UDCRIPSY - BSc Criminology and Psychology

The course 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 course integrates 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 tutors 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next level of study and to enable the subject group to make adjustments for any modules which need to be temporarily withdrawn.

The course features core modules from both criminology and psychology so that as graduates, students will have developed key skills and knowledge from both disciplines. The course includes core modules where students learn research methods, how to analyse and read data, as well as core substantive modules where students learn key issues from a range of topics. Students must complete a final year research project where, as well as gaining research skills, they are able to gain specialised knowledge on a particular topic of their choice. The course aims to:

1. develop the intellectual skills necessary for understanding, critically evaluating and applying a range of theoretical and practical approaches across both disciplines
2. develop competence in a range of 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 which crosses both disciplines culminating in the production of an in-depth piece of independent research at level 6.

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

ULO - demonstrate confidence, resilience, ambition and creativity and be able to act as inclusive,
collaborative and socially responsible practitioners/professionals in their joint discipline

LO1 - deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry within Criminology and Psychology

LO2 - devise and sustain arguments, and/or solve problems, using ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of Criminology and Psychology

LO3 - describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in Criminology and Psychology, recognising the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge

LO4 - manage learning to make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources (for example, research articles and/or original materials appropriate to Criminology and Psychology)

LO5 - apply the methods and techniques that students have learned to review, consolidate, extend and apply knowledge and understanding to initiate and carry out projects

LO6 - 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

LO7 - communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences

LO8 - exercise initiative and personal responsibility, including decision-making in complex and unpredictable contexts

LO9 - undertake appropriate further training of a professional or equivalent nature

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

A range of assessment methods are used, with the choice of assessment instrument chosen to test the specified learning outcomes. Overall, the strategy is to promote written, oral and research skills within the context of developing students’ understanding of criminology and psychology.

Level 4 formative assessments help support and prepare students for summative assessments and seek to encourage students to assimilate and describe theories, facts and figures and connect with academic literature. Students are also given tools and guidance to encourage independent research and to develop their time management and critical thinking skills. Level 5 assessments require students to critically evaluate the knowledge and theories they have encountered and practically demonstrate their ability to undertake independent research. Level 6 assessments test critical knowledge of applied areas of criminology and psychology and the ability to be an independent researcher.

Assessments 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 moderation process is articulated. Each assessment offers constructive, timely feedback to further develop students’ 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/MCQ’s, 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-based learning module providing students with an opportunity to either apply for work experience or use their existing work experience 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 their experience and an appraisal of their skills and abilities in their placement to enhance their personal development.

Part-time Structure

Level 4 Autumn Entry Year 1:

SC4054 Traditional Criminological Theories and Concepts (Autumn)
SC4058 The Development of Criminological Thought (Spring)
PC4061 Mechanisms of the Mind (Autumn)
PC4059 Psychology Across Time and Cultures (Spring)

Level 4 Autumn Entry Year 2:

SC4055 The Criminal Justice Framework (Autumn)
SC4059 Issues in the Criminal Justice System (Spring)
SC4057 Becoming a Criminologist (Autumn)
PC4063 Psychopathology (Spring)

Level 4 Spring Entry Year 1:

SC4054 Traditional Criminological Theories and Concepts (Summer)
SC4058 The Development of Criminological Thought (Spring)
SC4057 Becoming a Criminologist (Spring)
PC4061 Mechanisms of the Mind (Summer)

Level 4 Spring Entry Year 2:

SC4055 The Criminal Justice Framework (Summer)
SC4059 Issues in the Criminal Justice System (Spring)
PC4063 Psychopathology (Spring)

PC4059 Psychology Across Time and Cultures (Summer)

Level 5 Year 3:

SC5064 Criminological Research in Context (Autumn)
SC5062 Becoming a Criminal Justice Professional (Spring)
PC5060 Cognitive & Biological Explanations of Behaviour (Autumn)
One option from the Spring options

Level 5 Year 4:

SC5056 Working with Offenders (Autumn)
SC5066 Criminological Research in Practice (Spring)
PC5062 Social Explanations of Behaviour (Spring)
One option from the Autumn options

Level 6 Year 5:

SC6051 Serious and Serial Offenders (Autumn)
SC6064 Punishment and Prisons (Autumn)
PC6060 Cognition and Emotion (Spring)
One option from the Spring options

Level 6 Year 6:

SC6P00 Criminology Project
PC6051 Forensic Psychology (Spring)
One option from the Autumn options

At Level 4 students begin processes 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 in both disciplines contain embedded activities and opportunities for students to reflect on their 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.

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 gained from both disciplines and professional and critical life skills developed during three years of study. The course is also excellent preparation for research, further professional development and postgraduate study.

Our criminology and sociology graduates have gone on to careers including police officers, counter fraud criminal investigators, support workers, probation officers and teachers, securing jobs at the Metropolitan Police Service, HM Government, Rethink Mental Illness and the National Probation Service.

Continuing your studies with us

The School of Social Sciences and Professions 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
• Criminology and Psychopathology - MSc
• Get into law with our Graduate Diploma in Law - GDL

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 grade C/4 or above (or equivalent)

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 our Criminology (including foundation year) BSc (Hons) or degree.