Criminology and Policing

Our Criminology and Policing degree gives you an in-depth knowledge of sociology, contemporary policing and criminal justice. By immersing yourself in these fascinating subjects you’ll develop a thorough understanding of criminology and get a genuine feel for the issues involved in police work.

Through a detailed study of crime and society, you’ll cover topics like policing in practice, cybercrime, and drugs and addiction. You'll discover how well the two topics complement each other from academic experts and speakers with real-world experience.

In the first two years you concentrate on foundations of criminology and sociology. In years three and four you study the specific areas related to criminal justice and policing, such as:

• Criminal investigation and policing in practice.

• Cybercrime and policing technology.

• Drugs, addiction and society.

• Gender, crime and victimology.

• The sociology of race and ethnicity.

We place a strong emphasis on developing your research skills, which are highly valued in the workplace. Whether it's collaboration, assessing evidence, writing reports, researching or completing project work, your criminology studies will make you extremely employable. You'll graduate with an an in-depth understanding of sociology, modern policing and criminal justice.

If you are keen to work for the police, you’ll have the opportunity to apply to be a special constable. This experience puts you in a great position to pursue a career in the police force or to work in the police service after graduation.

After the first two years of study, you can choose to specialise in other areas or carry on studying this pathway.

Our Criminology degree scored 85% for Teaching and Learning Resources in the 2021 National Student Survey.

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You’ll learn through a blend of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, online discussion forums, video screenings, guest speaker presentations, directed and private study, and student-focussed group work.

Other assessment methods include supervised examinations, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, project work, class and online tests, and reflective analyses. In your final year, you’ll design and produce a research project under the dedicated supervision of an academic staff member.

Around one third of the course is assessed through examination, although the exact proportion depends on your module choices.

Put simply, we aim to give you all the skills you need to move straight into a job or further study when you graduate.

To work as a teacher at a state school in England or Wales, you will need to achieve qualified teacher status (QTS). This is offered on this course for the following level:

• Course does not award QTS