UDCRIMGY - BSc Criminology

The course is delivered through a range of pedagogic methods including formal lectures, seminars, workshops, project-based research activity and individual tutorials.

The course integrates face-to-face with online learning. All modules use Weblearn facilities making key information available and also providing a convenient place for handbook information, calendars and class announcements. Some modules focus specifically on the development of IT skills. The course will also progressively examine ways of further developing the link between face-to-face and online learning as ideas and technology develop, and as resources permit. The course encourages contact between students and tutors and, in the course of this, encourages active learning. IT and other media are used to encourage collaboration among students.

The course aims to:
1. Offer a course relevant to a range of careers in the area of criminal justice and related fields
2. Develop the intellectual skills necessary for the understanding, critical evaluation and application of a range of theoretical approaches to the study of crime, deviance, policing and conceptions of rights and justice
3. Develop students’ competence in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
4. Develop students’ grasp of the institutional apparatus which regulates and seeks to control socially defined deviant populations
5. Develop students’ awareness of the global as well as the local dimensions of crime
6. Offer the opportunity to develop the above in relation to specialist areas of interest culminating in the production of an in-depth piece of independent research at honours level.

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systematic understanding of the key aspects of the knowledge base of Criminology, including a coherent and detailed knowledge of some specialist areas in depth.

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

1. deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within Criminology;

2. devise and sustain arguments, and/or to solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of Criminology;

3. describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in Criminology, recognising the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge;

4. manage their own learning, and to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Criminology);

5. apply the methods and techniques that they have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply their knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects;

6. critically evaluate arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data (that may be incomplete), to make judgements, and to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions - to a problem;

7. communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences;

SC4000
SC4003
SC5000
SC6004
SC6P00
SC4001
SC4002
SC5001
SC5002
SC5050
SC6000
SC5051
SC6051
SC6052
SC6050
SC6W50
SS6054

Learning outcomes cover LO1-LO9

Criminology
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/SBS-criminology-14.pdf

Students are assessed through a combination of essays, module-specific research projects, seen and unseen examinations and an individual largely self-directed project which includes an assessed oral presentation. At level 4 assessments seek to encourage students to specify and describe theories and institutions. At level 5 assessments require students to extend and critically to evaluate the knowledge they have encountered. Students at this level are also required to produce research reports including data analysis and interpretation. At level 6 assessments test students’ critical knowledge of applied areas of Criminology and their ability to think and research independently.

Students will undertake a work placement at level 6.

There may be opportunities for students to study for part of their degree in another European country. ERASMUS is part of the European Union SOCRATES programme for cooperation in the field of education. Under ERASMUS the university has student exchange agreements with 16 different European countries.

In the first year students begin processes of personal development planning in core modules and start to build up a record of achievements. They are encouraged to reflect in workshop contexts and individually on specifically what they have learned from modules and the ways in which this knowledge may be used in, or applied to, the wider social world. Specific modules focussed on social research methodologies provide a forum in which students reflect upon their practice as social researchers, its ethical dimensions and the ways in which this practice may be applied to solving problems in the context of volunteering activity and/or employment. Self-directed project research at level 6 provides an opportunity for students to consolidate this reflection, bringing together particular substantive areas of interest with methodological issues and considering how this might provide a basis for their further self-development and contribution to the wider social world in the future.

Past students have gone on to take up careers in the police service, the probation service and other areas of the criminal justice system as well as in victim, prisoner and witness support agencies. The programme is also excellent preparation for further study and a number of students have gone on to complete our MSc Criminology course. The analytic and methodological skills gained on successful completion of the course provide a strong grounding for development within many different careers.

Successful completion of this degree offers improved career opportunities within the Criminal Justice System, in particular, the police service, probation service and areas of victim support. Our graduates have become police officers, criminal lawyers and teachers.

The programme is also excellent preparation for further research or study.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum of grades of BBC in A levels (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification eg Advanced Diploma)
• GCSE English at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)

Applications are welcome from mature students who have passed appropriate Access or other preparatory courses or have appropriate work experience.

If you don’t have traditional qualifications or can’t meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing the Criminology, Policing and Law Extended Degree (including Foundation Year) BSc (Hons).

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.