Psychology (Criminal Psychology)

This engaging British Psychology Society (BPS) accredited Psychology (Criminal Psychology) degree explores our psychological understanding and response to offending behaviour, encompassing the police, the courts, the prison system and offenders.

The course covers all the core areas of Psychology stipulated by the BPS curriculum. This includes the workings of the brain; the processes and mechanisms of human thinking, feeling and behaviour; and how psychologists, psychological research and therapy can make a tangible and positive difference to people’s lives and society. You'll also consider how all of these impact and relate to forensic psychology.

This course also offers the opportunity to spend one year completing a work placement.

You'll be taught by our team of over 150 expert psychologists in one of the largest Psychology departments in the UK, and will be able to take advantage of our innovative Psychology laboratories, exclusively for use by you to carry out your research and data analysis.

Our teaching is delivered by scholars who are recognised as world-leading as evidenced by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF).

Our Psychology courses are accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS) so as long as you graduate with at least a 2.2 honours degree you will be eligible to receive the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the BPS – a necessary qualification if you wish to pursue further training and a career as a professional psychologist.

Why study Psychology at NTU

• All of our courses offer work-like experience and we'll support you to find a placement. Through our sandwich years or in-module placement opportunities, you'll get the opportunity to apply your knowledge in the real world.

• Tailor your learning experience through optional modules and pathways. We offer a wide range of optional modules which are taught by experts in their field. In your final year you'll be able to choose modules related to this specialism as well as a completely free choice from the modules outlined below.

• Get involved in our amazing UK and overseas opportunities such as field trips and international summer schools. You could even study abroad for a year at a partner university, or take part in NTU SHIELD, our mental health and wellbeing service for adolescents experiencing difficulties or challenges.

• Your future employability and careers prospects are endless. In addition to working directly in Psychology, you will also develop transferable skills in communication, management, analysis and insight that are highly sought in many areas.

The course is a specialised variant of our BSc (Hons) Psychology degree, with tailored modules towards a forensic and criminal psychology emphasis in Years One and Two and a focus on our psychological understanding and response to offending behaviour, encompassing the police, the courts, the prison system and offenders in your final year.

In the first two years of this degree, you'll study a variety of content that will train you in the core areas of psychology, including biological, social, developmental, and cognitive psychology, as well as conceptual and historical issues. You'll also receive extensive training in research methods and statistics.

You'll also complete bespoke modules that explore the academic and professional context of psychology with a particular focus on this specialism. Further specialisation takes place in the final year where most modules will be related to the specialism. You'll also complete a research project in psychology, focused on a topic of your choosing under the supervision of a research-active member of staff.

In your First Year, you will study key topic areas including: Understanding the Self: Psychology 101; Psychology in Action; Exploring Psychological Impact and Change; Research Design and Practice One; Analysing Data: Methods and Tools One; and Developing Academic Skills in Psychology.

In Year Two the core modules include: Brain, Behaviour and Cognition: Understanding the Mind; Social Evolution and Individual Development; Analysing Data: Methods and Tools Two; Research Design and Practice Two; Analytical Thinking in Psychology; and Psychology in the Criminal Justice System.

In your Third Year, you'll complete a year-long sandwich placement where you'll get the opportunity to apply your knowledge in the real world.

In your final year you'll complete an empirical research project, focused on a topic of your choosing, under the supervision of one of our highly trained staff who has expertise in their field. You'll also undertake the Psychological Applications to Work Settings, and Psychology of Criminal Behaviour core modules, and have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of optional modules that will help you develop specialist knowledge.

You also have the option of choosing to complete a four-year course that includes a year-long work placement in between Year Two and Year Three. You must apply with the UCAS code C805 to be considered for the four-year sandwich or placement course.

Throughout this course, you'll be assessed using a variety of methods including coursework, written exams, presentations, and multiple choice phase tests.

Professionally accredited courses provide industry-wide recognition of the quality of your qualification.

• British Psychological Society