The content of this module fulfils two functions. First, to introduce students to the breadth of criminological scholarship, providing a pathway into the discipline by identifying and exploring key debates and ideas. These will include such issues as the nature of 'crime', its distribution and patterning, major conceptual paradigms, the effects of crime as well as a range of criminal justice challenges such as victimisation. 

In addition, the module also places an emphasis on developing academic and transferable skills, encouraging students to develop beyond the preceding sections of the education system by placing an emphasis on the requirements of independent learning and practical means of getting the most out of higher education. In so doing, it also encourages students to reflect upon how their developing academic skills might transfer over into purposeful and rewarding forms of employment. 

Foundations in Criminology and Criminal Justice is a core module on the level 4 programme in criminology. It is intended to give students a comprehensive introduction to the key issues and debates in criminology that they will develop in levels 5 and 6 of their degree. Students will consider how crime is constructed, perceived and responded to within society. They will explore the interrelationships between crime, social problems and their context. The module is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of subject knowledge and to develop a range of key skills, including research, scholarship and academic practices, thus enabling students to identify, summarise and comment upon a variety of subject matters in a criminological manner, and to organise and articulate ideas and arguments. This module also requires students to consider their own academic and professional skills, and how (and in what ways) this will/can be developed.

Underlying the module is an exploration of the role of policing within liberal democratic society. It will critically analyse the developments in policing and the police and detail the complex policy environment, theories and research on police and policing. This analysis will continue and evaluate policing institutions and operations in the UK and elsewhere with reference to their legal, political, social and cultural implications.

The study of policing has become one of the most contested and debated areas of criminology This module evaluates the historical, comparative, and contemporary development and nature of policing within a broader understanding of the socioeconomic, cultural, and political changes of the last half-century. It provides an assessment of historical and comparative perspectives; dissects and reflects upon the politics of the police, critically reviews areas of doing policing, and explores contemporary debates. 

Within the module, students explore the role of the police and contemporary policing in society and its impacts. This will be reviewed within the context of the emergence, development, and contemporary transformation of policing in regional, national and international settings. We will evaluate the aims, functions, models, and cultures of contemporary policing, the marketisation of policing services, police powers, and accountability. The relationship between law, governance/regulation, and social order will also be explored. Major developments in contemporary policing will be appraised and students will evaluate future prospects for policing modern society. 

This module is intended to provide level 4 students with an introduction to Forensic Psychology & Criminal Justice. In this module, you will gain further knowledge about how criminologists theorise crime, who commits crimes, and how. This module scrutinises how investigative methods have evolved and influence the detection and management of criminality alongside courtroom procedures and ethics. Forensic psychology brings a heavy psychological application to criminology as we consider topics such as the influence fear of crime has on the general populace, prisoner mental health, prison-based therapeutic communities as a form of rehabilitative treatment, and the trustworthiness of memory recall in eyewitness testimonies. 

This module critically engages learners in the study of forensic psychology and criminal justice through an in-depth appreciation of custodial and community sanctions. In doing so, the contemporary academic, political, legislative and policy contexts of criminal behaviour, forensic assessment, the psychology of law enforcement and the legal system, correctional psychology, victimology, and ethical treatment are investigated in this module. Each of these aspects are investigated through a critical academic lens that aims to scrutinise our understanding, investigation, and management of criminality.

Part A:      

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the university of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

• The multiple facets of Global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Theories and models Intercultural competence
• Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism

• Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection
• Experiential learning models
• Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

• Enhanced independence
• Improved command of multicultural behaviour
• Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development
• Team building and team work

Part B:            Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

The purpose of this module is to enhance students’ prospects of completing an overseas placement to the best of their ability consequently it aims to:

• To equip participants with appropriate knowledge and skills to study or work in a different cultural, linguistic and/or social environment; enhancing ethical, cultural and intercultural awareness.
• To enhance students understanding of the ethical issues related to living and working abroad.
• To increase students Global Citizenship skills
• To provide an opportunity for students to reflect critically on their experience of living and learning within an unfamiliar culture, to their 'home' culture or ethnic group.

To challenge students to learn about themselves as global citizens in terms of life skills, career choices and academic development outside the classroom.

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning       and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

Students will undertake study at one of UoC’s partner universities; it is expected that students will choose a series of modules at the university abroad, which equal a full-time study load. This must be agreed by the host institution and the International Tutor. Students must supply details of their courses/modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university, note students who fail to supply this within 4 weeks may have the opportunity withdrawn.

1. To experience academic life in country outside of the EU, enhancing cultural and intercultural awareness and increasing transversal skills.
2. To reflect on the impact of the experience in their destination on one’s own personal, academic and professional development.
3. To engage with the experience of study at a partner university to gain extensive first-hand knowledge and understanding of the relevant society from the perspective of the resident.
4. To further develop independent learning techniques.
5. To foster critical evaluation.

• Foundations of research - ontology, epistemology, methodology
• Philosophy of the Social Sciences - Positivist, Interpretivist and Critical Philosophy.
• Methodology of the Social Sciences - Qualitative, Quantitative and Participatory Action methodologies.
• Ethics of the Social Sciences.
• Research Design in the Social Sciences - developing research questions; objectives, aims and hypotheses, literature review, sampling, correlation.
• Research Methods in the Social Sciences - archives, documents, surveys, observation, focus groups, interviews, ethnography, visual methods, evaluation research, PAR, dialogue.
• Analysis - statistics; contextual, content, narrative and discourse analysis; triangulation; implementation.
• Writing and dissemination of research.

This module is designed:

• To introduce students in the Social and Political Sciences to the foundations of social scientific enquiry.
• To enable such students to distinguish between, and to apply, a variety of ontological, epistemological and methodological approaches.
• To enable students to assess the strengths, weaknesses and 'fitness for purpose' of research methodologies and methods.
• To enable students to understand the significance of, and to choose between, the methods of the social sciences in a variety of contexts.
• To make students aware of the significance of ethical practice when planning and conducting research.
• To enable students to choose between different forms of research analysis.
• To enable students to critique research and to select different forms of research design.

• Classical & Positivist Criminology 
• Biological  Criminology 
• Chicago School and Environmental Theory 
• Anomie and Strain Theory 
• Subcultural Theory 
• Labelling Theory 
• Realist Perspectives 
• Gendered Criminology 
• Cultural Criminology
• Peace-making Criminology 
• Public Criminology 
• Zemiology and Social Harm 
• Contemporary Developments in Criminology

This core module is designed to develop discipline-specific abilities in the competent use of criminological theory and concepts to understand crime, victimisation and responses to crime and deviance.  It is intended to:

• Provide students with a comprehensive grounding in the varieties of criminological theory.
• Familiarise them with the different assumptions, explanations and proposed solutions embedded within these theories.
• Sensitise students to the importance of the social contexts in which theories are produced.

The module is also designed to develop students learning about 'crime' and 'criminal justice', in that they are not fixed and settled entities but complex and shifting processes whose different characteristics are revealed (and concealed) when viewed through the lenses of different theories. 

• Crime, harm, and victimisation
• Victimology, victims and zemiology (the study of social harms)
• Non-conventional forms of crime and harm including crimes and harms that go beyond traditional frameworks
• Crimes and harm committed by the powerful
• Regulatory frameworks, criminal justice, social justice and injustice
• Resistance and redress

• To explore non-conventional victims and victimisation.
• To examine harm and victimisation beyond traditional frameworks.
• To investigate crime and harm committed by the powerful.
• To introduce students to victimology and zemiology.
• To examine regulatory frameworks and to assess the extent to which they deliver criminal and/or social justice.
• To acknowledge and understand resistance and redress.

This module develops students’ abilities to critically analyse state crime and mechanisms for the resistance of state crime through engagement with leading criminological and sociological theoretical ideas in this field and historical and contemporary case studies. Drawing on theories from agnotology, cultural studies, and studies of survivor testimonies, the module gives attention to strategies for informing public sense-making to motivate active consent, acquiescence and resistance. It gives focus to mechanisms for the resistance of state crime including international responses such as humanitarian law and mechanisms of transitional justice, activism by non-government organisations, public social science and civil activism. Students will be supported with the application of theories to a range historic and contemporary state crime resistance movements. Academic skill development will be embedded throughout the module with activities focussed upon skills such as effective reading and note taking, developing an argument, group working and creative thinking.

• To examine definitions of state crime, and the various forms of state crime 
• To explore the extent to which the prevalence of state crime can be captured 
• To utilise relevant studies from a range of disciplines to understand sense making in relation to conflict through a criminological lens 
• To develop an understanding of a range of key mechanisms for resisting state crime and evaluate their abilities to achieve justice and change. 
• To study a range of historical and contemporary cases utilising key theories 

Workshops will take place to support students in completing the module.  Examples of topics taught are will be; 

• Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess.
• Employability Skills: e.g. verbal and written communication, analytical / problem solving capabilities; self-management; team working behaviours; negotiation skills; influencing people; positive attitude, resilience, building rapport).
• Completion of online activities for example; health and safety procedures in general; general workplace integrity; placement/skills requirements, portfolio building, identification of future skills to support your development plan
• Devising and implementing strategies to improve own approach and performance
• Critical analysis/evaluation of approach to personal development and performance in the workplace;
• Devising an action plan to develop gaps in transferable skills based on the placement experiences
• Structured approaches to researching, selecting and securing a suitable work placement relevant to the student’s interests and career aspirations*Writing an effective application and applying for a placement.

This module aims to enhance students’ prospects of gaining graduate level employment skills which will enable them to;- 

• Develop their understanding of workplace practice and lifelong learning;
• Enhance their work readiness and employability prospects through development of transferable skills
• Take responsibility for their own learning and acquisition of workplace employability skills;
• Analyse and articulate skills and attitudes introduced in their programme of study and their application to their chosen career

This module explores the role that social scientists can play in communicating and raising awareness of key contemporary sociological, criminological and zemiological issues to the wider public. Students are encouraged to consider the role of social science beyond the university, and its potential to engage the public and contribute to social change.  

Attention is given to the role of power in how claim-makers can influence the framing of social issues as legitimate or illegitimate, and the differential levels of importance ascribed to issues pertaining to social and criminal (in)justice. This will be explored by considering narratives, debates and responses to key contemporary social issues. 

Within the module, students will also engage in discussion regarding the challenges associated with a move towards a more ‘public social science’ and will consider the arguments for making social science research more accessible to those outside of academia. They explore perspectives on social scientists’ social and political responsibilities to engage with, co-learn and educate wider communities. Students will critically consider their own roles and responsibilities as potentially informed advocates for progressive change on key social and political issues, on behalf of and in collaboration with marginalised groups. Through formative activities and summative assessments, they enhance their skills in communicating knowledge and alternative ideas to a range of audiences in an accessible way. 

The module is designed to develop students’ key skills as they assess contemporary and future aspects of sociology and criminology. The module will also help to develop students' critical thinking, as it will encourage them to consider complex and nuanced issues and debates, implications for social justice, and the potential for positive social change. Communication skills are also integral to the module, as students will be required to present academic ideas to different audiences.  

• To encourage understanding of ‘public social science’ and its potential value in engaging with wider audiences to inform public narratives and promote positive social change. 
• To help students develop a critical understanding of the role of power in determining how contemporary and emerging social issues and inequalities are framed and responded to within policy, media and public discourse. 
• To encourage an appreciation of the interdisciplinary relationship between sociological and criminological issues. 
• Explore the future of ‘public social science’ and the role that social science can have in engaging with wider audiences to inform and promote social justice narratives

Content will vary according to individual dissertation proposals

The Dissertation is designed to provide an opportunity for sustained and independent study in the final year of social science programmes. It intends to develop knowledge of, and critical insight into, a topic of the student's choice within the subject area under study. Students are enabled to undertake first-hand enquiry and encouraged to develop an analytical and reflective approach to the subject identified for study. The module aims to encourage the articulation of a critically informed perspective on the subject being studied. It also intends to enable the production of a coherent document of rigorous academic standards.

This module will enable students to focus upon representations of crime in diverse cultural forms. The module will advance student’s knowledge and capacity to analytically consider ‘the politics’ regarding crime production and reception across a multitude of platforms. Supplying students registered upon the module with the skills to critically contemplate criminal representations found embedded throughout practice and debate thematic issues uncovered with their peers 

The main themes of this module include – among others: 

• Crime and harm in the media, 
• Crime (non-)fiction, 
• Crime and social divisions, 
• Crime and digital/technology, 
• Representations of the criminal justice system, criminal events, offenders and victims.

The module aims to: 

Enable students to understand the significance of popular cultural representations of crime and criminal justice. By the end of this module, students should be able to deconstruct and critically analyse a wide range of criminal representations. Students will explore historical, geographical, social and political contexts of criminal representations. As well as develop the skills necessary to apply criminological and victimological theories and concepts to criminal representations.

This module will enable students to critically analyse and evaluate theoretical and philosophical justifications of punishment together with political ideology that impact upon penal policy and practice. In addition, this module will locate this analysis in an appreciation of the consistencies, contradictions and conflicts that relate not only to theoretical discussion but to the less abstract level of policy formulation and actual penal practice. Considerations of class, gender and ethnicity constitute key aspects of the conceptual framework and the principles of ‘security, control and justice’ are critically examined in the operational context. A critical assessment of the ethos of incarceration will be a major theme of this module. 

The main themes of this module include – among others:  

• Philosophical and theoretical understandings of punishments, 
• Policy developments in penal practice, 
• The wider instrumental role of prison in the criminal justice process, 
• Determining contexts and punishments; gender, race, age, class, disability, 
• Comparative penologies and penal abolitionism.

This module aims to: 

Develop a student’s critical knowledge of penological research, through debate and exploration of punishment and its justifications in a wider societal context. Students will analyse the links between crime and its control, building a critical understanding of penal policy formation, implementation and practice. Critical knowledge of contemporary penal policy and practice using comparative contexts will be developed and allow students to locate major perspectives and paradigms in the sociology of punishment. With connections made between social theory, critical analysis, and political debates regarding the development of penological knowledge. Finally, the module content will enable students to approach the subject of punishments using skills that appreciate the structural contexts of gender, race, class, age, and disability, inclusive of their impact on community and custodial punishments.

This module is intended for students with an interest in death penalty in particular and  international justice and injustice more broadly. Accordingly, it is organised around two related areas.

The first half of the module explores the philosophical, political, legal and cultural contexts within which the death penalty either survives or is abolished. This exploration is organised around three themes: 1) The place of the death penalty in the philosophy and sociology of punishment. 2) The current state of play on the death penalty worldwide and the rise of abolitionist politics (especially in the European context). 3) Current debates/controversies surrounding the application of the death penalty in the United States through relevant criminological/legal literature and cases of established or suspected miscarriages of justice.

The second half of the module explores the relationship between criminalisation, marginalisation and state-sanctioned ‘social death’ in an international context. Lectures will be organised as a series of case studies focused on differential disavowed and rightless populations, exploring barriers to legal compliance and civic life. Students will be encouraged to develop a critical understanding of related issues in their historical, geographical and political contexts.

This module aims to explore international justice and injustice in general, and the death penalty as a form of injustice in particular. Focus is given to understanding the social, political, and historical processes behind such injustice. The module provides an overview of the current scope and use of capital punishment around the law and the influence of international law and the human rights movement. It provides a framework for a comparative study of the policies of abolition in national and transnational penal policies. Attention is given to a range of key issues including arbitrariness, discrimination, and marginalisation of miscarriages of justice. Students will develop a critical understanding of the concept of social death and critically explore processes of marginalisation and criminalisation in an international context.