| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2025-09-01 | - |
| 2026-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
Professional Policing BSc (Hons)
Overview
The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree is a three-year program that provides students with a comprehensive understanding of policing and the criminal justice system. The program is accredited by the College of Policing and is designed to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and values required to become a police officer or pursue a career in the wider criminal justice system.
Course Features
- Work placement opportunity
- International students can apply
- Sandwich year option available
- Studying abroad option available
What You'll Study
Year 1
- Criminal Justice: Introduces students to the criminal justice system, including the role of the police, victims, and the courts.
- Evidence-Based Policing: Explores the concepts of evidence-based policing, problem-oriented policing, and problem-solving.
- Introduction to Core Policing and Decision-Making: Equips students with an understanding of the overall context of policing and its core function in society.
- Public Protection, Vulnerability and Risk 1: Examines contemporary issues such as child abuse, child sexual exploitation, and domestic abuse.
- Response Policing: Explores the key fundamental functions of response policing, including the legislation and policies connected to operational response policing.
- Skills for Criminal Justice: Introduces students to the range of skills needed for successful study and potential progression into a career in policing, law enforcement, or criminal justice.
Year 2
- Criminal Investigation and Investigative Interviewing: Explores the complexities of investigative interviewing and the criminal investigation process within police work.
- Policing Communities: Equips students with an understanding of the positive impact and challenges of community policing in the 21st century.
- Policing Crime: Introduces students to the various legislation that may be used when dealing with typical policing incidents and crimes.
- Policing the Roads: Explores the key fundamental functions of policing the roads, examining the relevant legislation, policies, and national strategies relating to roads policing.
- Public Protection, Vulnerability and Risk 2: Examines contemporary issues such as so-called honour-based abuse, sexual offences, and hate crime.
- Doing Criminal Justice Research: Provides students with a thorough grounding in understanding and undertaking policing research.
Year 3
- Counter Terrorism: Examines key legislation, terminology, and concepts around counter-terrorism, from radicalisation and extremism to home-grown terrorism, interventions, and the Government's Prevent and CONTEST strategies.
- Information and Intelligence: Examines key legislation and guidance on the collection, processing, retention, and sharing of information and intelligence.
- Police Ethics, Integrity and Professional Standards: Equips students with a critical knowledge and understanding of issues around professional standards, the code of ethics, integrity, honesty, accountability, and misconduct regulations.
- Police Research Report: Enables students to carry out a piece of academic research on policing on a topic of their choosing.
- Digital Policing and Cybercrime: Equips students with an understanding of the complexities of digital policing and digitally facilitated crimes.
Optional Modules
- Professional Policing Work Experience: Enhances employability and engages students in part-time or voluntary work in a policing-related field.
- Criminal Investigation of Serious and Complex Crime: Explores the complexities of investigative interviewing and the criminal investigation processes within the areas of serious, complex, and organised crime.
How You'll Study
The program will be delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, and workshops. All students will also receive support in developing their academic skills, as well as transferable skills, through the program, Uniskills workshops, and Careers Team events.
How You'll Be Assessed
Assessment methods take account of both the need to develop and demonstrate academic skills and learning, and to demonstrate learning relevant to careers in policing, law enforcement, the wider criminal justice system, and graduate jobs market. Assessment methods include:
- Report writing
- Essay writing
- Practice-based work
- Reflections
- Problem-based scenarios
- Posters
- Presentations
- Examinations
Who Will Be Teaching You
You will be taught by our highly qualified and experienced team composed of former Chief Superintendents, Detective Chief Superintendents, Directors of Intelligence, Criminal Intelligence Analysts, and Cyber Crime specialists, as well as internationally recognised academics.
Your Future Career
Whether you are planning a career in the criminal justice system, policing, or a career in another field of expertise, our BSc Professional Policing program will develop your transferable skills and inspire you to reach your career goals.
Entry Criteria
Typical offer 112-120 UCAS Tariff points. No specific subjects are required.
Example Offers
- A Level: BBC-BBB
- UCAS Tariff points: 112-120 points
- BTEC Extended Diploma (or combination of BTEC QCF qualifications): Distinction, Merit, Merit (DMM)
- T Level: Overall grade of Merit
- International Baccalaureate (IB): We are happy to accept IB qualifications which achieve the required number of UCAS Tariff points
- Access to Higher Education Diploma: 45 credits at Level 3, for example, 15 credits at Distinction and 30 credits at Merit or 24 credits at Distinction and 21 credits at Merit
English Language Requirements
International students require IELTS 6.0, with a score no lower than 5.5 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification.
Facilities
The £6m Law and Psychology building provides contemporary teaching and learning facilities for students in the School of Law and Criminal Justice. The Police Training and Simulation Facility, known as the 'Crime House', is used to simulate a wide range of crime scenes, providing students with an immersive learning experience.
Finance
- UK Full-Time: £9,535 a year
- UK Part-Time: £79 per credit for 360 credits
- International: £17,000 a year
The University may administer a small inflationary rise in tuition fees, in line with Government policy, in subsequent academic years as you progress through the course.
Course Changes
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however, our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree is a three-year full-time or five-year part-time program that prepares students for a career in policing. The program is accredited by the College of Policing and taught by a mix of academics, pracademics, and practitioners with years of experience in policing, law enforcement, academic research, and university teaching. The program's objectives are to:
- Provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the role of policing in society and the criminal justice system.
- Develop students' skills in teamwork, leadership, communication, empathy, negotiation, inclusion, and decision-making.
- Prepare students for a variety of careers in policing and law enforcement.
Outline:
The program's content covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Policing in society
- The criminal justice system
- Criminology
- Evidence-based policing
- Response policing
- Public protection
- Vulnerability and risk
- Investigation and investigative interviewing
- Police research The program's structure is as follows:
- Year 1: Students take a foundation year that provides them with a broad understanding of the role of policing in society and the criminal justice system.
- Year 2: Students take a core year that covers the key concepts and skills of policing.
- Year 3: Students take a specialist year that allows them to focus on a particular area of policing, such as investigation, public protection, or community policing. The program's course schedule is as follows:
- Year 1:
- Criminal Justice
- Evidence Based Policing
- Introduction to Core Policing and Decision-Making
- Public Protection, Vulnerability and Risk 1
- Response Policing
- Skills for Professional Policing
- Year 2:
- Criminal Investigation and Investigative Interviewing
- Doing Police Research
- Policing Communities
- Policing Crime
- Policing the Roads
- Public Protection, Vulnerability and Risk 2
- Year 3:
- Counter Terrorism
- Digital Policing and Cybercrime
- Information and Intelligence
- Police Ethics, Integrity and Professional Standards
- Police Research Report
- One of:
- Criminal Investigation of Serious and Complex Crime
- Professional Policing Work Experience
Assessment:
The program's assessment methods include:
- Report writing
- Essay writing
- Practice-based work
- Reflections
- Problem-based scenarios
- Posters
- Presentations
- Examinations
Teaching:
The program is taught by a team of research-active, expert tutors who are specialists in policing, criminology, and law enforcement. The team has wide-ranging academic and practice-based expertise from careers in policing and law enforcement and/or from researching issues pertinent to policing, such as decision-making in policing, policing protests, intelligence and data analysis, international data sharing, multi-agency working, policing large-scale events, and violence.
Careers:
The program's graduates have gone on to have careers as:
- Police officers in Forces across England and Wales, with the British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary
- Policing and law enforcement analysts
- Public protection and child and youth services
- Charities involved in criminal and youth justice
- HM Prisons and Probation Service
- Graduate training schemes in companies like Enterprise Cars
Other:
The program includes a number of unique features, such as:
- A Police Training and Simulation Facility, which allows students to practice their skills in a realistic environment.
- A mooting room, where students can practice their advocacy skills and cross-examination techniques.
- A strong emphasis on research, with students completing a research project in their final year.
- A wide range of opportunities for students to get involved in extracurricular activities, such as volunteering with the police or joining the university's Police Society.
- UK Full-Time: £9,250 a year
- UK Part-Time: £77 per credit for 360 credits
- International: £16,500 a year
