BA Criminology (Placement Year)
Entry requirements
A level: BBB IB: 30 overall with 15 points from the best 3 HL subjects
About this course
BA Hons in Criminology (Placement Year), a sociology degree centred on theoretical perspectives, criminal justice systems, and the social contexts of crime. Core topics include Statistics, Research Methods, Fieldwork, Policy Analysis, Historical Research, and Critical & Analytical Thinking. Students undertake a professional placement year in their third year to gain industry experience in a graduate-level role. The first year establishes foundational knowledge through compulsory modules such as Explaining Criminology, Exploring the Criminal Justice System, Crime and Popular Culture, A Brief History of Crime and Criminology, and Doing Criminology: How We Know About Crime, alongside options in areas like sociology and history. The second year advances study with core modules including Criminological Thought, Measuring Crime, and Understanding Criminological Fieldwork, while optional modules allow students to explore youth justice, organised crime, cybercrime, and policing. Year three consists of a dedicated work-based learning placement year. The final year focuses on advanced topics through compulsory study in Prisons, Punishment and Society alongside diverse options such as Green Criminology, Drugs, Crime and Society, and Hate Crime, with an optional Criminology Dissertation available for independent research.
Modules
- Explaining Criminology
- Exploring the Criminal Justice System
- Crime and Popular Culture
- A Brief History of Crime and Criminology
- Doing Criminology: How We Know About Crime
- Thinking Sociologically
- Researching Society: Principles and Practices
- Handling Historical Evidence
- Medieval and Early Modern Worlds
- Origins and Foundations of International Relations
- Global Challenges in World Politics
- Foundations of Language
- English across Space and Time
- Understanding Media and Culture
- Transformations in Digital Media
- Knowledge and Reality in a Complex World
- History of Philosophy: Ideas that Shaped the West
- Parties, Populism and Protest
- Developmental Psychology and Neuropsychology
- Contemporary Social Issues 1: Power, Inequality and Everyday Life
- Criminological Thought
- Measuring Crime
- Understanding Criminological Fieldwork
- Youth Justice
- Organised Crime
- Cybercrime and Cybercriminality
- Financial Crime
- Contemporary Issues in Policing
- Transnational Debates on Gender and Society
- Welfare States: Poverty, Policy and Politics
- Language and Creativity in Advertising
- Global Superpowers
- Politics of the Global South
- Visual Cultures
- Work Based Learning Year
- Prisons, Punishment and Society
- Green Criminology
- Drugs, Crime and Society
- Crimes and Harms of the Powerful
- Gendered Harm and Justice
- Hate Crime
- Crime and Media
- Sex Crimes and Sexual Offending
- Criminology Dissertation
- Advanced Sociological Theories and Applications
- Health, Bodies and Social Reproduction
- The Politics of Crises and the Future of Governance
- The Politics of Borders and Migration