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My course definitely helped me prepare for a full-time job. The content learnt within the course has massively helped me with my current role as a Prison Officer.
Nicole, BSc Applied Criminology
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Overview
Explore crime, criminal justice and its relationship with society, alongside the opportunity to critically analyse aspects of police investigations.
This degree prepares you for a range of exciting career paths focusing on criminal justice and the treatment of victims and offenders. You will explore the true nature, extent and causes of crime, along with the methods used to manage crime and criminal behaviour.
Our experienced teaching staff will take you through key criminological theories, applying them to your understanding of crime, the experiences of offenders and victims in the criminal justice system, and the ways in which society constructs crime problems and responds to criminal behaviour.
You will also adopt a critical approach to policing, exploring police effectiveness. You will explore what the research evidence tells us about the practice, and relate it to ongoing debates about effectiveness, objectivity, bias, decision making, ethics and evidence based policing.
The varied expertise of the teaching staff and our guest lecturers will allow you to explore these themes from a range of perspectives. You will also be supported by a range of criminal justice professionals and agencies, who teach on the course and provide volunteering and networking opportunities to help prepare you for your career.
Why study Applied Criminology (Policing)?
81% of our Applied Criminology students were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality of teaching on their programme (NSS 2021)
96% of our Applied Criminology students were in jobs or further study 15 months after completing (Graduate Outcomes survey 2021)
Criminology is a diverse and fascinating subject and an ideal choice if you are interested in contributing to crime prevention, harm reduction and victim support.
On this course, you'll be able to explore key areas of criminology in depth while also focusing on specific areas of policing, such as police practice, policy and procedure, community policing, and police cultures and society.
From crime and criminals to victims and criminal justice, you'll learn about, analyse and research these key areas from a range of perspectives.
Our Policing graduates share their experiences
Six questions for the Policing team
Entry requirements
A typical offer would be 88-112 UCAS Tariff points.
For more information on the IELTS (International English language Testing System) requirements for this course, please click here to visit our dedicated web page.
88-112
UCAS Points
All about the course
You'll gain a strong grounding in core criminological themes, concepts, debates and perspectives through a range of compulsory modules covering topics such as crime and social control, police practice, policy and procedure, community policing and international policing. You'll learn how to apply theories to a range of crime problems and understand how they relate to real life problems or scenarios.
You will also explore the essential concepts and practices within policing processes, and you will consider aspects of police function that relate to the National Intelligence Model.
You'll develop study and employability skills right through the course to ensure you reach your full academic and career potential and where possible, you'll have opportunities to participate in trips or visits to gain insight into the workings of the justice system.
Module information
Please note that the list of optional modules and their availability may be subject to change. We continually review and where appropriate, revise the range of modules on offer to reflect changes in the subject and ensure the best student experience. Modules will vary when studied in combination with another subject.
Core/optional modules
How you’ll learn
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, workshops and tutorials and you will typically have contact time of around 9 hours per week, supported by additional online materials.
Key knowledge is provided through lectures, guided reading and online materials, and this is supported by class activities and discussion, which help you to apply theory to real life scenarios and problems. Some teaching is also delivered through workshops which blend knowledge delivery with discussions or activities, as well as helping with key skills development. Teaching sessions are interactive, allowing you to engage with material on a deeper level. Tutorials are available to provide one to one support.
All courses are informed by the University’s Learning and Teaching Strategy 2015-2022.
When not attending lectures, seminars, workshops or other timetabled sessions you'll have access to a range of resources to help you continue learning through self-study. This typically involves reading journal articles and books, undertaking research in the library, working on projects, and preparing for coursework assignments/examinations, workshops and seminars.
Your lecturers will direct you towards specific readings and/or activities where appropriate to complete before/after class and provide tutorials where necessary to support your learning.
We also recommend that you set up student study groups and support each other with your studies as research shows that we learn much better in communities.
A range of additional study skills and employability workshops are available within the University to help you reach your full academic and career potential.
Each 20 credit module requires approximately 200 hours of learning, of which approximately 50 hours of this is taught class contact time with the remaining being independent study.
You will study six modules per year and this is typically 1200 hours of study per year (37.5 hours per week).
The teaching team have academic expertise across a range of criminological issues, including mental health, philosophy and crime, the history of crime and punishment, migration and crime, drug related crime and drug treatment, youth justice and victimology. They are also involved in research activities in these and other areas, and they bring this research expertise into their teaching. Many staff have published in these areas and have practical experience in them too.
The core team is supported by other teams in the University, such as the law, policing and forensic investigation teams, and a range of professionals currently working in the field who provide guest lectures.
Staff use their research expertise to informs teaching, and they provide you with opportunities to be involved with research to help develop you academically and personally. Our criminology staff and students were central to a pilot of the Bystander Initiative, which aims to support students and staff to identify and prevent sexual harassment, assault and coercive behaviour. The pilot was successful, and a modified version of the initiative is now available university-wide.
Our degree gives you the opportunity to explore theoretical and practical insights into the nature of crime, its impact on societies, the workings of the criminal justice system and what is being done to tackle and reduce criminality.
Donley JackProgramme Director of Applied Criminology
How you’ll be assessed
Assessments
Assessments are a core part of the course and each module has 1-3 assessments that contribute to the 4000-word assessment quota. The course is designed to ensure that each assessment is well supported by written guides, study skills sessions, a study toolkit and staff guidance, and the course provides you with a range of assessment types to allow you to develop skills that are required in criminal justice professions. We also provide opportunities for you to gain formative feedback informally before you complete the formal assessments that count towards your final mark by providing opportunities to gain feedback on assessment plans.
There are formal or 'summative' assessments during each of the modules and assessment methods include a range of coursework assessments such as essays, reports, portfolios and oral presentations, as well as written and online examinations. In your final year you have the opportunity to undertake a dissertation in an area of your choice with close supervision from a member of academic staff. This can include conducting your own research project and offers a valuable opportunity to demonstrate that you can manage your work independently, thus helping your employability skills. The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark and feedback is provided to ensure that you can improve future assessments.
Feedback
The team is dedicated to providing high quality feedback on all assessments to enable you to understand what action you need to take to improve your work / marks. We try to ensure that feedback is student focused and constructive. Tutorials also enable you to discuss your work. We aim to provide you with feedback within 15 working days of hand-in for all assessments and use a range of feedback methods to meet the needs of our students.
Your future career
You will have the potential to enter a range of careers in crime, criminal justice and related fields on completion of this course, as the design of the Applied Criminology with Policing course at Christ Church gives you the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills that are core to criminal justice careers and transferable to other related careers. Graduates of the course typically secure posts within the police, the prison service, the probation service, youth work, private companies working in security, and third sector organisations working in crime control and victim support.
Postgraduate study is also an option for Applied Criminology with Policing graduates and you will be encouraged to make the most of the volunteering and networking opportunities available throughout your degree course in addition to your studies in order to enhance your employability.
My degree gave me an advantage due to the knowledge I had accumulated, but I felt that the added advantage was the experience I had gained whilst volunteering that helped secure me the role. My work has offered me experiences that would otherwise not have arisen. An example of this is when I was given the opportunity to appear on BBC Question Time.
Charlotte SherrattGraduate in Applied Criminology
Fees
The 2022/23 annual tuition fees for this course are:
| UK** | Overseas*** | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | £9,250 | £14,500 |
| Part-time | £4,625 | £7,250 |
Tuition fees for all courses are payable on an annual basis, except where stated.
Please read the 2022/23 Tuition Fee Statement for further information regarding 2022/23 tuition fees and year on year fee increases.
**Home (UK) Fees
The fees above are for the 2022/23 academic year but may be subject to change following any announcements by the UK Government (approved by Parliament) regarding maximum Undergraduate tuition fee caps for 2022/23.
In addition, the University reserves the right to increase all full-time and part-time Undergraduate tuition fees mid-course, in line with any further inflationary increase in the Government tuition fee cap which is approved by Parliament. The University will publish information about any changes to tuition fees on its website.
***Overseas Fees (including EU fees):
Undergraduate Overseas tuition fees for International students are not subject to the Government’s regulations on maximum tuition fees.
Students with an Overseas fee status will be eligible for an International student Scholarship fee discount of £1,500, which will be applied to all Full-time Undergraduate courses with a tuition fee of £14,500.
Students with an EU fee status will be eligible for the EEA Transition Scholarship. Further details can be found here: https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/study-here/fees-and-funding/international-student-fees-and-funding
- Read advice about funding your degree
- See information about the financial support available for undergraduate studies
- If you would like information about paying your fees, please contact accounts.receivable@canterbury.ac.uk
- For specific fee queries, please contact fees@canterbury.ac.uk
Additional Information
Some of our year two and three modules have prerequisite modules, which you must have studied in a previous year. You will be advised of these when choosing options each year to ensure you make informed choices.
Professional accreditation
The Applied Criminology course adheres to and is guided by the Criminology Benchmark Statements, which define expectations as part of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education.
Industry links
We have a range of external criminal justice professionals and other experts involved in the delivery of the course. We work with them to aid course development in order to ensure our degree is current, accurate and relevant to criminal justice employers.
We actively consult and collaborate with a range of criminal justice and related organisations and these change on a yearly basis, in response to changing operational commitments of these organisations and trends in criminal justice. Collaborations include police forces, the prison service, charities and academics from other higher education institutions.
Specialist facilities
The Criminology team have access to the Canterbury Prison site as this is part of the University estate and our students are able to get involved in research and work in this area. In addition, the staff arrange visits and trips to allow students to experience a range of criminal justice settings where operationally possible.
Regulated by the Office for Students
The Office for Students (OfS) regulates Canterbury Christ Church University. The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education in England. It aims to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. Further details about its work are available on the OfS website.
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Duration:
3 yearsUCAS code:
M903Location(s):
CanterburyAny questions?
Email us
courses@canterbury.ac.uk
Phone us
+44 (0)1227 928000
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