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pistol and crime stories

Criminology BA(Hons)

  • Intro
  • Course
    content
  • Careers
  • Entry
    criteria
  • Fees
  • Location
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Intro

Criminology is the study of crime, criminality and how it relates to social inequality, victimhood and different sections of society: the media, prisons and the courts.

As criminologists, it is our job to challenge received wisdom about crime and justice, and to seek an understanding of the offender while respecting the harmful effect that crime can have on individuals and communities.

You will have the opportunity to take a voluntary work placement in the local community as part of your course, gaining valuable work experience and making professional contacts for your future career.

Key facts

Location Brighton: Falmer

UCAS code L611

Full-time 3 years

Come to a campus tour

Apply now with UCAS

Course content

Course structure

You will be taught through a mixture of lectures, seminars and workshops, but there is an increasing emphasis on independent study as the course progresses.

In your first year you will be introduced to the theoretical foundations of criminology and to the research methods used in social science.

In year 2, you will begin to learn about criminal law and the mechanisms by which it is enforced.

In your final year you will explore a topic you are passionate about in more depth as well as studying more diverse optional modules.

Making sure that what you learn with us is relevant, up-to-date and what employers are looking for is our priority, so courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis. When you have applied to us, you will be told about any new developments through our applicant portal.

Jayne-Raisborough-lecturing-to-students

Year 1

Your first year is a general introduction to the subject to help establish your knowledge of the key theories of criminology.

Modules

  • Introduction to Research Methods

    The module introduces you to the range of research methods used in the social sciences and will enable you to develop the skills necessary to collect and analyse both quantitative and qualitative data.

  • Criminal Justice Matters

    This module will introduce you to the criminal justice system in England and Wales by exploring its main institutions and agencies: eg. police, courts, prison and probation. You'll explore some of the key debates and policies in relation to sentencing, victims and crime prevention. You will gain an understanding of the politics and controversies in criminal justice and develop your skills in identifying, analysing information and presenting coherent arguments.

  • Explaining Crime: Explaining Criminals

    This module will introduce you to critical issues which arise when we attempt to explain crime. The module begins with discussion of ‘common sense’ perspectives, and critically considers the ‘taken for granted,’ prevailing explanations for crime and definitions of the ‘criminal’ that circulate in society.

    The focus is on the social, cultural and political processes that criminology has identified as being involved in informing ‘public’ understandings of crime. You will analyse the role that the mass media plays in influencing these social and public constructions and understand the academic literature which deals with these debates.

  • Theories of Crime

    On this module you will examine criminological theories from an historical perspective, and gain an understanding of the political, social and cultural context in which different theories were developed, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of their current application.

  • Criminology in Action

    On this module you will actively engage with and apply key criminological concepts and thinking to contexts, roles and scenarios in criminal justice.

  • Contemporary Social Inequalities

    This module will provide you with the theoretical and conceptual tools to confront normative/normalising explanations of difference and inequality. You'll understand the ways that ‘differences’ and inequalities are formed and their consequences for everyday lived realities.

Psychology students reviewing notes

Year 2

In Year 2 you will extend your knowledge and take a community placement which runs throughout the year, giving you a sustained period of work with a community organization to help increase your employability while you study. There’s also the opportunity for international study through our exchange programme.

Modules

  • Researching Social and Cultural Life
  • Critical Perspectives on Criminal Justice

Options*

  • Inquiries in Crime and Deviance
  • Cross-cultural Criminology
  • Community Engagement: Theory into Practice 
  • Punishment, Power and the State
  • Policing and Society

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Law Courts

Final year

In your final year at Brighton, you will write a dissertation about an area of criminology that you want to explore in depth. The dissertation is an opportunity to design and develop an idea independently, with the support of an academic supervisor throughout. There is also additional optional modules, such as Global Issues: Crime, Power and Harm which focuses on environmental crime, trafficking and international conflict.

Modules

  • Dissertation
  • Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice
  • Violence and Society

Options*

  • Criminology of Borders
  • Global Issues: Crime, Power and Harm
  • Critical Addiction Studies for Criminology

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Course students

Placement

In your second year the Community Engagement option module offers the opportunity to engage with a local not-for-profit organisation and gain valuable hands-on experience. It is a great opportunity to develop your vocational skills and gain practical work experience while contributing to the wider community.

You will spend around 50 hours volunteering with the organisation. This will be supported and underpinned by organisational training, tutor support and by in-class teaching covering theories of community engagement, organisational structure and culture, and reflective learning. 

We will help you find a placement that is right for you from the range of local organisations who choose to work with our students.

The module features guest lectures delivered by external speakers drawn from the wider community. You will also produce a portfolio where you will reflect on your experiences and learning, with reference to practice examples and reflective theory.

CCHF6_(1)

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Call for Papers: Southern Perspectives upon Policing, Security and Social Order: Seminar and roundtable

Call for Papers: Southern Perspectives upon Policing, Security and Social Order: Seminar and roundtable 27th June 2019, University of Brighton, Falmer Campus Critical scholarship from Southern and Post-Colonial criminology has posed new challenges to dominant criminological thinking about law and ‘order’, policing (by ‘consent’ or otherwise), community, accountability and the state.

Read more from our blog

Careers

Preparing for your career

Innovative modules, volunteering opportunities and an applied focus create an environment in which the curious and critical criminologist can develop and flourish.

Typically, criminology graduates pursue careers in crime prevention, criminal justice, community development, local government, security, social research and the police.

Brighton police station

Placements

The optional community engagement module in the second year provides you with an opportunity to hone a range of valuable and transferable employability skills.

The module includes working with vulnerable people, in often challenging situations, but also includes CV design and building, working on applications and interviews, developing reflective learning skills and time management.

Making an active contribution to the local community during your course will not only help you to better society but will also improve your knowledge and look great on your CV.

During the placement you could be carrying out a piece of consultancy or gaining practical experience in a specific context relating to an area of possible future work.

Previous students have had placements with organisations including:

  • CCHF All About Kids
  • Centre for Ecotherapy
  • Connect
  • Samaritans
  • MS Society
  • Fresh Start
  • Alzheimer's Society
  • Sussex Prisoners’ Families
  • Age UK
  • YMCA
  • MindOut
  • Trust for Developing Communities
  • Healthwatch Brighton & Hove
Counsellor working with a client

Facilities 

You will build experience in our facilities which include:

  • an applied cognition lab
  • a creative methods lab for interactive experiments and focus groups
  • experimental booths for one-to-one computer-based experiments
  • mobile eye tracker, eye-tracking glasses and psychophysiology measuring kit.

A dedicated psychology technician will support your experiments.

Student wearing eye tracking glasses

Work-related experience 

Alongside an understanding of the causes, control and prevention of crime, you will graduate with transferable skills in research and analysis that are useful for most career paths.

Your course also offers several opportunities to gain work experience and professional contacts to improve your chances of employment following graduation.

Graduate destinations  

Typically, criminology graduates pursue careers in crime prevention, criminal justice, community development, local government, security, social research and the police.

Further study 

This degree also opens up a range of postgraduate study options. At Brighton, for example,  you could progress on to:

  • Advanced Social Work and Management MSc
  • Advanced Social Work MSc
  • Approved Mental Health Practice PGDip
  • Community Psychology MA
  • Humanistic Psychotherapeutic Counselling PGDip
  • Professional Social Work Practice PGCert
  • Professional Social Work Practice PGDip
  • Psychodynamic Psychotherapeutic Counselling PGDip
  • Psychotherapy MSc
  • Social Research Methods MSc (PGDip)
  • Social Work MSc (PGDip)
Student with learning materials in a seminar

Supporting your employability 

Outside of your course, our Careers Service is here to support you as you discover (and re-discover) your strengths and what matters to you. We are here for you throughout your university journey as you work towards a fulfilling and rewarding career.

Connect with our careers team

  • Find part-time work that you can combine with your studies.
  • Find, or be, a mentor or get involved with our peer-to-peer support scheme.
  • Develop your business ideas through our entrepreneurial support network.
  • Get professional advice and support with career planning, CV writing and interview top tips.
  • Meet potential employers at our careers fairs.
  • Find rewarding volunteering opportunities to help you discover more about what makes you tick, and build your CV.

Whatever your career needs, we are here to help. And that's not just while you are a student, our support carries on after you've graduated.

Find out more...

Coloured background with the words Be More, Connected, Skilled, Emlployable

Entry criteria

Entry requirements

A-levels or BTEC
Entry requirements are in the range of A-level BBC–CCC (112–96 UCAS Tariff points), or BTEC Extended Diploma DMM–MMM. Our conditional offers typically fall within this range. 

We will generally make you an offer if your predicted grades are at the top of this range. If your predicted grades are towards the lower end of this range we may still make you an offer if you have a good GCSE (or equivalent) profile or relevant non–academic achievements.

International Baccalaureate
26 points with three subjects at Higher level.

Access to HE Diploma
Pass with 60 credits overall. Sociology or law units preferred. At least 45 credits at level 3, with 18 credits at merit or above.

Studied before or got relevant experience?
A qualification, HE credits or relevant experience may count towards your course at Brighton, and could mean that you do not have to take some elements of the course or can start in year 2 or 3. 

English language requirements
IELTS 6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each element. Find out more about the other English qualifications that we accept.

International requirements and visas

International requirements by country
Country name
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Belarus
Belgium
Bermuda
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Burma (Myanmar)
Cameroon
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guyana
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malaysia
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palestinian National Authority
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
Syria
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United States
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Vietnam
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visit our language institute

For English language preparation courses.

Visit our International College

For degree preparation courses.

Visas and immigration advice

Applying for a student visa

Check out our step-by-step guidance.

Fees

Course fees

UK/EU (full-time) 9,250 GBP

International (full-time) 14,604 GBP

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in your fees, while studying a course in the School of Applied Social Science are listed here.

  • For some assessments you may be required to print large format posters for presentations at a cost of £5–£10 per poster.
  • Most coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes and should budget up to £100 for printing.
  • Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £100 to buy your own copies.
  • Some courses include an optional placement module for which students will need to cover the costs of travel to and from the placement and DBS checks as required.
  • For the Humanistic Psychotherapeutic Counselling PGDip and Psychotherapeutic Psychodynamic Counselling PGDip, the following course-related costs are not included in the tuition fee:
    • Supervision fees: £1,170 for each full year. Estimated based on £45 per hour with fortnightly meetings. In some agencies, supervision will be provided at no cost. Where students have to pay, the cost will only begin when supervision begins.
    • Personal counselling/therapy: £2,000–£2,800 over the course. Estimated based on £40 per hour.

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2020–21.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Location

Local area

About Brighton

The University of Brighton is at the heart of our city's reputation as a welcoming, forward-thinking place which leads the way when it comes to the arts, music, sustainability and creative technology. Brighton is home to a thriving creative community and a digital sector worth £1bn a year to the local economy, as much as tourism.

Many of the work-based learning opportunities offered on our courses such as placements and guest lectures are provided by businesses and organisations based in the city.

You can also get involved with city festivals and events such as the Brighton Festival, the Fringe, Brighton Digital Festival, Brighton Science Festival, the London to Brighton bike ride, and the Great Escape festival of new music to name but a few. Other annual highlights include Pride, the Brighton Marathon, and Burning the Clocks which marks the winter solstice.

You'll find living in Brighton enriches your learning experience and by the end of your course you will still be finding new things to explore and inspire you.

It's only 50 minutes by train from Brighton to central London and less than 40 minutes to Eastbourne. There are also daily direct trains to Bristol, Bedford, Cambridge, Gatwick Airport, Portsmouth and Southampton.

Map showing distance to London from Brighton
Brighton Beach sunset

Campus where this course is taught

Falmer campus

Set in the South Downs, our Falmer campus is around four miles from Brighton city centre. 7,000 students are based here taking subjects including criminology, English, education, nursing and medicine, paramedic science, psychology and sociology. Brighton and Hove Albion's Amex stadium and beautiful Stanmer Park are right next door.

Specialist learning facilities at Falmer include the curriculum centre used by teaching and education students, which houses over 30,000 teaching resources and clinical skills and simulation suites used by health students. Psychology students learn in our applied cognition and flexible creative method labs.

Falmer campus has two halls of residence on site, as well as a library, restaurant, cafes, and a students' union shop and bar.

The campus sports centre has a fitness suite, activity studios and a sports hall. There is also a floodlit astroturf football pitch, netball and tennis courts.

Cycle lanes link Falmer with our other campuses and the city centre and there is a BTN BikeShare hub on site. There are regular bus services to the city centre and other campuses. Falmer train station is right next to campus and a nine minute journey to central Brighton.

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Newly refurbished atrium in the Checkland Building

Accommodation

Brighton: Falmer

All eligible students applying for 2020 are guaranteed an offer of university halls of residence.

Halls of residence
We have halls of residence across Brighton in the city centre, Moulsecoomb, Varley Park and Falmer.

  • You'll be prioritised for accommodation in the halls that are linked to your teaching base, subject to availability.
  • Falmer campus is linked to the halls on Falmer campus and at Varley Park.
    • Paddock Field and Great Wilkins halls are on Falmer campus and offer a range of room types and catering options
    • Varley Park offers a mix of room and catering options. Varley Park is around two miles from Moulsecoomb campus and four miles from the city centre. Public transport in the city is excellent, and there's a shuttle bus between our Brighton campuses during term time.

Unihomes and unilets
Unihomes and unilets are student houses that we let to our students on behalf of private landlords. This option can work particularly well when you're balancing learning with placements and other commitments. We have unihomes and unilet properties across the city.

Private renting
There's plenty of support if you opt for private renting. This is an option which offers choice and flexibility – enabling you to choose where you live and who with. We manage our own studenthomes database of properties. This lists accommodation offered by landlords who have signed up to our code of standards. Every summer we provide online events and resources, as well as other advice services, for students looking for a place to live and people to share with.

Outside views at Falmer accommodation

Outside views at Falmer accommodation

Extensive facilities at Falmer sports centre

Extensive facilities at Falmer sports centre

Students dining at Westlain

Students dining at Westlain

Maps

Falmer campus

Stay in touch

Come to a campus tour

Ask a question about this course

If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

01273 644644

Visit the School of Applied Social Science blog. 

Statistics

These charts give an indication of how much time you will spend on different activities at each level of the course, and an indication of the balance of assessment by coursework, and written and practical exams. For courses with option modules, actual proportions will depend on the modules you choose.

Find out more about how the academic year and degree courses are organised, and about learning and assessment activities you might get to grips with at Brighton. More specific information about this course is detailed in the programme specification (linked above). You can find out also about the range of support we offer to help you adjust to university life.

Overall workload

Assessments

Discover Uni

Discover Uni enables you to compare information when choosing a UK university course. All UK universities publish Discover Uni data on their website. Discover Uni will be launching a widget this month that will show top line stats for this course. Once live, the widget will appear below. 

Programme specification

The programme specification is the approved description of each course. They are updated following course changes, and give a detailed breakdown of the content and structure of the course.

Programme specification

Related 5 courses

  • Criminology and Sociology BA(Hons)

    Criminology and Sociology BA(Hons)

  • Business Management BSc(Hons) with integrated foundation year

    Business Management BSc(Hons) with integrated foundation year

  • Law LLB(Hons) with integrated foundation year

    Law LLB(Hons) with integrated foundation year

  • Social Science BA(Hons)

    Social Science BA(Hons)

  • Psychology and Criminology BA(Hons)

    Psychology and Criminology BA(Hons)

‹ ›

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