Professional Policing

Program Overview

BSc (Hons) Professional Policing

Course Overview

The BSc (Hons) Professional Policing programme covers a comprehensive range of knowledge, skills, and professional approaches that have been identified as being critical to policing services in the 21st century. These include evidence-based policing; decision-making and discretion; criminology and crime prevention; pro-active approaches to vulnerability, risk, and public protection; well-being and resilience. There is also coverage of key emerging areas of responsibility, such as digital policing and counter-terrorism.

Course Features

• Develop both the practical skills and the theoretical knowledge you need to become an effective police officer.
• Learn from leading experts who have wide-ranging real-life experience in policing.
• Become equipped to deal with the exciting challenges of modern policing.

Course Details

Our aim is to shape 'confident learners' by enabling you to develop the skills needed to excel in your studies here and as well as onto further studies or the employment market.

You are taught primarily through a combination of lectures and seminars, allowing opportunities to discuss and develop your understanding of topics covered in lectures in smaller groups.

In addition to the formally scheduled contact time such as lectures and seminars etc.), you are encouraged to access academic support from staff within the course team, your personal tutor, and the wide range of services available to you within the University.

Independent Learning

Over the duration of your course, you will be expected to develop independent and critical learning, progressively building confidence and expertise through independent and collaborative research, problem-solving, and analysis with the support of staff. You take responsibility for your own learning and are encouraged to make use of the wide range of available learning resources available.

Overall Workload

Your overall workload consists of class contact hours, independent learning, and assessment activity. While your actual contact hours may depend on the optional modules you select, the following information gives an indication of how much time you will need to allocate to different activities at each level of the course.

• Year 1 (Level 4): Teaching, learning, and assessment: 144 hours. Independent learning: 1056 hours
• Year 2 (Level 5): Teaching, learning, and assessment: 144 hours. Independent learning: 1056 hours
• Year 3 (Level 6): Teaching, learning, and assessment: 240 hours. Independent learning: 960 hours

Location

Taught elements of the course take place on campus in Winchester.

Teaching Hours

All class-based teaching takes places between 9am – 6pm, Monday to Friday during term time. Wednesday afternoons are kept free from timetabled teaching for personal study time and for sports clubs and societies to train, meet, and play matches. There may be some occasional learning opportunities (for example, an evening guest lecturer or performance) that take places outside of these hours for which you will be given forewarning.

Assessment

Our validated courses may adopt a range of means of assessing your learning. An indicative, and not necessarily comprehensive, list of assessment types you might encounter includes essays, portfolios, supervised independent work, presentations, written exams, or practical performances.

We ensure all students have an equal opportunity to achieve module learning outcomes. As such, where appropriate and necessary, students with recognised disabilities may have alternative assignments set that continue to test how successfully they have met the module's learning outcomes.

Percentage of the Course Assessed by Coursework

The assessment balance between examination and coursework depends to some extent on the optional modules you choose. The approximate percentage of the course assessed by different assessment modes is as follows:

• Year 1 (Level 4): 50% coursework. 0% written exams. 50% practical assessment
• Year 2 (Level 5): 59% coursework. 0% written exams. 41% practical assessment
• Year 3 (Level 6): 56% coursework. 13% written exams. 31% practical assessment

Modules

Year 1

• Introduction to Police Values and Attributes (20 Credits)
• Developing Academic Skills (20 Credits)
• Introduction to Contemporary Policing (20 Credits)
• Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice (20 Credits)
• Introduction to Vulnerability, Risk, and Public Protection (20 Credits)
• Police Investigations (20 Credits)

Year 2

• Policing Values, Ethics, and Practice (20 Credits)
• Criminology, Crime Prevention, and Criminal Justice (20 Credits)
• Contemporary Policing Practice (20 Credits)
• Introduction to Research Methods (20 Credits)
• Advanced Vulnerability, Risk, and Public Protection (20 Credits)
• Information and Intelligence in Evidence-Based Policing (20 Credits)

Year 3

• Understanding the Police Constable Role: Ethics and Policy (20 Credits)
• Advanced Contemporary Policing (20 Credits)
• Problem Solving in Policing (20 Credits)
• Conducting Complex Investigations (20 Credits)
• Extended Independent Study (40 Credits)

Entry Requirements

• UK: 112-120 points
• International: Equivalent qualifications and English language proficiency

Tuition Fees

• UK/Channel Islands/Isle of Man/Republic of Ireland: £9,535 (2025/26)
• International: £16,700 (2025/26)

Additional Costs

• Mandatory and optional costs for this course are outlined on the University's website.

Scholarships, Bursaries, and Awards

• Various scholarships and bursaries are available to support students financially.

Career Prospects

• Many students who undertake this degree will be aiming to join the police service as a Police Constable.
• Other careers could include working in the National Crime Agency, Border Force, the Independent Office for Police Conduct, probation service, military police, private security, civil service, local authority, or Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Accreditation

• This course is a national pre-join degree programme licenced by the College of Policing.