Program Overview

Professional Policing with Integrated Foundation Year BSc (Hons)

Overview

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

Why Us?

• Our BSc (Hons) Professional Policing course has a 100% positivity score for how well the course develops the knowledge and skills needed for the future (National Student Survey, 2024)
• Our policing degrees 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

• 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
• The starting salary of a police constable outside London starts at £29,907, increasing up to £48,231 over the next seven years

Course Structure

The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree covers the National Police Curriculum in a practical and relevant way. You'll learn the underpinning theories in criminology and the processes of criminal justice, but you'll 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.

Course Modules

Foundation Year:

• Foundations of Social Sciences (40 credits)
• Global Rights and Wrongs (20 credits)
• Essential Study Skills (20 credits)
• Foundation Project (20 credits)
• Practical Numeracy Skills (20 credits)

Year 1 (national level 4):

• Introduction to Criminology and Policing (30 credits)
• Criminal Justice (30 credits)
• Making Decisions: Policing Legally and Ethically (30 credits)
• Policing Communities and the Roads (30 credits)

Year 2 (national level 5):

• Responding to Incidents (30 credits)
• Professional Policing in Context (30 credits)
• How to be an Effective Investigator (30 credits)
• Research Methods for Policing (30 credits)

Year 3 (national level 6):

• Protecting the Vulnerable (30 credits)
• Digital Policing (30 credits)
• Counter-Terrorism (30 credits)
• Evidence-based Policing Project (30 credits)

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

We don’t currently display entry requirements for Ireland. Please contact the Student Admin team on or .

Eligible entry qualifications:

• If you're unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us.

Fees and Finance

The annual fee for this course is £5,760 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.

Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £5,760. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.

Please note, this course isn't available to international students.

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 doesn't guarantee that you'll get such a position. It'll 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 this field, this policing 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 Professional Policing degree will be taught by our staff with significant experience in the police force and they'll be able to provide you with academic advice and mentoring to help you progress towards your chosen career.