Psychology and Criminology BA(Hons)

Course structure

The degree covers all of the major branches of psychology: developmental, cognitive, social and biological. It also teaches the conceptual and historical issues of psychology along with the research methods used in its academic practice, while giving you the chance to explore modern subdisciplines such as cyberpsychology and ecopsychology.

The criminology side of the course examines different explanations for crime, its link to dangerous or irresponsible people and whether it is a consequence of deprived social circumstances. We also consider the role and performance of different agencies within the criminal justice system, including the police, courts and prison service.

Opportunities are available for a work placement with a local organisation in year 2.

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.

Year 1

Year 1 will introduce you to both disciplines and to research methods, which you will later apply yourself in your own research work.

Modules

• Introduction to Applied Psychology

  You will be introduced to the basic approaches and theories within psychology and consider issues of application in the field.

• Developmental Psychology

  The module will introduce you to key theories and topics in child development and lifespan development. You'll examine issues from infancy through middle-childhood to adulthood to explore how people develop through time. The module provides an historical, biological, social and cultural context for studying child development, and life-span development to help you frame the theoretical perspectives presented.

• Introduction to Psychological Research Methods

  This module will introduce you to the range of research methods used in psychology and will enable you to develop the skills necessary to collect and analyse quantitative data. It also provides an introduction to qualitative data collection and analysis.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Year 2

In year 2, you will focus in on other core areas of psychology (for example, developmental psychology and social psychology) and learn about practical methods of crime control.

Modules

• Psychology, the Body and Individual Differences
• Psychology, Cognition and Social Worlds
• Punishment, Power and the State
• Critical Perspectives on Criminal Justice
• Psychological Research Methods

Options*

• Community Engagement: Theory into Practice
• Critical Analysis

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

Final year

Your final year at Brighton will give you significant room for choice as you decide which areas of criminology or psychology you would most like to pursue.

Modules

• Dissertation OR Psychology Dissertation
  (the psychology dissertation must be taken and passed to be eligible for graduate basis of chartered membership of the BPS)
• Violence and Society
• Forensic Psychology

Options*

• Cyberpsychology
• Global Issues: Crime, Power, Harm
• Criminology of Borders
• Critical Addiction Studies for Criminology
• Ecopsychology
• Critical Addiction Studies
• Mental Disorder and Anthropology
• Sexualities
• Psychology of Poverty

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

Facilities

The School of Applied Social Science has invested £250,000 in multi-purpose Psychology Resource Laboratories. They will provide high-tech facilities including:

• 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.

You will also benefit from an open-access teaching space and a dedicated psychology technician who will support your experiments.

Take a virtual tour of our psychology labs and follow our psychology lab blog run by our technicians Joe and Marta.

Volunteering

Volunteering is a great opportunity to develop your vocational skills and gain practical work experience while contributing to the wider community. Our award-winning Community University Partnership Programme (CUPP) can pair you up with a local organisation and find a volunteering placement that is right for you.

The optional Community Engagement module in year 2 allows you to incorporate volunteering in your degree programme. It involves 30 to 50 hours of work with a not-for-profit or community organisation that reflects your academic interests and career aspirations.

Previous students have had volunteering roles including:

• activity volunteer for CCHF All About Kids
• centre volunteer for the Centre for Ecotherapy
• communication supporter for Connect
• listening and support volunteer for the Samaritans
• support volunteer for the MS Society
• volunteer for Fresh Start
• volunteer befriender for the Alzheimer's Society.

CUPP is an award-winning project that aims to tackle disadvantage and promote sustainable development through partnership with local organisations

Staff profile

Orly Klein, course leader

Orly spent six years working with people who are homeless, which has formed the basis of her research interests and of her part-time work as a training consultant, where she specialises in designing and running training courses for staff in the caring professions.

Orly's early work looked at pathways into homelessness, the service needs of homeless people with mental health problems, and - more specifically - the service needs of homeless women with mental health problems.

More recently, Orly has been involved in research looking at the psychosocial implications of face transplants, which she presented at a conference on appearance research in June 2006.

Research

Our dedicated psychology and criminology lecturers are all involved in compelling research, with many books, journal articles and collaborative research projects published locally, nationally and internationally in the media.

• SASS criminology professor quoted in the Wall Street Journal
• Peter Squires: Straight shooter, the Guardian, October 2007
• Crimestoppers UK

Lecturers actively research crime and gender, environmentalism and sustainability, the relationship between self and social context, health, interpersonal violence, autobiographical memory, youth offending, sexuality, sexual behaviour and teenage pregnancy, mental health, firearms and culture, crime and policing, and psychotherapy.

Ongoing research work informs our teaching, making it contemporary, innovative and dynamic.

We can learn from methods to control gun crime in big cities in the US. But the gulf between our two nations' attitudes to gun ownership remains as wide as the ocean between us.

Peter Squires, the Guardian

International requirements and visas

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

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

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 2019–20.

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.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Falmer campus