Professional Policing BSc (Hons)

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Study current topics such as digital policing and organised crime and terrorism. Help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. Graduate from your policing degree and go on to apply for a role as a Police Constable in England and Wales.

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Course overview

Our BSc (Hons) Professional Policing courses have been developed by staff with decades of experience in the police force. Every aspect of the training has been created by the College of Policing, working with forces and serving police officers. The police courses follow the National Policing Curriculum and provide you with the skills and knowledge to apply to become a police officer.

You can choose to study BSc (Hons) Professional Policing on our two-year accelerated route, a fast track option to your career in policing. In just two years, you will be equipped to meet all the responsibilities and challenges to apply for a rewarding career in policing.

Please ensure you use the correct UCAS code when applying:

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing (UCAS code P1P2)
BSc (Hons) Professional Policing (Accelerated) (UCAS code P1P3)

Why us?

We were the first university in the country to offer BSc (Hons) Professional Policing as an accelerated two-year degree
Our police courses are accredited by the College of Policing who commended the well thought out and complementary set of courses provided at the University of Sunderland
The courses draw on diverse experience from across the University to ensure that students are provided with the most up-to-date knowledge from expert academics in their fields, including professional practice, police investigations, domestic violence, investigative management, law, social work, and youth offending

Teaching staff are research-active in digital policing, desistance from crime, police powers, organised crime and terrorism, gender based violence, and disability and vulnerability
The University is the only institution in the North East that provides its students with volunteering opportunities under the Local Appropriate Adult Scheme
The policing courses are designed to be taught over no more than three days a week so that you can study around work and family commitments

Course structure

The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing courses cover the National Police Curriculum in a practical and relevant way. You will learn the underpinning theories in criminology and the processes of criminal justice, but you will also be given specialist tuition from former police officers in the core areas of conducting effective investigations, policing communities, policing the roads, information and intelligence, and response policing.

The two-year accelerated route has been designed to be taught alongside the three-year version of the policing degree for the first two semesters, thereby offering you the ability to transfer between routes to suit your circumstances.

You will also benefit from support through your own personal tutor, an academic with policing experience who will provide advice and mentoring throughout the course.

Your progress will be assessed through essays, reports, group work, seminar presentations, and self-evaluation.

Course modules

Year 1 (national level 4):

Introduction to Criminology and Policing (30 credits)

Study an Introduction to Criminology, Criminological Theory, Defining and Measuring Crime, Trends in Crime and Victimisation, Policing by Consent, Law Enforcement Agencies, Structure of the Police Force, Role of the Police, Professional Policing, Policing Reform, an Introduction to Evidence-based Policing.

Criminal Justice (30 credits)

Study an introduction to Criminal Justice and social divisions such as class, gender, race and age in criminal justice.

Making Decisions: Policing Legally and Ethically (30 credits)

Develop problem solving skills and study evidence-based decision making including the National Decision Model (NDM), the role of discretion, barriers to effective decision making, bias, recording decisions, ethical considerations, and the legal framework and introduction to police powers.

Policing Communities and the Roads (30 credits)

Study an evidence-based approach to policing communities, recording incidents, function of community policing, engaging with the community, preventing and responding to crime and anti-social behaviour, maintaining community cohesion, challenges to community policing, information vs. intelligence, core functions and procedure of policing the roads, disrupting criminal activity by effective road policing, the strategic road network, pursuit, and evidence-based practice in road policing.

Some modules have prerequisites. Read more about what this means in our Help and Advice article.

Year 2 (national level 5):

Explore the scope of response policing, types of incidents and crime, Public Order offences, Stop and Search, major incidents, taking accounts from victims and witnesses, evidence-based practice in response policing, challenges in response policing, multi-agency working, social, political and strategic drivers impacting on response policing.

Professional Policing in Context (30 credits)

Learn about the history of the police force, professional standards in policing, challenges in operational policing, including public perception, anti-social behaviour, challenges with community engagement, critical reviews of major incidents, abuse of power, misconduct, policing reform, and the College of Policing.

How to be an Effective Investigator (30 credits)

Examine the intelligence cycle, information vs evidence, process of an investigation, evidence-based practice in investigations, understanding the difference between 'volume and priority' and 'serious and complex' crime, accountability and discretion, decision making and applying the NDM, bias, impact of investigations on victims and victim care, expert evidence and expert witnesses.

Research Methods for Policing (30 credits)

Study sources of research and evidence for EBP, quantitative and qualitative research methods, strengths and weaknesses of research methodologies, problem solving, creating an ethically sound research question, identifying best practice from evidence, and planning an intervention to tackle an identified issue.

Final year (national level 6):

Protecting the Vulnerable (30 credits)

Look at defining 'vulnerability', providing services to those who are vulnerable or at risk of harm, evidence-based practice in policing vulnerability, public protection policing, key legislation, victimology, personal aspects of vulnerability, intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting vulnerability, abuse, relationships between victims and offenders, bias, victim and witness care, and justice outcomes for vulnerable people.

Digital Policing (30 credits)

Understand technology and use of devices, IT terminology, social networks, encrypted communications, influence of technology, digital hygiene and digital safety, key legislation, digital investigations, digital community engagement, internet-facilitated crime, and the impact of digital crime.

Counter-Terrorism (30 credits)

Understand key counter-terrorism terminology and organisational structures, including threat levels, terrorism-related offences, terrorism-related police powers and detention, importance of intelligence, radicalisation and deradicalisation, CONTEST, and links between terrorism and organised crime.

Evidence-based Policing Project (30 credits)

Undertake a significant evidence-based research project while evaluating options, problem-solving and forming solutions

More about BSc (Hons) Professional Policing at Sunderland

Discover more articles

You can access free Wi-Fi throughout the University campus, so you can work from anywhere. If you don't want to carry a laptop around, just use one of the University’s PCs or Macs. We have hundreds of computers for you to use in the Murray Library, St Peter's Library, and the David Goldman Informatics Centre. If you ever have any technical problems, just ask the friendly helpdesk team.
IT provision
University library services will be central to your study experience and are delivered at our two libraries on campus, as well as online. Our libraries offer a variety of study environments to meet your needs, including areas for groupwork, individual and silent study. You’ll also have access to desktop PCs, space to use your own mobile technology and printing facilities.

The library works closely with academic staff within each faculty to offer specialist, industry standard resources in your subject discipline. The Faculty of Social Sciences provides thousands of relevant books and e-books, with many more titles available through the inter-library loan service. You’ll also have access to a comprehensive range of print and electronic journals which are always kept up to date, including Project Muse, Lexis, JSTOR and many more.

To find out more information, visit our University Library website.
Library Services - social sciences
Map and directions

Facilities

You'll be based at the recently refurbished Wearside View, situated on the award-winning Sir Tom Cowie Campus at St Peter's. This stunning riverside location benefits from dedicated library services and has superb transport links with the city centre and City Campus.

Entry requirements

Our typical offer is 112 UCAS Tariff points, from a combination of acceptable Level 3 qualifications which may include: A Levels, T Levels, BTEC Diplomas/Extended Diplomas, Scottish and Irish Highers, Access to HE Diplomas, or the International Baccalaureate.

Find out how many points your qualifications are worth using the UCAS Tariff calculator.

We accept a maximum of 6 points from Level 3 Key Skills qualifications.

You also need three passes at GCSE grade C or above, which must include mathematics and English language, or a minimum of Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number. If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above.

If you don't meet our standard entry requirements, we also offer this course with an Integrated Foundation Year.

If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Please ensure you use the correct UCAS code when applying:

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing – P1P2
BSc (Hons) Professional Policing (Accelerated) – P1P3

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and finance

Fees for the three-year course are:

£9,250 if you're from the UK/Europe*
£16,000 if you're an international student (EU nationals will receive a £5,750 scholarship to reduce their fee to £10,250)

Fees for the accelerated route are:

£11,100 if you're from the UK/Europe*
£16,000 if you're an international student (EU nationals will receive a £5,750 scholarship to reduce their fee to £10,250)

You may incur additional costs for travelling to placements.

*The discounted fee will be reflected in your offer letter. Learn more in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

Police officer talking to student at university event

Career ready

The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree will prepare you with the knowledge required to go on to apply for a police constable position within the police force. It does not guarantee that you will get such a position. It will be necessary to complete all separate recruitment processes associated with your chosen force, including further practice-based learning and assessment, demonstrating competence in your role and completing a two-year probationary period. If you wish to join the police, you must apply to and be accepted within a force within five years of graduation.

If you decide against a career in policing, the course has been carefully designed to prepare you with transferable skills required to apply for a number of graduate-level positions. Explore more career options with one of our Crime, Policing, and Investigation degrees.

The course will be taught by our staff with significant experience in the police force and they will be able to provide you with academic advice and mentoring to help you progress towards your chosen career.

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Contact

Contact the Student Helpline for further information about studying at the University of Sunderland:

0191 515 3000

student.helpline@sunderland.ac.uk

View Programme Specifications for the Faculty of Education and Society.

Page last updated: 22 February 2024

We aim to provide clear, accurate and timely information to prospective and current students. We continuously review and enhance course content in consultation with our students and the information provided on our website is the latest available. If you have received an offer from us to start a course, we will communicate any important changes to you in writing. We will always seek to ensure that our prospective students are fully aware of the basis on which they are accepting an offer.