Criminal and Corporate Investigations and Intelligence (Taught)

In a world where businesses and organisations are at significant risk of external and internal threats, they are increasingly turning to their internal investigative and intelligence arms to identify, prevent and tackle those threats. Designed with industry in mind, our MA Criminal and Corporate Investigations and Intelligence aims to equip you with the skills and knowledge you need to be future leaders and policymakers in the context of investigative and intelligence-based practice. On this programme, you will join a community of experienced tutors, and a range of student-peers, who might be industry professionals, recent graduates or career movers. Your journey through this programme will culminate in a significant project, which may entail primary research, critical engagement with work-based experiences or a policy proposal.

With a passion for excellence, the Criminal Justice Team at the University of Northampton aims to inspire you to become trailblazers as leaders and policymakers in the investigations and intelligence arena. A blend of practical exercises, classroom-based learning and independent research activities will see you take your career to the next level. Our team of experts, consisting of former investigators, leaders and published academics, are ready to support you in developing the skills and knowledge you need to further your expertise.

The programme has been designed with input from our industry partners and is therefore designed with your future career in mind. In addition, the larger project module has been designed flexibly, to enable you to tailor this to your needs, whether this be in the context of your research, professional or practical development.

During the first trimester of your MA, you will be provided with advanced training pertaining to research and academic writing. You will also undertake modules pertaining to the underpinning of investigations and intelligence in the corporate context and the risks posed to corporations.

In the second trimester, you will look more closely at key factors impacting corporate resilience and safety, such as organised crime, financial crime and digital criminality. In the third and final trimester, you will undertake a supervised extended project, which might take the form of a traditional dissertation, a work-based learning portfolio or a policy reform exercise.