Dr Chris Q Smith

Chris’ weekly office hours for semester 1 of the 2026/27 academic year are:

• Wednesdays: 1.30 – 3.00pm (in-person)
• Friday: 10-11.30am (online)

• PhD Sociology and Social Policy, University of Birmingham
• MSc with Distinction in Leadership and Service Improvement, University of Manchester
• MA with Distinction in Social Research, University of Warwick
• BA in History and Sociology, University of Warwick
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)

Chris is a sociologist and critical criminologist, with expertise in the sociology of morality and social harm. His research is primarily qualitative, particularly focusing on the ‘meso’ level of systems, organisations and professional groups. In his teaching, Chris is committed to creating participatory learning environments and supporting students to develop into independent, critical thinkers. He has extensive experience of lecturing and tutoring across a range of core sociology and criminology modules within the Department. Chris also leads on curriculum development and programme management as part of his role as Programme Director for all undergraduate programmes in the Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology (SPSC, 2024-present).

Prior to this current role, Chris has held Research Fellow posts with the Centre on Household Assets and Savings Management (CHASM) and Health Services Management Centre (HSMC) at the University of Birmingham. Before his PhD, Chris worked in a number of policy roles in the third sector and is also a graduate of the NHS Management Training Scheme.

Chris currently teaches on the following modules:

• Harmful Societies: Crime, Social Harm and Social Justice
• Discovering Social Problems: Social Science in Action

PhD title

Moral Economy and the NHS: The Normative Dimension of Service Reconfiguration

Chris worked as a Research Fellow on two research projects since completing his PhD, these being:

• Pension Decision-Making in the New Retirement Landscape: Understanding and improving outcomes for consumers.
• Commissioning, Co-commissioning and Being Commissioned: Researching how the NHS could work better with third sector organisations.