Professional Policing

This is a Connected Degree
Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview
Simulated facilities that replicate situations you’ll face in your job, insights from teaching staff who have law enforcement experience and opportunities to gain experience with local police forces.

Following the National Police Curriculum as set out by the College of Policing, this BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree prepares you for the emotional, physical and mental demands of a rewarding career in policing and related fields.

You'll gain legislative, policy and procedural knowledge and develop the critical thinking, communication, decision making and conflict management skills you need. You’ll graduate as a qualified police officer and have the foundation to explore a career in law enforcement and criminal justice, or continue your studies at postgraduate level.

Course highlights

• Explore crime scenes and situations using virtual reality environments, allowing you to test your skills in a simulated environment

• Build your professional network through our close ties with Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire constabularies

• Get experience of the interdisciplinary work practices you’ll encounter in your career as you study alongside criminology students

• Enhance your CV and apply your skills through volunteering opportunities with local police forces

• Have the opportunity to see other countries’ approaches to policing by spending your placement year at a policing-focused overseas university

Licensed by:
This course is a national pre-join degree programme licenced by the College of Policing.

Careers and opportunities
A career in policing is an exciting, rewarding way to serve your local community and make a positive impact on society.

Working as a police constable

This degree is an approved entry route into the police services in England and Wales, so you'll be eligible to apply for police constable roles when you graduate (you won’t need to do a graduate conversion programme). This allows you to work in neighbourhood and response policing.

With experience, you can rise in the ranks to roles such as:

• sergeant

• inspector

• superintendent

• chief constable

Working in other police force units

After a 2-year probationary period as a police constable, you can apply to work in specialist areas such as:

• criminal investigation department (CID)

• firearms

• traffic

• intelligence

• child protection

• fraud squad

• drug squad

This course also gives you the knowledge and skills for roles in security organisations such as the National Crime Agency.

Course Modules

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/undergraduate/bsc-hons-professional-policing#modules