasn't my goal to begin with. I wanted to study the digital perspective of it, and Cardiff has that, which drew me towards it basically.
- To answer the second question, I only had to bring two LOR and one SOP from my end, and proof of my English language, where I submitted my IELTS score and Higher Secondary Education Report Card, and that was all I needed for my submission.
- In terms of IELTS, it depends on the course you choose, generally. For min,d it was 6.5 in writing and 6 in speaking, listening, and reading (the criteria may have changed), fortunately, mine was above the threshold.
- I was devastated throughout the process. There was so much going on. But now I am here and know the basics, I think all I needed was a little guidance, and it could've been so much easier.
- 2023-2024. It took only a couple of months. I applied in February after taking my IELTS in January, and the admission process was over in July. Mostly, I was delayed because of visa appointments and my bachelor's results. But other than that, the process was pretty simple. The student connect in Cardiff Uni helped me throughout the process; they were just one email away. So every time I got stuck, I would just email them.
Faculty
6
- The ratio is pretty good, I would say. I did not understand at the very beginning that I could go and talk to them whenever and however I wanted, but gradually, when I realized that it was easy to comprehend the fact that I did have moral support.
- Teaching methodologies were quite decent, actually, but I wouldn't say they're good. But once you go one-on-one, that seems to do the trick. I think in the UK, lectures or classrooms do not play a big role; it's only when you study on your own and schedule a coffee meeting with your professor to discuss the topic that's when it gets better, which took me a while to realise because I was not accustomed to that procedure. I admire my personal tutor. She helped me get through difficult times.
Campus Life
10
- Two campuses. There are libraries and, sports room. Nightclubs. Medical and therapy services. Well-being group meet-ups. Volunteering everything. I did not have much time to join any sports, so I wouldn't know. Sorry for this. As I said, my course was theoretical, I had a lot of studies did not have time for all this, but given the chance to study a bachelor's here, I would've done more.
Part Time Jobs
- I wouldn't know, I did not work as a TA or RA. The pay range is probably basic to 25 pounds per hour. Which is pretty good. 20 hours per week for international students. It is very difficult to get a job in Cardiff. I never did any part-time job, as I said earlier, because of my chronic illness and disability, and I hardly paid attention to any of this.
- Sorry, it is 12.21 pounds now, but it does change every financial year. To apply for a part-time job is like any other job. Mostly use indeed, Glassdoor, etc. Again, I did not find any work because I did not have many resources back then, but it is pretty easy to apply. Although you will always need referrals, that's a big thing there; no matter where you work, you'll need referrals.
Placement
4
- It's been over 6months, and I haven't found anything yet. Maybe the process is wrong, or maybe something else. Half of my batch did not finish the course, so they just deferred their dissertation for the next year. Also, they are 45 years old and mums of three or four kids, and they live in the UK as UK nationals, so they have nothing to worry about.
- As for the rest, I have not yet secured any job, and I think it is safe to say that the UK job market is very competitive. But yes, LinkedIn is always the best way to connect and build a network and get referrals from there.
Accommodation
Off Campus
8
- It was uni accommodation, so upon admission, I was able to choose from the list they had.
- Monthly rent was £625. Already told you about this in detail previously. I did not find any challenge because it was listed on my uni profile. The distance was very far tho. I did not realise it would be that far, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the uni course in the first place.
Exams
- You can choose to give IELTS or TOEFL, but it is not necessary. I would like to mention again that even though Cardiff Uni is one big uni, the criteria for English requirements are different for each course and each department. So make sure you check it out before going blindly towards it. SOP, 2 LORs, CV. No, I did not have any interviews. So it was a pretty decent experience for me.
Fees
- The tuition fee was almost £21,000. The living cost per month, I would say, was £200 for food, transport and stuff, but this kept fluctuating. And the rent for the accommodation I was living in was £8,490. The breakdown of fees was for admission, they took £2000, which is to book my place at the uni, so that no one else takes it. A weird detail here is that this rule doesn't apply to home students. Also, we pay three times the amount they pay for tuition.
- There's no semester rota here, only that you pay the tuition fee either in full before arriving or you pay it in three instalments. I chose an instalment. I'm not sure the breakdown at this moment because it was back in 2023. Sorry for this. And even if I mention the tuition fees are not the same as they were before, same as the accommodation cost, I believe. My rent was also paid in instalments for the year, but I suppose the monthly rent would be £625. And along with that, there were regular expenses as well, so the living costs would come around £1000 or more per month. It's so expensive.
Scholarship
- Yes, there was one scholarship, but they only waived £2000-£5000; for me, it was £2000. I think the name of the scholarship is Vice Chancellor's International Scholarship, and this depends on which course you choose. I received financial aid throughout the year cause I have a disability and I did not work part-time due to this issue.
- So whenever I asked for help, the university did help me. It was really mind-blowing how they were able to manage to give a few hundred pounds whenever I felt the need. As I said before, everyone receives this scholarship, but be sure to check out, some courses might not be eligible for the scholarship. But this is an automated process, so if there is a scholarship, the fund will be waived from your tuition fee automatically; no need to apply for it separately.
