Professional Policing BSc Hons | University of Chester

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Course Summary

This course is a national pre-join degree licensed by the professional body for policing, the College of Policing. The course is delivered by subject-matter experts and experienced practitioners (including retired police officers) with a wealth of subject expertise to prepare you with the key transferable skills required for the role of police constable.

Entry requirements for joining any of the 43 police forces in England and Wales have changed and is something to consider if you are thinking of pursuing a career as a police officer. The Degree in Professional Policing is one of the four College of Policing routes to join a police force as a police constable

On our course, you will cover all the learning content of the College of Policing’s Degree in Professional Policing, as well as receive additional detailed inputs on specialist subjects like public protection and digital crime. You will gain a grounded knowledge of the key aspects of policing, such as legislation, police powers and investigative interviewing skills.

Our excellent simulation facilities for role-play scenarios will allow you to put your knowledge into practice in a safe learning environment. Our policing skills labs comprise an immersive learning suite, interview rooms, crime scene houses, road policing scenarios, a custody office and a mock courtroom.

Through our relationships with police colleagues, we can help you obtain an opportunity to apply to be a special constable, allowing you to put your knowledge and skills into practice with on-the-job experience, and providing evidence to support your CV.

Why You'll Love It

Develop operational skills

A female and male are standing outside in police line.

Teaching, facilities and location

Bringing learning to life

Police woman walking alongside crowds in street during pride parade.

BSc (Hons) Degree in Professional Policing

BSc Degree in Professional Policing at the University of Chester

What You'll Study

The Professional Studies Foundation Year route is designed to provide you with the knowledge and skills you will need to be successful at university and whilst on a professional and vocational course.

You will study a range of topics relating to your profession and the environment in which you will eventually work. Areas of focus include person-centred care, mental health, children’s development, communication in a professional setting, social inequality, and how to apply psychology in the real world.

Teaching and learning is tailored and designed with specific modules that relate to the profession you are preparing to join. You will also be introduced to the professional codes and standards that you must uphold such as, the Nursing and Midwifery Code, Social Work England, College of Policing, and national Safeguarding guidance.

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 degree is designed to give you the skills you need to progress in a career in policing and wider law enforcement.

You will study a wide range of modules that give you a thorough understanding of the key areas of policing. You'll also gain practical employability skills appropriate for a career in a police force or in wider law enforcement agencies such as the National Crime Agency.

The first year of study will provide you with the knowledge and practical skills required to become a special constable, if you so wish. You will study criminal law, and police powers and procedures. In addition, you will gain invaluable knowledge in relation to intelligence, road traffic policing and response policing.

The second year of the degree builds upon this knowledge, with an emphasis on evidence-based policing, criminology theory and community policing. There is also a practical-based module where you'll investigate a crime, from the initial report to giving evidence in court. This includes investigative interviewing, investigation skills, and forensics and intelligence gathering and understanding.

In the third year of study, you will study digital policing and leadership skills, together with undertaking an academic project in an area of policing or law enforcement that you are interested in or an area of policing in which you wish to pursue a career. There is a final module where you will apply skills, abilities and experiences gained throughout your degree to investigate a complex criminal investigation.

The University is licensed by the College of Policing, the professional body for policing, to deliver this professional degree course which is one of the pathways into a police force. However, the skills you'll gain will provide a wide range of employment opportunities and potential in law enforcement and wider employment.

This course is taught in three terms of ten weeks each.

Scheduled contact hours will be approximately 12 hours per week. Teaching takes place on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

The majority of this course consists of in-person learning; however, there may be elements of online learning. You will take part in lectures, workshops and peer-led seminars.

You should expect to spend an average of 10-20 hours per week on independent study, which might include following asynchronous learning material on the University’s VLE, 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.

The assessment strategy for this course was developed in accordance with the requirements of the College of Policing to provide you with the necessary skills, abilities and experience you need to be an effective candidate for the police.

You will be assessed using a variety of methods, incorporating practical elements where applicable. Formative and summative assessments have been designed to authentically reflect professional policing through the production of material utilised within policing, thereby developing effective and robust transferable skills in graduates.

Some of the assessments include:

coursework in the form of essays
academic posters
presentation
witness/suspect interviews
investigative decision logs
conducting a stop/search
a road traffic collision
giving evidence in a courtroom.

The assessment methods are continuously reviewed so that they reflect the requirements of the College of Policing. They are created so that the teaching on this course adequately prepares you 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.

Entry Requirements

104UCAS points

UCAS Tariff	104 points
GCE A Level	Typical offer – CCC-BCC
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
International Baccalaureate	26 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers - H3 H3 H3 H4 H4 Scottish Highers - BBBB
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 must be at Merit or above
T Level	Pass (C or above on the core)
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: DMM
Extra Information	Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A Level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. Students who have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels) will be considered on a case-by-case basis, involving an interview with two members of the Institute of Policing (IoP) to assess their suitability to undertake the programme of study. Police services seek to represent the community they serve and, as such, the University welcomes applications from students from ethnic minority groups who are underrepresented within police services.

72UCAS points

UCAS Tariff	72 points
GCE A level	72 points overall, including grade D in A level
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP
International Baccalaureate	24 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 Scottish Highers: CCDD
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall
T Level	T Level: Pass (D or E on the core)
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: MMP
Extra Information	Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree.

Fees and Funding

£9,535per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2025/26 are £9,535 a year, or £1,590 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

You can find more information about undergraduate fees on our Fees and Finance pages.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

In November 2024, as part of the government’s Autumn Budget, it was confirmed that some foundation years from September 2025 will have a fee of £5,760 for the first foundation year of a four-year course. This is mainly for courses in the Humanities, Business, and Social Sciences disciplines. The following three years of these courses will be the standard fee of £9,535 per annum.

	Foundation (First) Year	Second Year onwards per year
Home Students	£5,760 for the first foundation year (2025/26)	£9,535 per year from the second year onwards (2025/26)
International Students *	£10,750 for the first foundation year (2025/26)	£14,450 per year from the second year onwards (2025/26)

* For courses which accept applications from International Students

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

Where You'll Study Wheeler, Chester

City centre location

On-site library

Social spaces

Your Future Career

Job Prospects

The course prepares you not only for the role of police constable, but also provides essential transferable skills for many other diverse roles within the criminal justice system, for example, the National Crime Agency, and for roles within private industry, such as insurance investigator and intelligence analyst, etc.

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.

Degree in Professional Policing BSc (Hons)

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