BSc (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies with Law

• Make a difference – draw on our inter-disciplinary approach to study, with a focus on contemporary issues, to gain real insight into the nature of crime, the workings of the criminal justice system and the society around you, and equip yourself with the skills to bring about change.
• Equip yourself with in-demand skills – our graduates are highly sought after by a range of criminal justice agencies, including the police, probation, prison and youth justice services or find careers as paralegals and legal executives.
• Boost your employability and gain hands-on experience by volunteering with local and national criminal justice agencies.
• Open doors to a career in the private, public or third sector – highly transferable skills mean you’ll find career opportunities in a diverse range of settings.
• Your Law minor means you’ll be eligible for entry into our Graduate Diploma in Law programme, enabling you to convert your degree to a 'qualifying' law degree.
• To complement your formal learning we offer regular PALS sessions that provide the opportunity for you to learn with and from your peers. Share knowledge, discuss ideas, and ask questions in a relaxed and friendly environment.

• Year 1

• In your first year, you’ll lay the foundations for your studies, exploring perspectives on criminology and examining theories on causes of crime and deviance. You’ll develop an understanding of the criminal justice process in England and Wales, and gain a grounding in criminal justice research, examining crime in the context of economic, political and social frameworks. You’ll also be introduced to the key areas of law and gain an understanding of the English, EU and international legal systems.
  

  Core modules

  • CCJS1112 Criminology and Crime Problems

    This module introduces students to the subject of criminology. It emphasises criminology's multi-disciplinary and the different perspectives, methods and sources of information that it draws upon in developing theories about the different causes and problematizations of crime and deviance.

  • CCJS1115 Being a Criminologist

    The module provides students with a grounding in the concepts, techniques, methods and skills necessary for developing a criminological analysis to crime and justice. Students will analyse key contemporary examples of crime, justice and social issues pertinent at the time which could include; murder, the war on drugs, police brutality and injustice within the courts. Students will assess the strengths and weakness of criminological and methodological approaches to understanding these examples.

  • CCJS1116 Crime in Context

    This module provides students with an introduction to key questions in the study of criminology and criminal justice, providing them with necessary skills to be a successful and reflexive student of criminology. The module places criminology in the context of economic, political and social interpretative frameworks, and contributes to the creation of a criminological imagination. Furthermore, the module uses this basis to introduce students to theoretical discussions that critique and question the role and practices of the main criminal justice institutions in England and Wales in relation to historical perspectives, equality, space and place and social justice, more broadly.

  • CCJS1119 21st Century Criminological Issues

    The module introduces students to the global challenges of crime and crime control. It does so by drawing on contextual examples of contemporary developments to the landscape of crime, deviancy, social problems, globalisation and criminal justice. Students will assess the strengths and weakness of criminological approaches to understanding these examples.

  • LAW1219 Legal Studies (Law Minor)

    This module focuses on providing an overview of key substantive areas of law with the integration of the development of legal problem solving skills for students on the Law Minor programmes.

  • LAW1220 Introduction to Law (Law Minor)

    This module focuses on providing an overview on the skills necessary to study law; of the English, EU and International legal systems; and of key substantive areas of law with the integration of the development of legal problem solving skills for students on the Law Minor programmes.

• Year 2

• In your second year you’ll broaden your skills – from learning how to assess, collect and use statistics, surveys, interviews and observational studies in researching crime and criminal justice, to examining theories of criminology alongside contemporary social, communications and cultural theories, urban studies, international relations and social harm. You’ll also have a choice of law modules including consumer law, tort and human rights.
  

  Core modules

  • CCJS2115 Crime, Theory and Culture

    This module examines contemporary criminological theory and scholarship, providing a critical analysis of new directions at the forefront of the discipline. The module covers the intersections of criminology with contemporary social theory, communications theory, urban studies, international relations, cultural theory and zemiology.

  • CCJS2120 Researching Crime and Criminal Justice

    This module describes and assesses the reliability and validity of the different methodologies and sources of information utilised in criminal justice research, focusing especially upon the collection and use of official statistics, surveys, interviews and observational studies. The module also provides practical experience for students in using specialist quantitative and qualitative computer programmes for analysing data.

  • CCJS2121 Policing and Community Safety

    This module affords students an opportunity to explore, in depth, the structures, practices and key issues facing modern policing and community safety in the UK. It focuses particularly upon the police service, but also upon developments in plural policing, including the expansion of partnership policing.

  • CCJS2125 Prisons, 'Probation' and Penality

    This module draws on theories of penality to analyse and evaluate penal policy and practice. In particular it critically examines contemporary issues, developments and debates relating to the use of imprisonment and community sentences for adult offenders.

  • CCJSP200 Preparation for Work Placement

    This module is aimed at students who have elected to undertake a placement at the end of stage 2 of their degree. On completion of the placement year students will return to sit stage 3. It is designed to build on skills learned in stage 1 and helps students in their search for a placement, and in their preparation for the placement itself.

  Optional modules

  • LAW2215 Environmental Law

    The module provides an examination of key themes in environmental law, with a focus on the generation, application and enforcement of this law within a critical and applied context.

  • LAW2216 Human Rights Law

    This module focuses on the law relating to human rights with reference to national, regional and international law principles. It examines the development and scope of fundamental rights in both theory and practice, and the legitimate limits and restrictions on rights in the interests of balancing conflicting interests in democratic societies.

  • LAW2218 Family Law

    This module will examine the principles of family law from both theoretical and practical perspectives.

  • LAW2220 Cybercrime: Issues and Regulation

  • LAW2226 Tort Law (Law Minor)

    A module for Law Minor students introducing principles and concepts of tort law and examining the principles involved in a number of selected torts. The Law of Tort is concerned with the creation and imposition of civil rights obligations on people generally. It is focused on the legal protection of a number of key rights, such as the right to bodily integrity, reputation, enjoyment of property and privacy amongst others.

  • LAW2229 Jurisprudence: law, society and justice

    This module follows jurisprudential inquiries into themes and topics relating to the concept of law and the intersection between law and society. It analyses key ideas and theories on the development of legal concepts and regulatory frameworks. It adopts a broad range of theoretical perspectives from sociology, cultural studies and economics to examine the phenomenon of law, providing a platform for developing rich interdisciplinary discussion and reflection.

• Optional placement year

• You have the option to take a placement year in your third year of study.

• Final year

• In your final year, you’ll design and implement your own research project to produce your dissertation, working independently with the support of a member of our academic team. Choose from a variety of modules such as comparative studies, policing illicit drug use, anti-social behaviour, racism and criminal justice. Law options include criminal law, parents and children, media and information law, environmental law, European business law, and business regulation and corporate governance.
  

Every undergraduate taught course has a detailed programme specification document describing the course aims, the course structure, the teaching and learning methods, the learning outcomes and the rules of assessment.

The following programme specification represents the latest course structure and may be subject to change:

Programme specification BSc Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies 6739

UCAS tariff

88 - 104