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Criminology and Psychology with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


Access - at least 45 credits at level 3 and 15 credits at level 2 from a relevant Open College Network accredited course

GCSE/National 4/National 5

English Language or English Literature at grade C or 4 or equivalent Maths at grade C or 4 or equivalent

UCAS Tariff

64

This must include at least 32 points from one A level or equivalent BTEC National qualifications. For example: CC at A Level MPP in BTEC Extended Diploma. A combination of qualifications, which may include AS levels, EPQ and general studies.

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Other options

5 years | Sandwich including foundation year | 2024

Subjects

Criminology

Psychology

**Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information.**

**This course is moving into one of our new buildings at City campus. Teaching will mainly be delivered at our Collegiate campus until December 2024 while we get our new facilities ready. From January 2025 you will study in brand new facilities at City campus.**

**Course summary**
- Experience award-winning teaching recognised by the British Society of Criminology.

- Work with our Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice to address ethical and social justice issues.

- Gain expertise in topics like policing, prisons and forensic psychology.

- Improve your employability through work placements and international study opportunities.

Gain a criminological and psychological perspective on the causes and consequences of crime, the criminal justice system, and ways of treating and managing offenders. By studying both criminology and psychology, you’ll gain a broad, multi-disciplinary understanding of criminological and psychological theory, and how to apply this knowledge to real-life experiences, human behaviour and workplaces.

If you don't meet the entry requirements for this course, or you’d like extra preparation before starting degree-level study, we recommend you join the foundation year.

**How you learn**
All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

Our staff are actively engaged in criminological and psychological research. Researchers work in fields as diverse as health and wellbeing, language and education, social policy, political theory, social inequalities, the criminal justice system, and many more areas across the scope of psychology, sociology and politics. As a result, we offer up-to-date teaching and course content of the highest standard, covering topics with real-world implications.

Our academics bring a wealth of knowledge and skills from professional practice across the criminal justice and psychological sectors, including the police, prison service, probation, youth organisations, mental health settings and charity sectors.

**Key Themes**
You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the key theories, debates and perspectives relevant to the study of criminology and psychology. These involve a modern understanding of criminal justice and mental health systems and the current challenges they face – such as policing, probation prison practice, gendered violence, power and harm, trauma, and forensic psychology.

The course approach will involve learning through teaching, working, doing, independent study and learning online. This blend of in-person and online activities creates a collaborative learning environment, allowing you to form communities with your peers and enhancing your overall educational experience.

Our teaching approach is designed to provide a 'real-world' curriculum, emphasising key transferable skills that enhance your prospects for future graduate employment or further study opportunities.

**Applied learning**
We prepare you to engage in real-life challenges by offering opportunities to apply the knowledge you’ve learned to real-world experiences.

**Work Placement**
You’ll have the opportunity to arrange a year-long work placement in between your second and third year. This gives you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career – and allows you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.

To maximise your career prospects, you’ll engage in various curriculum-integrated employability activities. These include student placement modules and interactions with criminal justice and third sector agencies. These experiences encompass project work with external agencies, simulation modules, and voluntary work facilitated through our employability fair.

Modules

Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

**Year 1**

**Compulsory modules**

The Exploration Of Law, Crime, Justice And Society

**Elective modules**

Social Justice In Action
The Practice Of Law And Policing

**Year 2**

**Compulsory modules**

Experiences Of Justice
Understanding Crime, Society And Behaviour

**Year 3**

**Compulsory modules**

Understanding And Researching Serious Harm

**Elective modules**

Professional Practice On Placement
Real World Practice

**Year 4**

**Optional modules**

Placement Year

**Final year**

**Elective modules**

21St Century Security Threats: Crime, Crisis Or Tragedy
Applied Cyberpsychology
Comparative Criminal Justice
Controversies Of Policing
Crime, Harm And Social Justice
Forensic Psychology
Gender, Power And The State
Pathways To Change
Psychology Across The Life Course
Punishment And Practice In Context
Real World Project
Real World Research
Sex, Gender And Violence
The Psychology Of Trauma

Assessment methods

Coursework

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,655
per year
International
£16,655
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

Extra funding

Scholarships, discounts and bursaries may be available to students who study this course.

The Uni


Course location:

Sheffield Hallam University

Department:

College of Social Sciences and Arts

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

81%
Criminology
81%
Psychology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sociology

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
67%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

100%
UK students
0%
International students
21%
Male students
79%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

86%
Library resources
90%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
70%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

99%
UK students
1%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
82%
2:1 or above
5%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
D

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sociology

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
17%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Other elementary services occupations
14%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
9%
Customer service occupations

We have quite a lot of sociology graduates, although numbers fell last year. But graduates still do pretty well. Most sociology graduates go straight into work when they complete their degrees, and a lot of graduates go into jobs in social professions such as recruitment, education, community and youth work, and housing. An important option for a sociology graduate is social work - and we're short of people willing to take this challenging but rewarding career. Sociology is a flexible degree and you can find graduates from the subject in pretty much every reasonable job — obviously, you don't find many doctors or engineers, but you do find them in finance, the media, healthcare, marketing and even IT. Sociology graduates taking further study often branch out into other qualifications, like teaching, law, psychology, HR and even maths, so don’t think a sociology degree restricts you to just one set of options.

Psychology (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£16,084
low
Average annual salary
94%
med
Employed or in further education
21%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

15%
Caring personal services
14%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
11%
Other elementary services occupations

20 years ago, this was a specialist degree for would-be psychologists but now it is the model of a modern, flexible degree subject. One of the UK's fastest-growing subject at degree level, and the second most popular subject overall (it recently overtook business studies), one in 23 of all graduates last year had psychology degrees. As you'd expect with figures like that, jobs in psychology itself are incredibly competitive, so to stand a chance of securing one, you need to get a postgraduate qualification (probably a doctorate in most fields, especially clinical psychology) and some relevant work experience. But even though there are so many psychology graduates — far more than there are jobs in psychology, and over 13,800 in total last year — this degree has a lower unemployment rate than average because its grads are so flexible and well-regarded by business and other industries across the economy. Everywhere there are good jobs in the UK economy, you'll find psychology graduates - and it's hardly surprising as the course helps you gain a mix of good people skills and excellent number and data handling skills. A psychology degree ticks most employers' boxes — but we'd suggest you don't drop your maths modules.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sociology

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£22k

£22k

£24k

£24k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Psychology (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£22k

£22k

£23k

£23k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Portsmouth | Portsmouth
Criminology with Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120-128
Lower entry requirements
Bristol, University of the West of England | Bristol
Psychology with Criminology (with Foundation Year)
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 48
Nearby University
Leeds Trinity University | Leeds
Psychology with Criminology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 112-136
Same University
Sheffield Hallam University | Sheffield
Criminology and Psychology
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 112

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here