BA Criminology / Course details

Year of entry: 2024

Course description

One of the most interesting parts so far has been the Foundations of Criminal Justice course, getting a glimpse into how the Criminal Justice System operates.

The underlying issues that challenge its credibility such as Police Powers or Miscarriages of Justice have been carefully analysed throughout our lectures, but also in conferences where speakers delivered powerful messages.

Vlad-George Zaha / BA Criminology
Our BA Criminology course enables you to understand how and why crime has become viewed as a dominant social problem and how issues of crime and deviance relate to other social issues.

Understanding the causes and consequences of crime will enable you to contribute to discussions about how some of these problems might be remedied.

Learn about how we can research the challenges that face the criminal justice system.

Under the guidance of our team of criminology experts, you will develop analytical skills to assess complex data related to experiences of crime.

You can take part in field trips and discussions with professionals to gain a real insight into how criminological knowledge is applied in a variety of sectors.

You will develop skills relevant to a variety of key professions concerned with criminal justice and crime reduction, including the police, prisons, offender management, youth justice and victimisation.

Special features

In Year 2, I was fortunate enough to take part in a Q-Step internship at the Home Office in London.

I had an eight-week paid placement where I worked on current projects around domestic homicides, child sexual abuse and cyber bullying. This really opened my eyes to the importance of social research and the influence this can have on policy.

Hannah Watts / MRes Criminology student and BA Criminology graduate
Societies

Benefit from networking and professional development opportunities through our student societies.

The Manchester University Criminology Society (MUCS) is a long-established society for those who have an interest in crime and criminal justice.

The Society promotes greater integration between students on different courses studying criminology.

Learning Criminology Inside

Learning Criminology Inside enables you to take your weekly seminars in a local prison to study a final year option alongside prison-based students.

Paid placement opportunity

Apply for a paid summer Q-Step internship between Years 2 and 3.

This is an excellent opportunity to gain work experience and make contacts, while putting the skills you learn into practice.

Recent placements include the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the College of Policing.

Professional Experience Year

You apply in Year 1 to boost your employability through a paid Professional Experience Year. If you meet the criteria, the Professional Experience Team and Careers Service will work with you to find a suitable placement in Year 2.

You will complete your Professional Experience Year in Year 3 extending your degree to four years, before returning to University to finish your final year.

Your degree title will include 'with Professional Experience', giving you an advantage of work experience when entering the graduate jobs market.

Teaching and learning

Lectures are delivered to a large group of students, covering an overview of a particular subject.

Tutorials are small groups where you discuss in greater depth a topic you are learning.

You need to prepare in advance and submit written work for each subject.

We offer skills sessions to enhance your academic learning and employability.

If you apply to study abroad, you will complete course units in your host university, taught in English, which focus on criminology subjects or other topics of interest.

You will spend around 40 hours per week studying, inclusive of lectures and tutorials.

Coursework and assessment

Methods of assessing your work are:
  • essays;
  • oral presentations;
  • short exercises or written pieces, for example blogs and learning portfolios;
  • project work;
  • exams.

We provide helpful and detailed feedback on all written and oral work.

Course content for year 1

Compulsory course units allow you to develop an understanding of the sociological and psychological explanations for crime and criminal behaviour.

Study the criminal justice system and criminal law alongside theories of criminal behaviour.

Begin to appreciate the methods used to research crime and deviance.

Course units for year 1

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Crime and Society CRIM10001 20 Mandatory
Criminological Research Methods CRIM10072 20 Mandatory
Foundations of Criminal Justice CRIM10421 20 Mandatory
Psychology, Crime and Criminal Justice CRIM10432 20 Mandatory
Foundations of Criminological Scholarship CRIM10441 20 Mandatory
Criminal Law (Humanities) LAWS10082 20 Mandatory

Course content for year 2

Extend your understanding of criminological theory and your knowledge of the practices and techniques used in contemporary criminal justice systems.

Develop your knowledge of specific patterns of crime and criminality, as well as your understanding of research methods.

Course units for year 2

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Policing and the Police CRIM20051 20 Mandatory
Explaining Crime and Deviance CRIM20412 20 Mandatory
Making Sense of Criminological Data CRIM20441 20 Mandatory
Modelling Criminological Data CRIM20452 20 Mandatory
Understanding Punishment CRIM20692 20 Mandatory
Criminology and Criminal Justice in Action CRIM20701 20 Optional

Course content for year 3

Continue to extend your understanding of criminological theory and your knowledge of the practices and techniques used in contemporary criminal justice systems.

Study a unique range of optional subjects delivered by leading experts teaching from original research projects.

Topics include drugs and society, the criminal psychopath, and serious and organised crime.

Hone your research and project management skills with a dissertation on a criminological topic of your choosing.

Course units for year 3

The course unit details given below are subject to change, and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.

TitleCodeCredit ratingMandatory/optional
Drugs and Society CRIM30601 20 Optional
Long Dissertation CRIM30610 40 Optional
Short Dissertation CRIM30620 20 Optional
Journeys out of Offending CRIM30662 20 Optional
Victims, Crime and Justice CRIM30791 20 Optional
Serious and Organised Crime CRIM30811 20 Optional
Criminology and Mass Violence CRIM31051 20 Optional
Youth, Crime and Justice CRIM31101 20 Optional
White-Collar, Corporate and Environmental Crime CRIM31142 20 Optional
Crime Mapping: an introduction to GIS and spatial analysis CRIM31152 20 Optional
The Criminal Psychopath CRIM31172 20 Optional
Displaying 10 of 11 course units for year 3

Course content for year 4

If you are selected to take up the Professional Experience opportunity in Year 3, then you will take Year 3 course content in Year 4.

What our students say

Read profiles of our students to find out about their experiences of studying at Manchester.

Facilities

While you study with us, you have access to first-class facilities to interact, work, and practice your skills. 

You can also volunteer to work in our award-winning Legal Advice Centre

Here, you can work on real legal cases with solicitors and barristers to refine your practical application of law.  

Volunteering in our Miscarriages of Justice Review Centre enables you to work to support clients' claims of innocence.

Working alongside legal experts, you will gain access and review real case files.

This unique first-hand experience of criminal justice allows you to connect and engage with experienced practicing lawyers.

Disability support

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk