Criminology with Counselling

Criminology examines what behaviour is defined as criminal and who has the authority to define it. Often confused with forensic science, criminology focuses on the causes of crime and deviant behaviour, its impact on society, and how the criminal justice system responds, rather than on crime scene analysis, forensics, or criminal investigation.

As a research-led degree, criminology fosters analytical and critical thinking. It explores crime as a social construct and poses important questions such as: What are the individual and societal causes of crime and deviant behaviour? Who is more likely to commit a crime? Does offender rehabilitation work? Who is likely to become a victim of crime? Why are some dangerous behaviours criminalised while others are not? How does media attention impact crime and deviance? Additionally, criminologists investigate crime prevention, the purpose and effectiveness of punishment, and how the criminal justice system can improve its response to crime.

This course uniquely combines criminology with counselling studies, integrating two essential disciplines within the criminal justice system. Counselling plays a crucial role in supporting crime victims, addressing causes of offending, reducing re-offending, seeking restorative justice, and alleviating stress among practitioners. The counselling component of the programme will enhance your understanding of related issues and develop your competence in the person-centred counselling approach. You will gain a broad range of professional skills, including communication, reflective practice, self-awareness, research skills, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)—all vital for your future career.

• Year one: Contemporary Challenges in Crime and Society, Counselling and Psychotherapeutic Approaches, Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Social Justice in Action, Therapy, Ethics and Human Rights, and Understanding Criminology.

• Year two: Theoretical Criminology, Intermediate Counselling Skills - 1, Intermediate Counselling Skills - 2, Research Problems and Methods: Qualitatively Better, and Research Problems and Methods: Making it Count.

• Year three: Dissertation, Work: Practice and Reflection, and a range of optional modules including Critical Perspectives on Policing, Critical Victimology, Environmental Justice, Human Rights, Genocide and Resistance, Internet Risk and Security, and Violence in Society. Additional options are the University Wide Language Programme, Crime, Society and Racialisation, Probation and Rehabilitation, Migration and Socio-Legal Dynamics, and Critical Approaches to (Counter) Terrorism. For counselling, you may choose from Counselling and Mental Health, Bereavement and Loss, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Skills, and Expressive Therapies. Criminology options include Gender, Crime and Criminal Justice, Prisons and Punishment, The Criminal Justice Process - Criminology with Counselling, and Violence in Society.
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A variety of assessment methods will be used, including essays, exams, presentations (both group and individual), reports, and an optional dissertation; in addition to traditional assessments, you will also engage with innovative formats such as video blogs, podcasts, and presentations.