UDCRYHST - BSc Criminology and Youth Studies

The course is delivered through a range of pedagogic methods including formal lectures, seminars, workshops and 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 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 aid technology develop, and as resources permit. The course encourages contact between students and tutors and encourages active learning. CIT and other media are used to encourage collaboration between students.

1. offer a course relevant to a range of careers in the areas of criminal justice, youth work and related fields
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 youth
3. develop students’ familiarity with the institutional apparatus which regulates and seeks to control socially defined deviant populations
4. develop students’ competence in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies
5. explore and analyse the ways young people experience and engage with contemporary society in both national and international contexts
6. offer the opportunity to develop the above in relation to specialist areas of interest, including a self-directed piece of research at honours level.

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

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

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

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

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

SC4000
SC4003
SC4002
SC5001
SC5000
SC6000
SC6P00
SC6P04
SW4005
SC5002
SC5050
SC6051
SC6052
SS5006
SC5051
SM5052
SM6054
SS5050
SC4001
SS6005
SC6001
SC6W50

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 written and oral work, 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 undertake a work placement in their third year.

There may also 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 many 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 workshops 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, youth offending teams, 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 some students have gone on to complete our MSc Criminology or our MSc Crime, Violence and Prevention programme. 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 undergraduate course offers you improved career opportunities in youth work and similar areas of the Criminal Justice System, the National Probation Service, the police, the Youth Justice Board, housing welfare, education, charitable institutions and more. Examples of our the roles our graduates have secured include Substance Misuse Officer and Sessional Play Service Coordinator. Others have gone on to work at Central Care and Sutton Mencap.

The degree is also excellent preparation if you want to pursue further research or study in universities, governmental bodies and private institutions. Through postgraduate study at London Met you can gain even further links with police forces through and 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 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.