Program Overview

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BSc (Hons) Policing, Psychology and Investigations with Foundation Year

Why study this course with LJMU?

• Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Access to our innovative Crime Scene Suite facilities for practical scenario-based learning
• Practical exercises and worked-based learning at the renowned Emergency Services Training Centre in Birkenhead (off-campus)
• Thought-provoking modules both reflect and challenge current policing practices and debates
• Opportunities for graduate membership to the British Psychological Society (BPS)
• Follow our student stories on Instagram

About your course

This degree will engage you in the key strategies for effective crime scene management and both the process and psychology of investigation.

Designed for those who are seeking a career in policing, the wider law enforcement sector, or associated fields in the criminal justice system. You will be introduced to policing and investigation practice and procedure, and criminal law.

Students have access to the Crime Scene Suite to explore crime scene perspectives and investigate approaches.

You will learn about Cognitive and Biological Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Individual Differences and the approaches needed to protect both vulnerable people and the management of offenders.

Students also have the opportunity to combine their studies with service by volunteering as a Special Constable.

You will be taught at Mount Pleasant Campus in the Liverpool Centre for Advanced Policing, a pioneering research centre for interdisciplinary law enforcement, and is licensed by the College of Policing to deliver degree programmes.

Foundation Year

The Foundation Year is ideal if you have the interest and ability to study for a degree, but do not have the qualifications to enter directly onto the Policing, Psychology and Investigations honours degree programme yet. Once you pass the Foundation Year (level 3) you will progress directly onto the first year (level 4) of the honours degree.

Course modules

What you will study on this degree

Core modules

• Preparing for Success: Academic Skills (20 credits)
• Investigating Liverpool (20 credits)
• Contemporary Issues in Security and Policing (20 credits)
• Contemporary Issues in Criminal Justice (20 credits)
• Crime, Justice and Diversity (20 credits)
• Society, Status and Social Policy (20 credits)

Core modules

• Introduction to Policing and Investigation (20 credits)
• Practice, Procedure and the Criminal Law 1 (20 credits)
• Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology 1: Relationships and Associations (10 credits)
• Introduction to Developmental Psychology and Individual Differences (20 credits)
• Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology 2: Testing for Differences (10 credits)
• Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology (20 credits)
• Skills for Success in Policing and Forensic Psychology (20 credits)

Core modules

• Policing Communities (20 credits)
• Practice, Procedure and the Criminal Law 2 (20 credits)
• Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology 4: Advanced Quantitative Research Methods (20 credits)
• Cognitive and Biological Psychology (20 credits)
• Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology, and Individual Differences (20 credits)
• Psychology of Investigation (20 credits)

Optional modules

• Study Year Abroad - Policing, Psychology and Investigations (120 credits)

Core modules

• Research Project - Policing, Psychology and Investigations (40 credits)
• Approaches to protecting vulnerable people and the management of offenders (20 credits)
• Forensic and Investigative Psychology (20 credits)

Optional modules

• Terrorism and Counter Terrorism (20 credits)
• Comparative Studies in Policing (20 credits)
• Policing, Security and Risk (20 credits)
• Investigating Serious and Complex Cases (20 credits)
• Application of Intelligence to Policing (20 credits)
• Psychopharmacology and Addictive Behaviour (10 credits)
• Face Perception: Processes and Disorders (10 credits)
• Social Cognition (10 credits)
• Work Psychology (10 credits)
• Psychology of Sexual Violence (10 credits)

Professional accreditation

Accredited against the requirements for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Your Learning Experience

• Teaching Support Assessment

Excellent facilities and learning resources

You will be taught by lecturers and practitioner academics, who are former serving officers of all ranks and roles, from Constable to Chief Constable. All staff are experienced in a wide range of subject areas and specialisms.

Career paths

Graduates find themselves working in a variety of policing roles as either police officers or police staff and in various roles in the wider law enforcement and criminal justice sectors. The degree also provides the basis for further study and careers in psychology.

Employability is a core module of the degree, where in your final year you will be encouraged and supported to consider your career path in policing.

For those graduates who wish to apply for police constable roles in England and Wales, this degree would render you eligible to apply for appointment via the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP) route.

Recruitment and appointment is subject to the relevant regulations and requirements of police recruitment and selection processes. This includes medical and fitness testing along with background and security checks. Recruitment and selection processes are rigorous and may vary between forces.

Candidates applying to join a police constabulary must also undertake a series of assessments including National Recruitment processes and Force vetting. Guidance on recruitment can be found on the College of Policing website.

For graduates who seek careers outside of police constable roles, may find themselves working in:

• Border Force Control
• National Crime Agency
• Police Staff - Researchers, Analysts or Advisors

Tuition fees and funding

Home

• Full-time per year: £9,535
• Placement year: £1,905

International

• Full-time per year: £17,750
• Placement year: £3,830

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

• GCSEs and equivalents: Grade 4/C in English Language and Mathematics or an equivalent qualification.
• A levels: DDD
• BTECs: Extended Diploma: MMP
• Access awards: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications. Pass overall with a minimum of 72 UCAS points.
• International Baccalaureate: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications.
• OCR Cambridge Technical: Extended Diploma: MMP
• Irish awards: 72 UCAS Tariff points from Irish Higher. Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications.
• T levels: Acceptable on its own and combined with other qualifications. You need to obtain the required 72 UCAS points from a related subject area.

International requirements

• IELTS: 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5, taken within two years of the course start date.