Forensic Science with Criminology with Foundation Year

Foundation Year

Our Foundation Year provides an excellent alternative route to Keele, providing a unique opportunity to better prepare for your chosen degree, and with guaranteed entry onto your undergraduate course once you successfully complete your Foundation Year. This extra year of study can improve your academic skills, expand your subject knowledge, give you a better understanding of higher education and, perhaps most importantly of all, build your confidence. On the Keele Foundation Year, you'll study on campus, joining our undergraduate community from the outset, with access to all the facilities and support that you'd get as an undergraduate student at Keele.

International Students

For International Students, Foundation Years are delivered through our dedicated on-campus provider, Keele University International College. To find out more, visit https://kuic.keele.ac.uk/

Forensic Science and Criminology

From gathering evidential traces at a crime scene and analysing DNA to exploring policing and why people commit offences. Develop the analytical skills and train in the methods and techniques to enter a wide variety of rewarding careers with Forensic Science with Criminology at Keele.

Why choose this course?

• Top 3 in the UK for Forensic Science (Guardian University Guide, 2026)

• Keele pioneered the teaching of undergraduate Criminology in the UK

• No.1 in the West Midlands for Forensic Science (Times University Guide, 2026)

• Top 10 in England for Forensic Science (NSS 2025, broad-based universities)*

• Develop your practical and professional skills in our indoor and outdoor crime scene facilities

Forensic Science and Criminology at Keele will equip you with an in depth understanding of the motivations of those who commit crime and how science can be applied to solve and understand criminal activities. You will also explore the impact of crime on a range of parties including the victim, the offender and the professional bodies responsible for investigating criminal activity.

You will study the entire forensic process in detail, from evidence collection, analysis and interpretation to court reporting. Throughout your studies you will develop a comprehensive understanding of continuity of evidence and how the crime scene, laboratory and court contribute to the forensic and legal process.

Your studies will be underpinned by a strong focus on the criminal justice system. You will study topics such as the causes of crime and the nature and development of different social responses to crime which includes the policing and operations of the criminal justice and penal systems.

*We have compared the positivity ratings of all participating UK institutions using the NSS 2025 sector data to determine Keele's position relative to other broad-based universities (i.e. excluding specialist institutions and further education colleges).

About Keele

Keele University was established in 1949 by the former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. Founded to meet the needs of a changing world, Keele has always had a pioneering vision to be a different kind of university.

We excel in both teaching and research, with some of the most satisfied students in England, and research that is changing lives for the better at a regional, national and global level.

Our beautiful 600-acre campus is one of the biggest in Britain – but all the most important services and facilities are on your doorstep, with accommodation, teaching spaces, facilities including a medical centre, sports centre and pharmacy, and a range of shops, eateries and entertainment venues – including the Students’ Union – clustered around the centre.

Course Modules

For a list of indicative modules please visit the course page on the Keele University website.