Criminology with Foundation Year

With this foundation year course, you'll gain all the credentials you need to begin your career in criminology. It's ideal for you if you don't yet meet the entry requirements of our undergraduate degree, if you're returning to study after a break away, or you need a bit of extra support to get uni-ready.

You'll spend a year studying with us on campus, through ICP. You'll get the knowledge and academic skills needed to take on a bachelor's degree, learning how to analyse information, do research, and improve your academic writing.

The skills you'll learn will help you work in teams as well as on your own in culturally diverse workplaces. You'll develop your understanding of new workplaces and environments, and how to adapt to new environments.

After your foundation year, you'll be ready to move onto the first year of BSc (Hons) Criminology.

A guaranteed place
Once you’ve successfully completed your foundation year, you'll be ready to progress onto BSc (Hons) Criminology with a guaranteed place.

Course highlights

• ICP is based on the University of Portsmouth campus so you'll have access to all facilities, support and societies

• When you finish your foundation year successfully, you get a guaranteed place on BSc (Hons) Criminology

• Get used to how lectures, seminars and tutorials work, so you can move onto your degree ready for success

• Learn how to meet the demands of taking on a bachelor's at university

Careers and opportunities
When you complete this foundation year, you'll be all set to continue on to our BSc (Hons) Criminology. You’ll complete this course with a range of different professional routes open to you in the public, private and charitable sectors. There is demand for jobs in the criminal justice and penal sector. Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has developed a Probation Workforce Strategy to recruit skilled people to probation officer roles and invest in ongoing professional development.

You'll graduate with the skills and knowledge you need to work in the police, probation and prison services in areas such as:

• community safety

• crime prevention

• fraud investigation

• youth offending teams

You'll also have relevant skills or knowledge to progress into other areas such as:

• counter fraud roles in banking, the NHS or the DWP

• economic crime investigation

• policy analysis and formulation for councils or the Government

• community rehabilitation

• postgraduate study and research

Graduate destinations
Our graduates have worked for organisations including:

• Hampshire Constabulary, Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Metropolitan Police, Thames Valley Police, South Wales Police, Kent Police

• National Probation Service

• G4S

• Financial service companies

Roles our previous graduates have gone onto include:

• investigative data analyst

• police officer

• probation service officer

• youth offending support officer

• offender case administrator

• detective

• personnel security analyst

• private investigator

• witness service team leader

Towards the end of your degree and for up to five years after graduation, you’ll receive one-to-one support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy to help you find your perfect role

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 https://www.port.ac.uk/study/courses/undergraduate/bsc-hons-criminology?studyMode=4-years-with-foundation-year&startDate=september-2026#modules

You'll be assessed in a number of ways on your foundation year, including:

• assignments
• oral presentations
• exams
• lab reports
• portfolio
• court reports

Typically, you can expect to have two assessments per module.