Criminology and Criminal Justice - MSc drafted draft
| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2023-09-17 | 2023-06-30 |
| 2024-01-22 | 2024-11-30 |
Program Overview
About this course
In this section
Attendance
The degree is taught through flipped, blended and active learning modules, with an emphasis on applying and testing knowledge to real-life case studies and scenarios. Each module will be delivered through a flexible combination of online content which supports students to prepare and participate on campus in a combination of lectures, seminars, workshops and peer group learning, led by leading experts and practitioners. The full-time MSc lasts one calendar year with full-time students normally required to be on campus for five to six hours per week, over two days, during Semester One (Sept-Jan) and Semester Two (Jan-May). Dissertations are conducted during Semester Three (June-Sept).
The part-time MSc lasts two to three years and students would be expected to be on campus one day per week. It takes 5/6 semesters of study to complete the part-time programme.
Both programmes will be supplemented with seminars and lectures by visiting academics and practitioners.
Start dates
Teaching, Learning and Assessment
The MSc is structured around active learning methods. Essential knowledge is delivered in advance of class through the University’s online learning platform Blackboard. This allows class time to be a hands-on experience where learners are able to test their understanding and skills through real-life situations and obtain feedback from academic staff and practitioners.
A broad range of teaching and learning methods are used on the MSc which are designed to promote critical thinking, reflexivity, and teamwork. These include lectures, seminars, supervised group-work sessions, presentations and workshops with expert practitioners, case study work, online learning and directed readings. Lecture material will be accompanied by podcasts, videos and handouts.
Class based activities allow students to apply their learning to real life problems and scenarios through the completion of group discussions, debates, presentations, and direct reading tasks among others. Students will also acquire key skills in survey research design and data analysis using a large survey dataset.
Learners also benefit from individual research supervision for the dissertation part of the programme.
Assessments are closely aligned to module and degree learning outcomes. They are designed to motivate learners to actively engage with course content and to test their learning. To do this, we set assessments that emulate real-life professional scenarios and challenges. The assessments dove tail with learning activities in class, where students hone their knowledge, skills, and craft, so they can demonstrate excellence in the assessment exercise. Assessments can include presentations, case study reports, policy briefs, reflective accounts, data analysis tasks, posters, research proposals and the dissertation. Forward looking individual oral and written feedback is provided to learners, so they can address gaps in knowledge and strengthen their skill base.
Academic profile
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.