Program Overview

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Professional Policing 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 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

Year 1 (National Level 4)

• Introduction to Criminology and Policing (30 credits)
  • Study an Introduction to Criminology, Criminological Theory, Defining and Measuring Crime, Trends in Crime and Victimisation, Policing by Consent, Law Enforcement Agencies, Structure of the Police Force, Role of the Police, Professional Policing, Policing Reform, an Introduction to Evidence-based Policing.
• Criminal Justice (30 credits)
  • Study an introduction to Criminal Justice and social divisions such as class, gender, race and age in criminal justice.
• Making Decisions: Policing Legally and Ethically (30 credits)
  • Develop problem solving skills and study evidence-based decision making including the National Decision Model (NDM), the role of discretion, barriers to effective decision making, bias, recording decisions, ethical considerations, and the legal framework and introduction to police powers.
• Policing Communities and the Roads (30 credits)
  • Study an evidence-based approach to policing communities, recording incidents, function of community policing, engaging with the community, preventing and responding to crime and anti-social behaviour, maintaining community cohesion, challenges to community policing, information vs. intelligence, core functions and procedure of policing the roads, disrupting criminal activity by effective road policing, the strategic road network, pursuit, and evidence-based practice in road policing.

Year 2 (National Level 5)

• Response Policing (30 credits)
  • Explore the scope of response policing, types of incidents and crime, Public Order offences, Stop and Search, major incidents, taking accounts from victims and witnesses, evidence-based practice in response policing, challenges in response policing, multi-agency working, social, political and strategic drivers impacting on response policing.
• Professional Policing in Context (30 credits)
  • Learn about the history of the police force, professional standards in policing, challenges in operational policing, including public perception, anti-social behaviour, challenges with community engagement, critical reviews of major incidents, abuse of power, misconduct, policing reform, and the College of Policing.
• How to be an Effective Investigator (30 credits)
  • Examine the intelligence cycle, information vs evidence, process of an investigation, evidence-based practice in investigations, understanding the difference between 'volume and priority' and 'serious and complex' crime, accountability and discretion, decision making and applying the NDM, bias, impact of investigations on victims and victim care, expert evidence and expert witnesses.
• Research Methods for Policing (30 credits)
  • Study sources of research and evidence for EBP, quantitative and qualitative research methods, strengths and weaknesses of research methodologies, problem solving, creating an ethically sound research question, identifying best practice from evidence, and planning an intervention to tackle an identified issue.

Final Year (National Level 6)

• Protecting the Vulnerable (30 credits)
  • Look at defining 'vulnerability', providing services to those who are vulnerable or at risk of harm, evidence-based practice in policing vulnerability, public protection policing, key legislation, victimology, personal aspects of vulnerability, intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting vulnerability, abuse, relationships between victims and offenders, bias, victim and witness care, and justice outcomes for vulnerable people.
• Digital Policing (30 credits)
  • Understand technology and use of devices, IT terminology, social networks, encrypted communications, influence of technology, digital hygiene and digital safety, key legislation, digital investigations, digital community engagement, internet-facilitated crime, and the impact of digital crime.
• Counter-Terrorism (30 credits)
  • Understand key counter-terrorism terminology and organisational structures, including threat levels, terrorism-related offences, terrorism-related police powers and detention, importance of intelligence, radicalisation and deradicalisation, CONTEST, and links between terrorism and organised crime.
• Evidence-based Policing Project (30 credits)
  • Undertake a significant evidence-based research project while evaluating options, problem-solving and forming solutions.

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 .

Our admissions policy uses a range of flexible options to support you to study with us. This may include a reduced offer of up to 16 UCAS tariff points, (or equivalent). Find out if you are eligible.

If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.

Please ensure you use the correct UCAS code when applying:

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing – P1P2
BSc (Hons) Professional Policing (Accelerated) – P1P3

Is your qualification not displaying here? For international qualifications, search our full list of international entry requirements for this course.

Fees and Finance

The annual, full-time fee for this course is:

• £9,535 if you are from the UK/Europe
• £16,500 if you are an international student

Fees for the accelerated route are:

• £11,440 if you are from the UK/Europe
• £16,500 if you are an international student

*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 £9,535. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.

You may incur additional costs for travelling to placements.

Read more about EU fees and funding in our Help and Advice article.

Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.

This information was correct at the time of publication.

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.