With a blend of volunteering opportunities, work placements and strong employer connections, we ensure you gain practical experience alongside your academic studies. Equipping you for success in your future career. This course is also available to study at Dudley College of Technology - use the link in the Key Facts box to find out more.
of students said this course developed the skills they need for their future
for student satisfaction for sociology courses, including criminology
Overview
At Worcester, you’ll gain practical experience alongside your academic studies, preparing you for a successful future career. You not only get to explore a range of subjects – including criminal profiling, law, victimology, and cybercrime – you also get to meet people working in these areas.
Your first year will introduce you to the key principles of criminology and a range of different theoretical explanations for crime. You’ll begin to understand the criminal justice system and process, as well as crime statistics and how they’re obtained and viewed.
You’ll be taught through a combination of interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. As part of your learning, you’ll also be asked to attend areas of the criminal justice system such as the Court, to observe the sector in an operational setting. You’ll never have an exam on this course. Instead, you’ll be assessed through a mix of case reports, presentations, and consultancy projects.
Our career development programme aims to prepare you for entering the world of work and help you consider what career you might want to pursue after graduation. We organise a range of talks and workshops from guest speakers and our own expert staff on topics such as interview skills and applying to work in policing. Industry professionals from the police, prison and probation services also join us for our annual careers fair.
Study abroad
You can choose to study abroad for a semester or a whole year. We have fantastic connections with criminology programmes in Malta, Scandinavia, and the USA, allowing you to travel and see how different countries approach criminal justice and rehabilitation.
Why Criminology at Worcester?
Course content
Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexible course lets you explore different subjects and career paths in criminology before choosing to specialise in your final year.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Optional modules
Careers
On this course you not only get to explore a range of subjects – including criminal profiling, law, victimology and cybercrime – you also get to meet people working in these areas. Guest speakers come in from the police, prison and probation services, and employers from around the country join us for our criminology careers fair.
Criminal justice and policing careers
This degree could be the first step toward your career as a:
- Prison caseworker
- Victim liaison officer
- Rehabilitation worker
- Police detective
- Crime analyst
- Crime scene investigator
- Probation officer
- Prison offender manager
- Youth justice worker
Other options
You’ll gain research, analytical and presentation skills that are in high demand in a range of careers, including:
- Solicitor
- Social worker
- Policy officer in the civil service
- Intelligence officer
- Forensic scientist
- Social researcher
- Psychologist
At Worcester you can also specialise further with our Applied Criminology MA.
Course highlights
Teaching and assessment
Our curriculum is designed to blend theoretical study with practical application. You’ll engage in a variety of learning methods, from interactive lectures, workshops and seminars, to practical experiences in courts and prisons.
You’ll never have an exam on this course. Instead, you’ll be assessed through a mix of case reports, presentations, and consultancy projects – catering to different learning styles and preferences.
Teaching and assessment contents
You are taught through a combination of interactive lectures, workshops and seminars. As part of your learning you will also be asked to attend areas of the criminal justice system such as the Court, to observe the sector in an operational setting. There is also some online learning activities and group activities where you will be provided with a structure of independent learning through which you will learn to organise and prioritise your research and design and develop your learning strategy. This will be supported through formative feedback and personal academic tutoring. Personal Academic Tutors are scheduled on at least four occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.
You will also have an opportunity to apply to study at the University of Malta for a semester of the second year. This opportunity will offer you a chance to study with students from many different countries and experience modular learning from a different institution. It will expose you to a very different way of life, culture and practices that will enhance your personal and academic development and your future employability.
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff points required: 112
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A-level | BBC |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DMM |
| T-level | Merit |
We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
More to explore
Open Days
Visiting us is the best way to get a feel for student life at the University of Worcester.
The City of Worcester
Worcester is a welcoming university city with great transport links and plenty of student parking.
Accommodation
Benefit from our accommodation guarantee. We have rooms on campus to suit every budget including en-suite options.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU Students
The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £9,250 per year.
For more details, please visit our course fees page.
International Students
The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2024/25 academic year is £16,200 per year.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Criminology BA (Hons) - L311
Graduate case studies
Zak Shuck
Zak studied Criminology with Policing and he is now a Police Officer, he says:
"My time on the course was the best three years of my life due to the support offered, the commitment of the staff, and the new understanding of what policing involves. Studying Criminology with Policing has helped me progress further on my chosen career pathway given me an understanding how to support those with mental health needs."
Lyndsey Little
Lyndsey is now a case manager on the Drive Project, a domestic abuse perpetrator programme. She says:
"I loved the Criminology degree so much. There was not one module out of the whole course that I did not enjoy, or that was not relevant to a career in the criminal justice sector. I finished with a first-class with honours classification which is astounding for someone who hated education and was pretty much written off in high school!"
Niamh Allen
Niamh went on to work with West Mercia Police as an Intelligence Data Handler, she says:
"I joined Worcester as a second-year student, after leaving another university where I was deeply unhappy and unmotivated. Thanks to the support, guidance and motivation of the fantastic lecturers at Worcester, I ended up with first-class honours."
Zak Shuck
Zak studied Criminology with Policing and he is now a Police Officer, he says:
"My time on the course was the best three years of my life due to the support offered, the commitment of the staff, and the new understanding of what policing involves. Studying Criminology with Policing has helped me progress further on my chosen career pathway given me an understanding how to support those with mental health needs."
Lyndsey Little
Lyndsey is now a case manager on the Drive Project, a domestic abuse perpetrator programme. She says:
"I loved the Criminology degree so much. There was not one module out of the whole course that I did not enjoy, or that was not relevant to a career in the criminal justice sector. I finished with a first-class with honours classification which is astounding for someone who hated education and was pretty much written off in high school!"
Contact
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Admissions Office
admissions@worc.ac.uk01905 855111
