UDCRIMFY - BSc (Hons) Criminology (including foundation year)

The initial year of the four-year degree programme (including Foundation Year) is designed for students who wish to enter Higher Education and may have non-traditional qualifications, lower UCAS points or are mature students. It exemplifies the university strategies of inclusive learning, widening participation, the aims of the ESJF and of serving our community, as the majority of our students are local. It is a large programme and forms a significant percentage of recruitment for the school overall, as well as contributing to courses in GSBL. Students will explore a wide range of social science and current affairs themes, whilst also developing the academic and digital literacies that will be of benefit to them in the following three years of study. The curriculum is structured to be confidence building, varied and inclusive, and reflects the lived experiences of our cohort. They will begin to develop an identity related to their subject choice and career aspirations. In addition, they will work on becoming self-motivated, proactive students, taking responsibility for their own progress and learning. Teaching and learning is through interactive workshops, practising compassionate pedagogy, that enable students to form strong communities with each other and the teaching staff. Students will have access to varied materials on weblearn, and other learning resources and opportunities tailored to their subject. To support success, the programme runs an extensive ‘assessment care package’ that guides students at all stages through assessments. Each student will have a personal academic tutor and access to a success coach, as well as informal peer support.

The students will experience a course that is delivered through a range of pedagogic methods including formal lectures, seminars, workshops, project-based research activity, group work and individual tutorials held both during scheduled class time and during staff feedback 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 students will be taught using face-to-face, blended and online learning. All modules use Weblearn facilities making key information available and also providing a convenient place for module information, group discussions, calendars and class announcements. 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 lecturers and, in the course of this, encourages active learning. CIT and other media are used to encourage collaboration among the cohort of students on the course.

To accommodate research leave for academic staff and to ensure that modules are viable in terms of student numbers, the Criminology subject group may withdraw one or more optional modules for a year. To gauge the number of students on optional modules at levels 5 and 6 in the following academic year, module conferences will take place in the spring semester on core modules, to ensure that students are informed about their options, are able to select their modules at the next level of study and to enable the subject group to make adjustments for any modules which need to be temporarily withdrawn.

Level 3 Course Aims The initial year provides students with an opportunity to develop both their academic literacies and subject understanding in preparation for further study and/or their chosen career. It aims to enable students to engage critically with a variety of sources, enhance their digital skills, gain research skills and reflect on their own learning. In addition, it aims to build students’ confidence, develop an interest in and identity with their subject area and to feel part of the London Met community. The course includes core modules where students learn research methods which look at how to analyse and read data, as well as core substantive modules where students learn and engage with key criminological themes and subject areas. Students must complete a final year research project where as well as gaining research skills, they will gain detailed knowledge on a topic of their choice.

In level 4-6 the course aims to:

1. develop the intellectual skills necessary for the understanding, critical evaluation and application of a range of theoretical approaches the discipline

2. develop competence in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies

3. help students develop an ability to manage their own independent learning and research skills

4. offer the opportunity to develop a specialist area of interest culminating in the production of an in-depth piece of independent research at level 6.

By the end of level 3, students will be able to:  

1. Critically engage with a broad range of social sciences, subject area and current affairs topics
2. Engage in research in a topic of their choice  
3. Communicate effectively in a number of different modes, written, digital and oral
4. Engage with confidence with a variety of written and oral texts  
5. Demonstrate digital literacy skills
6. Reflect on learning and feedback to develop independent learning skills  
7. Demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and act as inclusive,
collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their discipline  

On successful completion of the rest of the course students will be able to:

UL0 demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and be able to act as inclusive,
collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in your discipline.

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

2. devise and sustain arguments, and/or 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 to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Criminology)

5. apply the methods and techniques that you have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply your knowledge and understanding 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

https://www.qaa.ac.uk/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements/criminology

The overall strategy at level 3 is for assessments to be motivating, inclusive, intrinsically interesting, confidence building and challenging.   

Students will explore social issues through various lenses: sociological, anti-racist, reflective, historical. They will engage in a variety of media and academic texts including researching a topic relating to their degree pathway.  They will be encouraged to submit drafts of their portfolio tasks and as a result, have the opportunity to reflect on their learning and identify their strengths and areas for development. Feedback reflects the content of the material studied as well as academic styles of writing.    

Assessments are designed with choice and inclusive pedagogy inbuilt. Students have a choice of both topic and mode of assessment, and they will prepare, plan, negotiate and share ideas, working both independently and as part of a team. Emphasis is on process at all times and this is in line with the University AI strategy. A scaffolded approach ensures each aspect of the required task is attempted in stages and students are provided with frequent feedforward, enabling them to build on their skills and increase their confidence.   Transparency of assessment criteria and marks is key. Templates and model answers help students structure and understand tasks.  Students are encouraged to take part in peer feedback as well as receiving clear and constructive feedback from tutors. Marks are moderated across all the bands and scrutinised by our external examiner.  

Assessments at level 4-6 are part of the learning process and confirm the outcomes of the learning process. The marking criteria for coursework and examinations are published with the assessment details for clarity and the moderating process is articulated. Each assessment offers constructive, timely feedback to further develop your written and oral communication skills and help develop and demonstrate good academic practice. The assessment process also provides an insight into learning problems and thus triggers individual intervention and remedial action. Furthermore, the assessment process helps by providing module leaders with feedback on curriculum design and delivery and – via the ongoing iterative process of module monitoring – make a significant contribution to the continued development and improvement of the course. A variety of assessment methods are used including coursework essay and reports, unseen and seen written examinations, individual and group assignments, laboratory and computer-based investigations, poster, podcast and oral presentations and a level 6 research project.

At level 6 there is an optional work experience module providing students with an opportunity to apply for a placement either in the criminal justice sector or in a private, statutory or voluntary organisation related to criminal justice and criminology. If students take this module, they produce a reflective report on your experience and an appraisal of their skills and abilities in the placement to enhance their personal development.

There may also be opportunities for students to study for part of their degree in another country.

Part-time Structure

Students take 60 credits per academic year - over six years.
All modules are 15 credit core modules, unless stated otherwise.

September Starters

Level 4

Autumn – Year 1

SC4054 Traditional Criminological Theories and Concepts
SC4057 Becoming a Criminologist

Spring – Year 1

SC4058 The Development of Criminological Thought
SC4061 Shades of Deviance

Autumn – Year 2

SC4055 The Criminal Justice Framework
SC4056 Key Concepts in Policing

Spring – Year 2

SC4059 Issues in the Criminal Justice System
SC4060 Researching Crime and Deviance

February Starters

Level 4

Spring – Year 1

SC4054 Traditional Criminological Theories and Concepts
SC4057 Becoming a Criminologist

Summer – Year 1

SC4058 The Development of Criminological Thought
SC4061 Shades of Deviance

Autumn – Year 2

SC4055 The Criminal Justice Framework
SC4056 Key Concepts in Policing

Spring – Year 2

SC4059 Issues in the Criminal Justice System
SC4060 Researching Crime and Deviance

Level 5

Autumn – Year 3

SC5064 Criminological Research in Context
SC5053 Crime in Context

Spring – Year 3

SC5066 Criminological Research in Practice
SC5062 Becoming a Criminal Justice Professional

Autumn – Year 4

SC5050 Crime, Media and Technology
Option from Autumn options

Spring – Year 4

SC5051 Youth, Crime and Violence
Option from the Spring options

Level 6

Autumn – Year 5

SC6054 Punishment and Prisons
Option from the Autumn options

Spring – Year 5

SC6058 Global Crime and Disorder
Option from the Spring options

Autumn – Year 6

SC6P00 Criminology Project (30 credits across both semesters)
SC6055 Organised Crime

Spring – Year 6

SC6P00 Criminology Project (30 credits across both semesters)
SC6053 Victims and Crime

At level 3, opportunities for self-reflection and PDP are core to the course, running through all teaching and learning strands including content, class activities, informal and formal tutor and peer feedback, assessment and independent study. Independent study will provide routes to develop and explore individual and degree-related interests. Key areas will include developing personal agency over academic, disciplinary/professionaland personal outcomes.
  
Academic  
Students will be encouraged to develop strategies for effective learning, including identifying their own
strengths and areas of development, action planning in response to formative feedback, taking responsibility for intrinsic motivation and encouraging personal reflection on academic priorities.  
  
Personal  
Students will reflect on their own values and interests, investigate their own identity as an individual, as part of society, and gain confidence in belonging of the academic community.
  
Disciplinary and professional  
Students will start to develop a sense of identity with their subject area, feeding into their academic and professional aspirations. They will receive input from the pathway discipline, including development of digital and employment related skills. There will be integrated opportunities for link up with relevant departments within university e.g. Careers, Subject Librarians, Student Union.
  
Reflective practice and self-reflection  
Students will be introduced to the processes and purposes of reflective learning, including how to write reflectively, applying relevant reflective models and approaches and understanding the purposes of reflective practice, both academically and professionally.

At level 4 students continue the process of personal development planning in core modules and start to build up a record of achievements. They are encouraged to participate in workshop discussions, reflecting specifically on what they have learned from modules and the ways in which this knowledge may be used in, or applied to, the wider social world. Level 5 and level 6 modules contain embedded activities and opportunities to reflect on the learning process and personal development planning. Modules focused on research methodologies provide a forum in which students reflect on their practice as a researcher, the 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.

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Successful completion of this course offers improved employability in the criminal justice and security services sector as well as many career opportunities in the private and public services and charity sectors. Students will be able to apply specialist subject knowledge and professional and life skills developed during three years of study. The course is also excellent preparation for research, further professional development and postgraduate study.

Graduates from our criminology related courses enter a range of careers, such as police officer, special constable, investigating analyst, support worker, senior detective constable, investigating analyst and probation officer. They now work for organisations as diverse as the Metropolitan Police, Ten Intelligence and Mears.

Continuing your studies with us

The School of Social Sciences has a wide range of exciting industry-linked postgraduate courses available on a full-time and part-time basis in criminology, security, diplomacy, international relations, sociology and psychology. The following courses would be ideal for progression after this course:

• Human Rights and International Conflict - MA
• Organised Crime and Global Security - MA
• Woman and Child Abuse - MA

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

• at least one A level (or a minimum of 32 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC Subsidiary/ National /BTEC Extended Diploma)
• English Language GCSE at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)

If you are a mature student with significant work experience, you are invited to apply for this course on the basis of the knowledge and skills you have developed through your work.