Criminal Psychology and Victimology (Distance Learning) (Taught)

Overview
Explore what's behind the experiences of both offenders and victims of crime on this part-time Master's degree in Criminal Psychology and Victimology, studying at your own pace via distance learning.

You'll learn how taking a psychological approach, such as through offender profiling, can be the key to a criminal investigation. You'll look at different types of offending behaviour with a view to understanding those behind it and working with them to reduce rates of reoffending.

You'll also gain an insight into the challenges faced by victims of crime, and study the theoretical perspectives that inform our understanding of victimisation. You'll explore the wider historical and political contexts that influence victim-centred policy and legislation, gaining the skills you need to advocate for victims of crime anywhere within the criminal justice system.

As you develop your skills in data analysis, research, and critical and evaluative thinking, you'll also tailor your degree with your choice of topic from the psychology of investigations, missing persons investigations, and vulnerability, risk and resilience of victims of crime.

When you complete the course, you'll be ready to work on behalf of offenders or victims of crime and to achieve the best outcomes for them, within criminal justice agencies, related support services and collaborative partnerships.

• Delve into the psychology of offending behaviour from the perspectives of causation, intervention and rehabilitation, while also assessing current legislation and placing a particular emphasis on reducing reoffending

• Gain an in-depth understanding of the policies and legislation relating to victims of crime, including victimology theory, the processes of victimisation, the development of reforms, and the often controversial relationship between state, offender and victim

• Learn from expert academics from our School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, many with previous experience as police officers, crime scene officers, probation officers and intelligence analysts

• Be part of our community of researchers by getting involved with our criminology research groups, such as the Collaboration of Forensic Interviewing, the Probation, Prison and Penology research group, the Victimology and Ecological Justice research group and the Missing Persons research group

• Complete a major project based on your chosen area of research, with the support of qualified and enthusiastic experts in the field

Careers and opportunities
You'll graduate with insight into the difference criminal psychology can make solving and preventing crime, and the responsibilities involved in working with victims. Your knowledge will enable you to challenge existing criminal justice processes, policies and legislation, and to make improvements.

If you already work in the field of criminal justice, you'll be ready to pursue higher-level roles, or to break into a different area of the discipline. If you're preparing to start your career in criminal justice, you'll gain the knowledge and advanced research problem-solving skills you need to stand out to employers and contribute positively to justice system reform.

You could also go on to further study, or progress on to a graduate scheme such as PoliceNow or the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme.

Graduates of this course can go on to roles such as:

• police or law enforcement officer

• probation or prison officer

• data analyst

• intelligence analyst

• cybersecurity

Graduates of this course can go on to work for organisations such as:

• the Civil Service

• national and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

• Government agencies and departments internationally

• probation and prison service

• the Courts

• local administration / authorities

• private security companies

• charities

The University of Portsmouth is passionate about creating career-focused modules that do more than support your studies, they empower your academic journey and prepare you for what comes next.
 
We design modules that have:
 
• Clear themes and skills development as you progress through each year
• Assessments that feel meaningful, often based on real-world tasks rather than isolated exams
• Career-enhancing opportunities such as placements, live projects, enterprise and volunteering
 
For a full list of the modules you will study on this course, please visit the link to the course page.

https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/postgraduate-taught/msc-criminal-psychology-and-victimology-distance-learning#modules

You'll be assessed through:

• essays
• reports
• oral presentations
• projects and portfolios
• seminar participation and engagement
• dissertation

You'll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.