Criminology BA (Hons) with foundation year

Course overview

Why you should study this course

Foundation year

• Supports you to gain the academic skills required for degree-level study.
• Provides a grounding in key areas of criminal law and legal practice.

Degree

• Gain a global perspective of crime and compare different methods and ideologies.
• Develop the practical skills required for graduate employment in criminal justice roles.
• Study a range of different aspects of the criminal justice system, how crime can be studied and its impacts.
• Expert speakers² from agencies involved in criminal justice complement and contextualise your understanding (subject to availability)
• Collaborate with students in different disciplines to add breadth to your learning.
• Our authentic prison cells will enhance critical understanding of punishment and control.

Careers and opportunities

With a view to shaping your prospects as a graduate, teaching, learning, and assessments take a problem-based approach which means you get to deal with real-world issues and scenarios combining theory and practice delivered by our current teaching team who have a diverse range of experience including mental health, sexual offending, imprisonment, and probation to name a few. External speakers and visiting lecturer/practitioners also bring expertise to the classroom and help guide your choices towards a specific career path (subject to availability)².

Assessments are coursework based and varied to test independent and team-working, communication, analytical and critical thinking, and other transferable skills designed to enhance your employment prospects within or outside the criminological sphere. With an emphasis on inter-cultural awareness, the course also offers opportunity for overseas experience through field trips and study abroad with the aim of making you a strong contender for a graduate level career in the global jobs market².

Criminology not only provides you with the knowledge and skills for working within the criminological sphere – in areas such as the police in uniformed and civilian roles, courts, prison staff and outreach, probation, victim support, security, and community safety – but also develops transferable skills that equip you for a wide range of graduate level careers. For example, some roles previous students have undertaken have included teaching, retail management, and fraud investigation for the financial industry. Many students opt for postgraduate level study.