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Professional Policing

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · 21/09/2026 · UndergraduateYork St John University

Course summary

Our Professional Policing Degree will equip you with the pre-join qualification to apply for a police officer role in England and Wales. The degree is licensed by the College of Policing and meets all the requirements of their National Curriculum. Police Officers in England and Wales are now required to hold a professional policing qualification.

Joining the police is a diverse and highly rewarding career. It will enable you to make a difference to the public through investigation, prosecution, crime reduction and making people feel safer.

A career in Policing will require you to use your problem solving and communication skills. Using your resilience and tenacity, you will sometimes be exposed to fast-paced situations and will need to remain calm under pressure. Acting within the law and procedural constraints, you will need to be sensitive to the needs of victims, witnesses and suspects.

Some of the topics, questions and themes you will explore include:

  • Evidence based best practice on how to undertake investigations and make sound decisions, utilising police powers.

  • Why and how crime occurs and the practicalities of applying criminal legislation to given situations.

  • Crime types and contemporary issues that both affect and impact on crime.

  • Victimology and offending behaviour, as well as police partnership working with other agencies including social services, the courts and the CPS.

Once qualified, you will have opportunities to rise through the ranks, enter specialist areas of policing or work in a position which suits you.

The staff you will work with on this course include both experienced professionals and academic specialists carrying out innovative research in the field. We will introduce you to the policing profession through the study of:

  • Law

  • Policy and procedure

  • Criminal justice

  • Crime and deviance

  • Global policing issues

One essential theme which runs through the course is a focus on evidence based policing. This is a concept which is central to modern policing and a skill which is highly valued in the service.

Throughout the course you will have opportunities to gain hands on experience by working with vulnerable people across a diverse range of groups. This could be through our partnerships with police forces in Yorkshire and Humberside, or with some of the organisations that work alongside the police service and focus on:

  • Restorative justice

  • Support for victims of sexual assault and domestic abuse

  • Victim’s charities

  • Agencies supporting vulnerable people in society

Modules

All modules are compulsory:

Year 1

Introduction to Policing (20 credits)
Criminological theories, models and prevention (20 credits)
Introduction to Study Skills (20 credits)
Criminal Justice (20 credits)
Policing Communities and Problem solving (20 credits)
Criminal Law and Diversity (20 credits)

Year 2

Response Policing (20 credits)
Vulnerability and Risk (20 credits)
Intelligence and Information (20 credits)
Policing the Roads (20 credits)
Designing Police Research (20 credits)
Investigation (20 credits)

Year 3

Policing Research Dissertation (40 credits)
Public Protection (20 credits)
Decision making and Discretion (20 credits)
Counter Terrorism (20 credits)
Digital Policing (20 credits)

Assessment method

https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/professional-policing/degree-in-professional-policing-ba-hons/

How to apply

Apply by
14 January

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
L4L9
Institution code:
Y75
Campus name:
York St John University
Campus Code:
A

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

For Second Year entry, applicants must have completed the first year of Higher Education in a similar subject with a total of 120 credits.
For Third Year entry, applicants must have completed the first and second year of Higher Education in a similar subject with a total of 240 credits.

Applicants will need to submit a transcript of their completed study, and offers will be subject to a mapping exercise of modules to ensure an appropriate alignment of course content.
Please be aware that transfer applications are subject to availablity of space on the selected academic year of your chosen course.
For more information on the transfer process, please see https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/transferring-to-york-st-john-university/.

If transferring to the final year of a course containing a placement or study abroad year, you must have also completed a placement or study abroad year prior to starting the course.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

UCAS Tariff - 104 points

GCSE/National 4/National 5

3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.

Find out more about qualification requirements for this course.

Contextual admissions

Universities and colleges consider more than grades when assessing applications and may make offers based on a range of criteria. Learn more about contextual offers.

For all UK applicants, we look at six factors:
• Where you live
• Your school or college
• Age
• Disability
• First in family to study in HE
• Time in care
These six factors create a point score, which is then taken into account, along with standard criteria. The points don’t influence whether an offer is made but can influence the type of offer made, resulting in reduced or unconditional offers.
Full information is on our website, including scheme adaptations for individual courses.

Learn more on the York St John University website

Historical entry grades data BETA

This section shows the range of grades students (with UK A-Levels or Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diplomas) who received offers were previously accepted with (learn more). It is designed to support your research but does not guarantee whether you will or won't get a place. Admissions teams consider various factors, including interviews, subject requirements, and entrance tests. Check all course entry requirements for eligibility.

Data from:
This course and 2 other law courses
Date range:
2022-2024

Offer rate for UK school & college leavers

98% Students aged 17/18 who applied to this course were offered a place.

How do you compare?

See how students with your grades have been accepted onto this course in the past.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

85 Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)

90 Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

LocationFeeYear
England£9790Year 1
Northern Ireland£9790Year 1
Scotland£9790Year 1
Wales£9790Year 1
Channel Islands£9790Year 1
Republic of Ireland£9790Year 1
EU£14000Year 1
International£14000Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website.

Additional fee information

Fees for our foundation years may vary, please see the relevant foundation year at https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/foundation-years/ for current foundation year fees.

For courses with an optional Placement Year, during the Placement Year your fees will be reduced to 20% of the annual fee value.

Course fees can rise from year to year, Please see our terms and conditions for further information:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/media/content-assets/admissions/documents/Student-Terms-and-Conditions-26-27.pdf

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