It is aimed at developing your knowledge and understanding of a wide range of crimes and work done in the criminal justice system. The course covers a wide variety of crime related topics including biological and sociological theories of criminality, media representations of crime and many more. You will have the opportunity to acquire both practical and academic skills, and the flexibility of the course enables you to study crimes you find personally interesting.
What you'll learn
You will study the following units:
Year 1
- Changing Awareness of Crime: This unit will enable you to demonstrate an understanding of different types of crime, influences on perceptions of crime and why some crimes are unreported.
- Criminological Theories: This unit will allow you to gain an understanding of why people commit crime
Year 2
- Crime Scene to Courtroom: This unit will explore the roles of personnel involved in criminal investigations and techniques used. It will also explore the process of the Criminal Justice System as a case moves from the police through to the CPS and the court system.
- Crime and Punishment: This unit will discuss why most of us obey the law, even when it is against our own interests to do so and will explore what happens to individuals who do not.
You will also develop:
- The skills required for independent learning and development
- A range of generic and transferable skills
- The ability to solve problems
- The skills of project based research, development and presentation
- The fundamental ability to work alongside other professionals, in a professional environment
- The ability to apply learning in vocational contexts
Progression
You could go on to higher education degree courses, such as:
• BSc Criminology
• BA Criminology
• BA Criminology and Criminal Justice
• BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology
• LLB (Hons) Law with Criminology
• BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology
• BA (Hons) Criminology
• BSc (Hons) Psychology and Sociology
• BSc Criminology with Law
Alternatively, the qualification allows you to gain the required understanding and skills to be able to consider employment within some aspects of the criminal justice system, e.g. the National Probation Service, the Courts and Tribunals Service or the National Offender Management Service.
Entry requirements
Applicants should have five GCSEs at grade 5 or above, including English and Maths.
