UDCRISOC - BSc Criminology and Sociology

The course is delivered through a range of pedagogic methods including formal lectures, seminars, workshops, project-based research activity and individual tutorials held in staff office hours. There is an emphasis upon the link between teaching and research so that staff research provides the basis for teaching on a range of modules.

The course integrates face-to-face with online learning. All modules use Weblearn/Blackboard facilities making key information available and also providing a convenient place for handbook information, calendars and class announcements. Some modules, for example Researching Crime and Deviance, focus specifically on the development of CIT 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. CIT 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, related fields and/or in social research
2. develop the intellectual skills necessary for the understanding and critical evaluation of a range of theoretical approaches to the study of crime, deviance and other social problems and phenomena
3. develop students’ familiarity with the institutional apparatus which regulated and seeks to control socially defined deviant populations
4. develop students’ analytical skills through consideration of the relationship between self and society and between theory and practice
5. develop students’ competence in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
6. offer the opportunity to develop the above in relation to specialist areas of interest including the opportunity to undertake an individual piece of research at honours level.

The following learning outcomes incorporate and depend on systematic understanding of the key aspects of the knowledge base of Criminology and Sociology 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 and Sociology;

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

3. describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in Criminology and Sociology, 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 and Sociology);

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;

8. exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts;

9. undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature

Criminology, Sociology
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/SBS-criminology-14.pdf
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/SBS-Sociology-16.pdf

Students are assessed through a combination of essays, module-specific research projects, seen and unseen examinations and an individual largely self-directed project at level 6. At level 4 assessments seek to encourage students to specify and describe theories and methodologies. 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 Sociology and their ability to think and research independently.

There is a final year work experience module to ensure all students gain relevant work experience and are prepared for employment.

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.

Please check Course Handbook

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 of these areas have gone on to take up careers in the police and other areas of the criminal justice system and victim, prisoner and witness support agencies, as well as entering the teaching profession and areas of local government. The programme is also excellent preparation for further research or study. The analytical and methodological skills gained on successful completion of the course provide a strong grounding for development within many different careers.

Successful completion of this course offers you improved career opportunities in the criminal justice system, the National Probation Service, the police and the fields of social work and research. Our graduates have secured roles as probation officers, senior detective constables and assistant researcher criminologists, working for organisations like the the Finnish Police, the London Community Rehabilitation Company and the University of Edinburgh.

The programme is also excellent preparation if you want to pursue further study or research, at university or with a specialist body. Through postgraduate study at London Met you can gain further links with police forces, benefiting from the strong culture of research in units like our John Grieve Centre for Policing and Community Safety.

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

• a minimum of grades BBC in three A levels (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National or 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.

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.