BSc (Hons) Criminology with Integrated Foundation Year (UCAS code L311)
Foundation year
The Social Sciences and Law Integrated Foundation Year includes five modules:
- Essential Study Skills (20 credits)
- Maths (20 credits)
- Foundation module (40 credits)
- Project (20 credits)
- Subject Specialism (20 credits)
Year 1 (national level 4)
Core modules:
- Criminology: Theories, Trends and Myths (30 credits)
Develop a knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and theories within criminology, which seek to explain crime and deviance. Investigate how myths of crime are constructed and perpetuated in a social and political context as well as by the media. Critically evaluate trends in crime and victimisation and consider whether these trends reflect the ‘true’ picture of crime, or whether they contribute to pervasive myths of crime.
- Criminal Justice: Theory and Practice (30 credits)
Gain a solid understanding of the agencies involved in the administration of justice and the rationale behind their practices. Explore the theories that underpin criminal justice and gain an awareness of different models of justice. Analyse case studies and examples of media reports to contribute to debates on current controversies. Think critically about criminal justice processes and develop your understanding of the effects of social inequalities on the way justice can be accessed.
Optional modules (choose 60 credits):
- The Youth Paradox: Criminological Perspectives of Young People (30 credits)
Gain critical insight into the extensive public; political and media attention young people face in terms of their behaviour and deviancy. Analyse how young people have come to be constructed as deviants and examine key theories which seek to explain youth criminality and victimisation. Appreciate how these constructions of young people influence perceptions on the prevalence and severity of youth crime and victimisation and criminal justice responses to young people.
- Victims/Survivors: Rights and Redress (30 credits)
Explore the development of victimology and the relationship between victims of crime and conceptualisations of justice. Consider the changing position of victims within wider social contexts and the influence of policy, politics and the victims' rights movement on the Criminal Justice System. Develop an understanding of the key theoretical perspectives and gain confidence applying these to case studies. Investigate the role of the media in court outcomes and gain knowledge of victim-focused responses to crime.
- Social Inequalities in Society (30 credits)
Develop a critical understanding of theoretical frameworks that will enable you to conduct research into social inequalities. Conduct research into the experiences and impact of inequality upon specific groups/individuals such as, men, women, children and young people, Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) and LGBTQ+ groups. Produce a professional portfolio to enhance your core skills in communication, problem solving, critical thinking, analysing information and teamwork.
- Social Policy in Action (30 credits)
Develop an understanding of social policy, political responses to social issues and policy making processes. Learn to identify the aims, impact, limitations and challenges of social policy in the UK and develop research skills to evaluate how social policy affects different areas of society. Investigate a social policy that interests you or relates to the career you wish to pursue and develop essential transferable knowledge applicable to this.
- Everyone’s Accountable: Safeguarding to Promote, Prevent, Protect (30 credits)
Develop your understanding of the safeguarding duty of all people who work with children and/or vulnerable adults. Expand your understanding of safeguarding law and policy and how they impact on practice and acquire knowledge of how organisations work. Learn essential, transferable skills in critical thinking and analysis in the evaluation of real-life serious case reviews.
Year 2 (national level 5)
Core modules:
- Theoretical Perspectives: Crime, Harm and Social Justice (30 credits)
Explore the dominant theoretical perspectives and issues regarding the study of crime, deviance and (in)justice of the 20th century. Interpret and evaluate how criminological approaches to criminality deviance and notions of justice have been contested within the discipline and are debated within socio-political culture more generally.
- Offender Rehabilitation and Risk Management (30 credits)
Engage with key philosophies of punishment, such as rehabilitation and alternative discourses like risk management, in order to evaluate criminal justice legislation, and subsequent policies and practices of the probation and prison services in England and Wales. Understand how social and political climates influence. Analyse the implications of rehabilitation and risk management focused policies and practices for offending behaviours and society.
Optional modules (choose 60 credits):
- Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice (30 credits)
Engage with concepts and theories of gender and patriarchy to make sense of domestic violence in intimate relationships. Analyse the underpinning model/s of criminal justice to make sense of how this system works in patriarchal society, to understand outcomes for domestic violence offenders and victims. Evaluate contemporary research including key theoretical frameworks to analyse how domestic violence is perpetuated. Analyse and present theoretical and empirical research to construct knowledge during the module.
- Policing in Context: Past, Present, Future (30 credits)
Explore the emergence and formulation of the police and policing practices. Learn about the changing nature of policing, gaining insight into the role and function of the police, and how it has transformed historically. Develop a critical understanding of the key concepts and theories surrounding policing styles and practice, as well as the key debates and issues which face contemporary policing, such as accountability, governance, misconduct and corruption, legitimacy, austerity, and privatization.
- Researching Society: Private, Public and Third Sector Organisations (30 credits)
Develop a critical understanding of the management, effectiveness and limitations of the private, public and third sectors. Gain essential qualitative and quantitative research skills, utilising data analysis packages, through examining real life case studies of these sectors. Develop your understanding of organisational management theory and issues relating to practice i.e. working collaboratively, inequality, discrimination and managing conflict.
- Researching Society with Placement (30 credits)
Gain essential qualitative and quantitative research skills by examining real life case studies and develop your understanding of organisational management theory and issues relating to practice. Obtain transferable skills and knowledge that are necessary for professional practice through engagement in workshop-based learning and a placement.
- Social Science Research and Inquiry (30 credits)
Explore the theory and practice of research methodologies and methods in social science. Discover the history of social science research and the philosophical and methodological debates which have underpinned the emergence of contemporary social science. Carry out your own research investigating an aspect of contemporary social life, learning how to think about, organise, manage, and report on social scientific research.
- Gender, Diversity and Human Rights: Global Perspectives (30 credits)
Learn about human rights agendas and global policies and practice, focusing on gender as a policy priority for many international organisations and as a theoretical frame for the consideration of human rights. Explore topics such as human trafficking; international reproductive politics; gender based violence; human sexuality; divisions of labour; refugee crises; and health. Study critical and theoretical approaches to sex, intimacy and reproduction, as well as historical and feminist perspectives.
- Counselling Skills: Theory into Practice (30 credits)
Explore a range of counselling models which will enable you to develop theoretical, analytical and critical skills necessary to work with clients and develop the interpersonal skills to become a reflective practitioner.
Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.
