Program Overview

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BA (Honours) Criminology and Sociology with Foundation Year

Course Summary

Explore criminological and sociological perspectives on crime, deviance, and marginalisation to help you make a positive impact on local and global society.

How You Learn

Our dedicated staff bring a wealth of practical experience, having worked in various areas of the criminal justice system, such as prisons, probation, and the police. Many are also actively engaged in cutting-edge criminological research, ensuring that your education is current and delivering real-world impact.

You'll have the opportunity to engage with external partners and practitioners, gaining the contemporary knowledge, skills, and attributes you need for a professional career in the criminal justice or social justice sectors. Our goal is to prepare you for further professional training or equivalent pursuits.

You learn through:

• Face-to-face lectures and seminars
• Online lectures and seminars
• Student-led collaborative learning
• Practice-based learning
• Independent research
• Exams and coursework
• Practical exercises

Modules

Year 1

• The Exploration Of Law, Crime, Justice And Society (60 credits)
  • Develops student study skills and academic knowledge in their chosen discipline.
  • Topics include:
    • Supporting your successful transition into Higher Education.
    • Identification and development of your academic, interpersonal, and professional skills.
    • Defining and understanding concepts relevant to Law, Criminology, Policing, Psychology, and Sociology.
• Social Justice In Action (60 credits)
  • Develops students' research and enquiry skills and knowledge within Human Rights and Social Justice.
  • Topics include:
    • Contemporary themes relevant to human rights and social justice.
    • Development of academic skills required for a successful transition into higher education.
• The Practice Of Law And Policing (60 credits)
  • Develops your knowledge, research, and academic writing skills, with emphasis on Civil and Criminal Justice, Human Rights, and Social Justice.
  • Topics include:
    • Developing a logical and coherent discussion and argument.
    • Identifying and using appropriate sources.
    • Considering relevant international, regional, and domestic legal frameworks and provisions.

Year 2

• Contesting Crime And Deviance (60 credits)
  • Develops a foundational understanding of the disciplines, criminology and sociology, across a range of social contexts.
  • Topics include:
    • Contemporary criminological and sociological concepts and perspectives.
    • Ethical and rights-based notions of justice, exclusion, and stigmatisation.
• Researching Crime, Deviance And Marginalisation (60 credits)
  • Expands your foundational knowledge, focusing on the application of research methods across a range of social contexts and structures.
  • Topics include:
    • Criminalisation and marginalisation.
    • Impact on responses and policy development.
    • Human rights, social justice, penal/social policy, and crime.

Year 3

• Investigating Crime Deviance And Marginalisation (60 credits)
  • Develops critical, theoretical, and practice knowledge and research methods into how individuals interact with society's institutions, domains, and settings.
  • Topics include:
    • Socio-crime nexus through data analysis and creation.
    • Applying social science research methods to understand the harms to individuals in different settings.

Year 4

• Placement Year (optional)
  • Enhances your professional development through the completion of and reflection on meaningful work placement(s).
  • Provides opportunities to experience the realities of professional employment and experience how your course can be applied within your chosen industry setting.

Elective Modules

• 21St Century Security Threats: Crime, Crisis Or Tragedy (20 credits)
  • Develops specialised knowledge and a critical understanding of global and human security, including our responses to 21st-century threats and crimes.
• Comparative Criminal Justice (20 credits)
  • Develops critical abilities and awareness of comparative criminal justice.
• Controversies Of Policing (20 credits)
  • Highlights controversial policing policies and practices which operate in ways that marginalise a range of population groups.
• Crime, Harm And Social Justice (20 credits)
  • Explores and interrogates concepts of crime, harm, and justice.
• Drugs, Crime And Society (20 credits)
  • Examines drugs, drug use, and drug abuse in wider social, cultural, economic, and political contexts.
• Education, Health And Disability (20 credits)
  • Explores contemporary issues in health and disability through the lens of education.
• Families, Age, And Relationships (20 credits)
  • Provides a rigorous sociological analysis of the concept of families, relationships, age, and stages of the life course.
• Gender, Power And The State (20 credits)
  • Examines contemporary gendered injustices and critically considers how the state defines, controls, and responds to harms.
• Gender, Sexuality, And Culture (20 credits)
  • Explores theories and practices of identity, self, and power in relation to sexualities and embodiment.
• Pathways To Change (20 credits)
  • Explores desistance and recovery from crime, drugs, gambling, pornography, and other related harms.
• Punishment And Practice In Context (20 credits)
  • Develops your understanding of criminal justice practice in prisons, probation, and youth justice across international contexts.
• Real World Project (60 credits)
  • Extends your knowledge of real-world problems to an organisation that helps you relate theoretical, research, or policy frameworks to practical challenges.
• Real World Research (60 credits)
  • Uses your research skills and expands your graduate attributes.
• Sex, Gender And Violence (20 credits)
  • Develops your critical knowledge and understanding of issues, definitions, and arguments concerning sex, gender, and violence.

Future Careers

This course prepares you for a career in:

• Citizens advice work
• Community liaison work
• Drug and alcohol services
• Police services
• Prison services
• Probation services
• Social work
• Social research (academic, government, charity)
• Victim support work
• Youth work

Equipment and Facilities

Most of our teaching is conducted in dedicated lecture studios, small teaching rooms, and computer labs.

You'll work with:

• Innovative digital teaching and learning platforms and apps
• Specialist software
• Data analysis packages
• Data collection tools

We've invested over £100 million in new facilities to help you study how and when you want. This means 24-hour libraries and study spaces designed by our students.

Where Will I Study?

You study at City Campus through a structured mix of lectures, seminars, and practical sessions as well as access to digital and online resources to support your learning.

Entry Requirements

• UCAS points: 64
• GCSE: English Language at grade C or 4 or equivalent, Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalent
• ACCESS: Access to HE Diploma, with at least 45 level 3 credits.

If English is not your first language, you will need an IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in all skills, or equivalent.

Fees and Funding

• Home students: Tuition fees for 2026/27 are not yet confirmed. Our tuition fee for UK students on this course in 2025/26 is £5,760 for the foundation year and £9,535 per year for the degree (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year).
• International students: Our tuition fee for International/EU students starting full-time study in 2026/27 is £18,000 per year (capped at a maximum of 20% of this during your placement year).