Criminology and Psychology Personal Statement Example (International student)

I find the subjects of criminology and psychology very fascinating. The human mind is something that intrigues me in general, so my interest in humans isn’t only limited to criminology, which is why I am studying psychology this year. And from that, I want to be able to build on my basic knowledge and figure out how I can help people who need it.

How the criminal justice system works, and how the view on what’s a ‘right’ punishment differentiates from country to country really intrigues me. I’m interested in seeing how the view on crime and criminals have changed over the years, like Jack the ripper and H.H Holmes; what has changed in how criminals think and proceed their actions, and what has always stayed the same.

Studying psychology isn’t something that I have always thought about. The subject has slowly peaked my interest over the last couple of years, especially since I started at a new school. The more I watched my classmates’ behavior, the more I started to wonder how people of the same age can act so differently. The subject fascinating and intriguing, and it’s something I can take with me and use in my daily life.

Psychology is so closely linked to criminology - everything from how a criminal think, and how the criminal law and punishments work, to the historical aspect of criminology. I think one of the reasons why I find this subject so fascinating is that I can’t really relate to it myself. I want to look inside the mind of a criminal to try to understand. Therefore, the subject of criminology, or more specifically the connection between a criminal and their psyche is something that I’m really interested in, and I wonder how someone ends up a criminal.

I want to do something different than most other Norwegians do. I have always wanted to live in England, and for me this is the perfect opportunity. I want to try something new. I find the school system of the universities in Great Britain intriguing, and I can really see myself liking it.

I was adopted, and I came to Norway at the age of 1 year and 3 months. I would like to think that if I weren’t so lucky with who I ended up with, I probably would have been a different person. How can the environment people grow up in decide how you end up when you’re grown up? I’ve been told that, when I was little, I didn’t know how to react to sensitive stuff, for example, if my dad said someone he knew had died. In Freud’s development theory, he mentions how childhood experiences can affect people’s behavior later in life. This went away as I grew up, but it made me wonder if the lack of a real parent figure to take proper care of me and love me, up until I got adopted, was the reason why I didn’t know how to react.

I read that childhood trauma could result in a person becoming a sociopath or is something that can trigger sociopathic tendencies to appear. I find the study of mental disorders and illnesses quite intriguing, and I’m really interested in why it occurs, what it indicates, the characteristics and why it’s like that. I’m curious how childhood trauma can change their life so much that people become a criminal, or a drug addict. I often thing about this ‘are people born evil, or does the environment make them evil’ question, nature versus nurture, and this is something I want to learn more about.

I am a hard-working person who gives my all when it comes to my studies and life in general. I never give up, even when I feel like all hope is lost. I work well alone and in groups and I adapt well into the environments I’m put in. Thanks to my hard work, I do well in school, and even when the pressure is big, I get through it.

I’m not really sure what I want to do when I´m finished with my studies in Britain. I know I want to do something that involves humans or animals. I want to be able to help and make a change. I know that this is the right choice for me, because I find it fascinating, and it will leave me with so many opportunities when I’m done.