نظرة عامة على البرنامج

Program Description

With hands-on experience and access to industry-standard equipment, you'll be primed to lead and innovate in the criminal justice field. This course sets the students up for a wide range of careers in the Criminal Justice System, enabling them to choose their own path - keeping the Crime Scene Investigation route open, but not limiting them to this career choice. It remains robustly academic and can be a stepping stone to postgraduate options and graduate only schemes.

Career Outcomes

This course will equip you with a broad range of skills which can be deployed in a range of Criminal Justice careers, as well as in private sector and non-governmental organisations. It can also lead to postgraduate-level study options.

Program Structure

This programme has adopted a 30-credit modular structure which has been designed to allow you to immerse yourself in greater depth of the subject areas.

What you will learn

This course will equip you with a broad range of skills which can be deployed in a range of Criminal Justice careers, as well as in private sector and non-governmental organisations. It can also lead to postgraduate-level study options.

Year One

• Crime Scene Investigation: With a focus on professional standards and experiential learning, you will gain the ability to perform techniques involved in the investigation of crime scenes and the recovery of evidence, as practised by forensic agencies.
• Crime and Deviance: You will learn how to answer some of the central questions of criminological inquiry – what types of crime happen in Britain, why do they happen, how much crime is there, and how do individuals and society deal with the impact?
• Criminal Justice System: You will understand the way in which the state responds to crime in England and Wales. Some of the key questions for consideration include: how is crime investigated and what impact does this have on individuals, social groups and society at large, what happens when someone is accused of committing crime, and how does the state deal with those who are convicted of offences?
• Professional Skills for Criminal Justice: You will gain the skills needed for a successful career, emphasising the professional, ethical behaviour, expected of a criminal justice practitioner.

Year Two

• Forensic Examination: Operating within a quality management system, you will develop the knowledge and skills needed to analyse, compare, and evaluate a variety of forensic evidence in the laboratory.
• Expert Witness: You will develop an understanding of the contributions subject matter experts make to the investigative process. Developing a capability to integrate expert witness material in your investigative approach.
• Crime, Punishment and Rehabilitation: You will learn to think critically about how society decides what is and is not ‘criminal’, worthy of ‘punishment’ and what the aims and scope of ‘rehabilitation’ are.
• Exploring Research: Through exploration and application of a range of research and analysis methods, you will harness the skills required to conceive, design, conduct, and interpret research for Criminal Justice.

Year Three

• Leading Complex and Major Crime Scene Investigation: You will develop knowledge and skills needed to lead and direct a team of crime scene investigators and specialists during complex and major crime scene investigations.
• Victimology: You will develop and extend your understanding of victims and victimisation in contemporary society. Using a multi-layered theoretical framework, you will explore the nature, extent, and impact of victimisation on individuals and society.
• Death Investigation (Optional): You will be introduced to ways in which medical science and principal forensic evidence types can assist in the medico-legal investigation of deaths.
• Dissertation: You will be able to complete an independent piece of in-depth research, developing your research skills and gaining valuable experience in research project management.

Entry Requirements

• 104-112 UCAS Tariff Points: You can find out more about the tariff and qualification options from the UCAS tariff table. Offers are tailored to the individual applicant and their circumstances and can be across the tariff range.

Tuition Fees

• £9,535: UK (2025-2026)
• £14,900: International (2025-2026)

Research Areas

• The diverse skills you’ll acquire will equip you with the skills needed to navigate the various aspects of Criminal Justice practice, helping you to stand out from other candidates in the job market.
• The University's student groups have carried out small research projects on night-time safety in Carlisle, university policies on sexual misconduct, and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on student deviant behaviours.
• The programme contains many opportunities for students to research real-world problems: from the most pressing crime issues in their communities, through hands-on experience in the labs, and all the way to their own choice of final dissertation projects.