Studying our Criminology BSc (Hons) course will equip you with in-depth knowledge and skills in the combined areas of criminology and sociology. By combining these two elements, you will be given an Introduction to Criminology by examining theoretical approaches used to explain crime, deviance and offending behaviour. More importantly, you will be introduced to a foundational knowledge of the legal system, its institutions and practices in the UK and internationally in our Law, Society and Controversy unit. You will consider the relevance of law and how it impacts society and orders social life by examining key issues and debates at the centre of law and society. Where criminology interacts with social movements and explore voices against inequality based on gender, class, race, etc., our unit in Anti-Racism: Movements and Campaigns will allow you to explore anti-racist campaigns developed by scholars and activists in the UK by looking at various social movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement to understand the social harms, anti-racist activism and resistance in a globalised and multicultural world. To prepare you for your career, our unit in Career Planning for Social Scientists will support your career development journey by allowing you to identify your transferrable skills and articulate them in a confident, meaningful and positive manner.

You will also delve into the research skills in the field of criminology with our units in an Introduction to Research and Social Enquiry. In Year 2 of your course, you will continue to analyse and evaluate why some individuals choose to engage in crime and offending as well as the mechanisms used to control crime from different perspectives in our Theorising Crime, Punishment and Justice unit. Building on this, you will also consider crime in a localised environment and what causes it within urban and rural areas in The Contemporised Criminological Environment unit. Furthermore, you will be able to apply career planning skills in The Social Sciences at Work unit where you will undertake relevant work experience with an organisation to gain an insight into the professional workplace and the desirable knowledge and skills you need going into graduate employment. You will continue to prepare with the research skills in the field of criminology with our units in Research Methods 1: Collecting Data and Research Methods 2: Exploring Data. In these units, you will explore debates and theories in social research, identify quantitative and qualitative data research methods, and learn to interpret and analyse data. In the same year, this course also offers a range of optional units for you to specialise in.

More specifically, you may also choose to study our Crimes of the Powerful unit that will allow you to address and challenge low-level crimes in the areas of business, politics and finance that are committed by people in power or of a high social status. If you are interested in studying criminology among youth populations, our Gangs and Serious Youth Violence unit will allow you to explore the nature, extent and impact of this issue and how to respond effectively using policy, strategy and intervention. While learning about the contexts of crime, you will also consider the complex needs of offenders and how to effectively manage the prevention of reoffending in our Rehabilitation of the Offender unit. Shifting the focus from offenders, you can also learn to support victims, families, survivors and witnesses affected by offending or anti-social behaviour in our Victims and Victimology unit. In addition, you may also choose to explore the complex world of Cybercrime including issues such as cyber terrorism, cyberbullying and cyber hate, cyber-fraud, hackers and hacking etc. In Year 3, you have again choice of a range of optional units for you to specialise in. You will be able to narrow your study to specific areas of crime such as within our Violence in Modern Society unit where you will critically examine theories of violence and types of violent crime; or you can seek to compare and examine policies and approaches to meet the needs of young people in our Youth Justice: Models and Approaches unit.

You may also consider the ideologies that motivate individuals and groups to resort to terrorism in our Terrorism in a Global Context unit while examining the impact of terrorism as a political weapon and the responses to this on a global scale or examine the multifaceted relationship between the media, crime and culture with reference to crime journalism, novels, movies and TV dramas in our Crime and the Media unit. If you are passionate about the environment, then our unit in Green Criminology: Environmental Crime and Ecological Justice will allow you to explore a wide range of challenges around crimes against the environment. Aside from this, our unit in Urban Crime will expose you to various debates in urban criminology. Finally, you will have the choice of completing a SASS Change Maker Project Dissertation or Research Dissertation where you will develop and demonstrate academic and professional skills. In the project-based dissertation, you will have the opportunity to work with a community-based organisation to deliver a project while building on your research, presentation and project management skills. If you choose to undertake a research dissertation, this gives you an opportunity to develop a research proposal, consider the ethical implications of your work and conduct an in-depth, focused research enquiry around an area of professional interest.