This module introduces you to the key skills required to undertake an undergraduate degree programme in Criminology. You will learn practical skills enabling you to find and present academic sources, develop effective approaches to reading and writing in an academic setting. You will acquire presentation, team work, and referencing skills. 

This module introduces you to the principles of social research. You will recognise and apply critical thinking, explore the concept of ethics in research, and reflect on biases and positionality. You will explore philosophical questions and how different world views shape our understanding of crime, harm and justice.

This module engages you with a range of issues pertinent to complex problems in crime, harm and justice. You will be able to describe the characteristics of these phenomena and identify the links between crime, politics and society. Lastly, you will explore how power inequality and exclusion link with crime harm and victimisation drawing on issues such as race, class gender and sexuality.

You will explore the concept of justice and what it means in the context of criminology. By mapping the institutions of criminal and social justice such as police, prisons, probation, courts and the community sector, you will explore pathways through justice and how it may or may not be achieved.  

In this module, you will explore core criminological theories in relation to crime, harm and victimisation. These criminological theories are situated in the context of and applied to a range of issues pertinent to complex problems in crime, harm and justice. The module builds a more critical awareness of from Level 4 Module Contemporary Issues in Criminology with a view to developing a ‘criminological imagination’.

This module explores the Institutions, practices & interactions of justice. You will explore the debates on the nature of imprisonment, punishment, rehabilitation and desistance. This module will consider debates on race, power, gender, criminalisation, youth justice as they apply to communities of justice. This module builds on the content of Level 4 module Journeys Through Justice. 

Choose two from:

Domestic Violence and Abuse:

This module considers the changing social, political and legal recognition of domestic violence and abuse and its impact. Students are encouraged to examine the varying context, nature, signs, triggers and impact of domestic violence and abuse.

Children and the Criminal Justice System:

The module presents academic research, knowledge and understanding in an accessible way that better equips students to explore and discuss contemporary issues for children and the criminal justice system, across community and custody contexts.

Animals and Criminology:

This module covers the different ways in which animals are the topic of criminological examination. Students will be introduced to a broad range of topic areas such as animal abuse, wildlife trafficking, conservation, and animal advocacy and will critically explore if and what harm to animals drawing from research from subjects including criminology, sociology, law, and philosophy.

Genocides and mass atrocities: 

This module explores a range of genocides and mass atrocities. Students will understand the issues around defining genocide and in establishing what is and isn’t a genocide, and what this means in terms of prevention, intervention and justice.

Restorative Justice in Practice:

This module will be relevant to students interested in working with offenders and/or victims in a community justice setting. This module will explore the various origins and applications of Restorative Justice and the critical theoretical analysis which has followed.

Alcohol and Other Drugs, Crime and Society:

This module will explore the relationship between alcohol and other drugs (AOD), and crime. The overall aim of the module is to provide students with an understanding of how UK and international drug policy, localised drug usage and the international trade in both legal and illegal drugs are related.

The aim of this module is to equip you with the knowledge, understanding and critical appreciation of research methodologies used in social science research. The module will explore a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, techniques, and forms of analysis; you will engage with the practicalities of a range of research methods.

In this module, you will identify a relevant criminological topic and design a final year research project. You will develop a series of appropriate research questions, describe and evaluate an appropriate research design and consider the ethical implications of a research project on a criminological topic. 

In this module, you will explore advanced theoretical perspective to help you understand crime in a global context. You will critically evaluate how these ‘global’ crimes and harms impact crime, harm and victimisation in society. You will also develop knowledge and critical understanding of transnational crime prevention and justice organisations and institutions. 

This module aims to promote a culture of curious and continuous enquires as part of a lifelong learning mindset. You will explore immediate issues that emerge within society and examine these using knowledge and understanding from their undergraduate degree programme. 

This module is designed to enable you to complete an independent project. You will integrate your  knowledge and skills from across the degree programme to complete a final project. This project will be in the form of one of the following:

• An extended essay
• An empirical based research project
• A social activism project based on your project proposal from module Planning Social research.