Criminology BSc (Hons)

This dynamic, transdisciplinary course will prepare you to enter the real world of criminology and criminal justice.

You will look at national and international case studies to help you gain an understanding of a range of perspectives on society's key challenges, such as social inequality, crime, harm and justice.

There is a clear social justice focus throughout this course, which critically reviews media landscapes and their impact on society. You will critically reflect upon marginalised communities, including how stereotypes and representations can lead to the disproportionality that exists within criminal justice settings.

Throughout the course, you will study criminological theories, and criminal justice policies and practices, while being encouraged to identify and develop solutions to promote social change.

You will learn to communicate with a range of stakeholders across communities; this will enable you to apply acquired knowledge to varying specialist and non-specialist audiences, to progress and/or challenge social issues by professional, ethical and collaborative means.

Experiences during your studies will encourage curiosity, debate and problem-solving throughout, and will develop your criminological imagination and values of citizenship. You will be encouraged to engage in independent learning and thought, and will be equipped with the skills needed to find, retrieve and analyse an array of materials, such as expert-led research, public and voluntary sector reports, personal testimonies and documentaries. 

Our Criminology course lecturers have wide-ranging backgrounds. You will be taught by experienced, dedicated researchers and educators with sector experience, ensuring you learn criminology from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. Through our links with criminal justice agencies, including Youth Justice Service and local constabularies, local authorities, and community and voluntary sector groups, your learning will be underpinned by real-world knowledge and experience, and you will have access to specialist placements and voluntary experience. 

You’ll be able to tailor your studies to reflect your interests and develop areas of specialism.

In Year 1 (Level 4), you’ll begin learning theoretical and practical knowledge of crime, harm and victimisation and their representations. This leads into exploration of experiences of youth and adult criminal justice systems.

In Year 2 (Level 5), you will build upon these learnings and apply critical consideration to criminal moralities and realties, including risk management and harms relevant to mental health. Your knowledge and understanding will also be applied to experiential learning relevant to your professional development.

In Year 3 (Level 6), you will critically explore punishments in international and social contexts, and you’ll have the ability to deal with emerging social issues using your problem-solving skills. You will also have the opportunity to engage with an independent research project around a specialist topic of your choice. Here you can demonstrate and apply your academic, professional and practical skills, which will be useful in your future career.

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

This course is delivered in three terms of ten weeks each. In each term, you will study 40 credits comprised of either one or two modules. Scheduled contact hours range between approximately six and ten hours per week, depending upon level of study and the complexity of the material being taught. This course is delivered through a mix of in-person and online learning. You can expect to take part in lectures, workshops and peer-led seminars. 

You should expect to spend an average of 30-34 hours per week on independent study, which might include following asynchronous learning material, tutorial time with staff, using the University’s library, working with peers and preparing work for assessment. Teaching will be delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers. 

There will be a broad range of assessment methods so you are exposed to the different types of tasks that you might encounter in the workplace. These will include coursework in the form of essays (long and short form), portfolios and presentations. Assessment support will be provided throughout the modules. We continuously review the assessment methods used to ensure they adequately prepare students for graduate level employment.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core – building your subject competence, confidence and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

This course shares a common first year with students on the Criminology with Counselling Skills pathway.

This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree.

As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry.

In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within criminology, developing your skills to become a world-ready graduate.

Job Prospects

Criminology graduates will possess a vast range of skills and expertise that are highly applicable to roles in public, private and charitable sectors. Graduates of criminology are often employed in: criminal justice agencies; third-sector organisations that work with vulnerable individuals and groups; or policy and analyst roles for public service agencies or private companies. Further study including taught postgraduate and doctoral programmes are also an option. 

Careers Service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service, which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.