BA (Hons) Criminology

Overview

Our Criminology BA (Hons) aims to provide you with a critical perspective to be able to answer important questions such as ‘what causes crime?’ and ‘do prisons work?’.

Additional key points:

In this course you will explore the causes of crime, control of crime and public reaction to crime as well as the means by which society, social groups and the state, including prisons and police, attempt to deal with it.
No.1 for career prospects for Criminology in the Midlands in the Guardian University Guide 2021
Excellent current professional links with employers including the police, HM Prison Service and Positive Youth Foundation
Regular guest lectures, which have covered topics including policing and mental health, and representing victims of sexual abuse (subject to availability)

Why you should study this course

This course aims to equip you with a critical perspective on a wide variety of phenomena associated with crime, victimisation, punishment and criminal justice, with a focus on its causes and the various means by which society and social groups attempt to deal with it.

Throughout the course you will engage with contentious issues including ‘What are the causes of crime?’ ‘How can crime be prevented?’ and ‘Do prisons work?’. You will examine these questions from a variety of perspectives and review the evidence for and against different theories. This course is ideal if you are interested in a career in the criminal justice sector, in professions such as policing, community safety or youth offending.

You will be taught through an innovative approach to learning which involves guest speakers from different spheres of criminological activity such as the UK Borders Agency, practising psychologists, victims and oversight agencies (subject to availability). This aims to provide you with effective learning insights which complement the expertise of lecturers and is designed to ensure you are engaging with the most contemporary issues in criminology.

We place a strong emphasis on relevant work experience and have excellent professional links with the Police, HM Prison Service and Youth Offending Service. Our partnership with Warwickshire Police to provide Police Support Volunteers was the first scheme of its kind in the country.

Successful completion of this course can give students who attain a 2:2 or above the opportunity to apply for the MA Criminology course.

How you’ll learn

You are taught using a mixture of lectures, seminars and ‘hands-on’ skills workshops. This combination supports you to explore topics more independently and in more depth. The teaching team come from a range of specialist backgrounds including mental health, psychology, sociology, and criminal justice to name a few and these feed in to a rich and varied range of perspectives that underpin teaching and learning.

Current staff engage in research, national and international conference presentations, and writing for publication on topical issues related to the curriculum, such as gun control, drugs, violence, sexual abuse, policing and policy issues, all of which inform teaching and learning and maintain its currency.

The criminology course has a strong international experience for students. A focus on out of classroom activity emphasises practical field trips to prisons, courts and destinations including international destinations such as South Africa, Finland, New York, Germany and Poland*.

To support student work experience emphasis is placed on encouraging student involvement in volunteering activities (subject to availability). In previous years an annual Criminology Volunteering Fair has been hosted. Agencies such as Warwickshire and West Midlands Police, Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, Victim Support have attended to advertise PCSO and support worker roles. This event also provides excellent professional networking opportunities for posts such as intelligence analysts.

We regularly introduce contemporary issues into the classroom and, in the past, have debated a prisoner’s right to vote, considered how Black Lives Matter emerged in the United States as a reaction to police brutality and how the slave trade has re-emerged in the UK.

In a typical teaching week, you will have around 14 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally breaks down as:

Personal tutorial/small group teaching: tutorials or individual project supervision
Medium group teaching: skills workshops or seminars
Large group teaching: lectures

In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 15-20 hours of self-directed study each week e.g. completing the recommended reading that accompanies your lectures, working on coursework assignments, taking part in group work and exam revision. Contact hours may reduce as the course progresses and you become a more independent learner.

Some ‘contact’ hours may take the form of synchronous online learning (e.g. live online lectures, meeting tutors via video calling etc).

Assessment

The course adopts a wide-ranging approach to assessing learning, including digital stories, website design, poster creation and infographics, culminating in you undertaking a research project. These are intended to encourage creativity and reinforce progressive understanding of the field and mirror employment-based tasks.

The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.

Job ready

Studying Criminology or Forensic Investigation could pave the way to a career in criminal justice, crime prevention, policing and more. You will have the opportunity to develop the skills employers desire, such as working to deadline, presentation, verbal and written communication and report writing.

International experience opportunities

As well as offering a range of short international field trips, which have previously included a visit to Krakow in Poland to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, you also have the opportunity to complete the course over four years with a year spent studying abroad.*

In the past, students on this course have studied the youth justice system in Malta and the sex industry in the context of people trafficking in Madrid.

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