Welcome
The first time we will meet will be the week commencing 18th September when you will be invited to join a number of Welcome Activities and you will receive the key information you need to get started with your studies.
Getting a job may seem very far in the future, but your first year at university is a good time to start getting involved with activities and filling in your CV with activities and experiences. On completion of your Welcome Activities, you will be a fully-fledged member of the applied criminology and forensic investigation cohort and on Monday 25th September 2022, the real work begins, as you start all of your modules…how exciting! There is no doubt that choosing to embark on a degree course is a big commitment in time, energy and money. We are excited that you have taken this big step and we assure you that we are fully committed to helping you to reach your goal….so embrace your future. We will be with you all the way!
If you're keen to start hearing about things going on at the University you can follow the Student Union on twitter @christchurchsu. You can also see what your Course Director is up to over the summer by following her on @MaryseTennant on twitter.
You can stay up to date with what's happening in our Faculty with the Faculty Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/cccu_fsess/
Welcome and induction
Click here to view this course’s Welcome Schedule in UniTimetables.
- Please note: you will be informed of your group and room for the Meet your Personal Academic Tutor session during the Course Induction on Monday 18 September. If you are unable to attend this session or have any queries regarding this, please come to the Optional Drop In & Q&A anytime between 10am-3pm on Tuesday to find out your group.
- For help with using UniTimetables, please see our user guide.
And don’t forget to attend our other welcome events including your Freshers’ Fayre – see here for full details.
The Forensic Investigation aspects of the degree course aims to help you develop a solid foundation in core forensic themes including Crime Scene Investigation and Interpretation & Presentation of Forensic Evidence. You will have the opportunity to study a range of modules in crime scene investigation, to allow you to gain a thorough understanding of the theories and procedures that are associated with a range of crime types, accidents and disasters.
The Applied Criminology part of your degree aims to help you develop a solid foundation in core criminological theories, and provides many opportunities to apply these theories to current crime and social problems. We also offer you opportunities to study related subjects such as Law, Criminal Psychology and Policing.
The course has been designed using the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) benchmarks for criminology degree courses, ensuring that your course provides you opportunities to develop the knowledge and skills valued by criminal justice and related employers. Your compulsory modules each year are taking by all students on your course. These aim to give you a good grounding in the key knowledge and theory that helps you to specialise in your optional modules. The academic year is divided into 2 semesters, in each semester you will study 3 modules - Semester 1 (Sept-Jan) and Semester 2 (Feb-May).
At Level 4 you will study:
Semester 1
- Introducing Forensic Investigation
- Crime: Representations and Realities
- Introducing Crime, Offences and Justice
Semester 2
- Introducing Crime Scene Investigation
- Crime: Narratives and Explanations
- Introducing Psychology and Crime
The Applied Criminology and Forensic Investigation teams are comprised of industry and research experts, who are still professionally active in their chosen field undertaking work for various agencies alongside their lecturing duties. We also bring in external subject matter experts for certain sessions to ensure that the student experience is as current and extensive as possible. If you would like a copy of the provisional course timetable, or any further information, please email: criminology@canterbury.ac.uk.
We are here to help. Prior to commencing the course, it is a good idea to start familiarising yourself with the national and international crime agencies that will feature as part of your learning.
The following are the official websites that will assist you:
You are also advised to watch crime documentaries and read books about real life crime.
We recommend that you start regularly reading about crime issues in newspapers and online with a critical viewpoint. Look at a selection of newspapers, especially broadsheets, and see how the same event has been reported in different publications. Ask yourself how the news media affect our views and opinions about crime. Also think about the types of crime that are not mentioned much in the news.
There are lots of government and charity websites that have information about crime and criminal justice. Look at the Ministry of Justice and Home Office websites to learn about government policies in relation to crime. You can also find up-to-date crime statistics there and the latest figures on the prison population. Check out the websites of reputable charitable organisations, such as the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Prison Reform Trust, INQUEST, Victim Support and the Restorative Justice Council.
Your welcome and induction will be w/c 18th September 2023 - we look forward to meeting you then.
Given you have worked very hard to get into university, we recommend that you use the summer to prepare yourself for your transition to higher education and take some time to relax and rejuvenate. However, if you are keen to get started, we recommend any academic criminology or forensic introductory textbook that suits your learning style.
Our first year students particularly like:
- Burke, R. (2018) An Introduction to Criminological Theory. Abingdon: Routledge
- Coyle, T. and White, P. ed. (2016) Crime Scene To Court: The Essentials Of Forensic Science. Cambridge: RSC.
- Davies, M., Croall. & Tyrer, J. (2015) Criminal Justice. Harlow: Palgrave
- Hale, C., Hayward, K., Wahidin, A. & Wincup, E. (2013) Criminology. Oxford: OUP
- Jackson, A. and Jackson, J. (2016) Forensic Science. 4 th Ed. Harlow: Pearson.
- Newburn, T. (2017) Criminology. 3rd Ed. Abingdon: Routledge
- Saferstein, R. (2015) Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Science. Harlow: Pearson.
You could also delve into the subject by watching crime documentaries and researching high profile crimes on the Internet and explore how forensic investigation was used in these cases, as this is what you will be working on in the future. Crime Library is a good website but note that it is not reviewed by forensic personnel, so some details may be incorrect. When doing your research, use reliable websites for forensic information such as:
If you are keen to get started, we also recommend the following 'light' reads. Staff have picked a broad selection so you can choose the areas that interest you most:
- David Simon: The Corner and Homicide (books) and The Wire (TV Series on DVD)
- Hallie Rubenhold: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
- Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
- Phil Scraton: Hillsborough: The Truth
- Alexander Masters: Stuart: A Life Backwards
- Tim Pritchard: Street Boys
- Harriet Sergeant: Among the Hoods
- Steven King: The Green Mile
- James Ellroy: My Dark Places
- Anne Rule: The Stranger Beside Me
- Caitlin Davies: Bad Girls
