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Criminal and Corporate Investigation

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

AQA Level 3 Technical Level (1080 glh)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Access to HE Diploma

M:30

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

M2,M3,M3

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

25

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted on its own at Distinction Distinction or towards tariff/grade requirements with other qualifications

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

Accepted towards tariff requirements

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

Scottish Advanced Higher

B,C,C

Individual Advanced Highers can be accepted with Scottish Highers towards tariff requirements

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B

T Level

Pass (C and above)

UCAS Tariff

112

Accepted towards tariff/grade requirements

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Criminal justice

This course has been developed with input from leading investigation, intelligence, security and financial specialists. As a result, you will develop the necessary industry standard skills and experience to carry out professional investigations to the highest level within commercial, public or criminal justice settings. It is essential that all investigations are carried out professionally, and with our commitment to your training we will ensure all of our investigators gain essential legal knowledge as well as the ability to conduct professional investigations whilst establishing and securing admissible evidence.

The combination of practical role-play based activities and classroom teaching means that you are confident, ready and fully equipped to be a valuable asset to any organisation. If you are interested in a career in professional investigation, or are investigators seeking an academic qualification to enhance your skills, then this course provides a comprehensive introduction to key theoretical and practical issues, providing you with the knowledge and skills to confidently undertake professionally conducted investigations.

The course, which has a wider focus than the Police Service, is underpinned by national policing practices and initiatives, such as the nationally recognised, 'Professionalising the Investigation Programme'. Throughout the course we look in depth at a variety of investigation methods, such as interview technique, the law surrounding investigations and Cyber Crime. The real strength of the programme is that it has a strong practical element that allows you to demonstrate your skills in scenario-based investigations.

**By studying at the University of Northampton, you can be sure that:**

- If you join us, you will experience student life at the University’s new £330 million Waterside Campus. Come along to an Open Day and find out more.

- Students enrolling on this course at Northampton will be provided with their own brand new laptop* to keep at no additional cost. All sports clubs and societies are free to join at Northampton and every essential course text book is available via the library, meaning you won’t have to purchase copies. For more information on this visit our website (northampton.ac.uk/benefits).

- Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd.

**The Northampton Employment Promise**

- In fact, we’re so confident in our careers and employability support that If you achieve at least a 2:2 degree and complete either our Employability Plus Gold programme or achieve a Changemaker Gold Certificate during your time studying with us, but still haven’t secured full-time employment 12 months after graduating, we will secure a three – six month paid internship for you or support you into postgraduate study.

✱ eligibility criteria and terms and conditions apply. See northampton.ac.uk/benefits for more information

Modules

**STAGE 1:**
• Law and The Criminal Justice System (Compulsory)
• Introduction to Evidence and Procedure (Compulsory)
• Crime and Criminality (Compulsory)
• Legislation for Policing and Investigators (Compulsory)
• Introduction to Investigative Interviewing (Compulsory)
• Theoretical Concepts in Crime Scene Investigations (Compulsory)
• Introduction to Academic Methods and Research (Compulsory)

**STAGE 2:**
• Crime and Criminal Investigation (Compulsory)
• Investigation and Investigating Interviewing 2 (Compulsory)
• Academic Development (Compulsory)
• The Management of Major Investigations (Compulsory)
• Investigating Serious and Organised Crime (Designated)
• Covert Investigations (Designated)
• Criminal and Analytical Profiling (Designated)
• Contemporary Criminal Justice (Designated)

**STAGE 3:**
• Independent Study (Compulsory)
• Cyber Crime (Compulsory)
• Advanced Evidence and Procedure (Compulsory)
• The Victims Voice (Designated)
• Effective Resource Management and Logistics (Designated)
• Employment Investigations (Designated)
• Miscarriages of Justice (Designated)
Module information is quoted for 23/24 entry. Please note that modules run subject to student numbers and staff availability, any changes will be communicated to applicants accordingly. 24/25 entry modules will be updated in June 2024.

Assessment methods

Assessment are varied and consist of:

• presentations

• essays

• assignments

• skills labs

• practical exercises

• reports

• reflective accounts and video presentations

• exams and multiple choice tests.

Paper based assignments are submitted electronically and are returned within 3 weeks.

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
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Northampton

Department:

Faculty of Business and Law

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.

83%
Criminal justice

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.

Social policy

Teaching and learning

74%
Staff make the subject interesting
83%
Staff are good at explaining things
70%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
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

60%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
54%
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?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
24%
Male students
76%
Female students
64%
2:1 or above
18%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
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.

Social policy

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.

£19,500
med
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Caring personal services
15%
Protective service occupations
11%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

Just over 1,600 students graduated in social policy in 2015, which makes it one of the smaller social studies subjects. This is a popular subject at Masters level — 750 Masters in social policy were awarded last year - and so a lot of the more sought-after jobs in management and research tend to go to social policy graduates with postgraduate degrees. For those who leave university after their first degree, then jobs in social care (especially community and youth work) and education, the police, marketing and human resources and recruitment are popular — along with local government, although there are fewer of those jobs around than in the past. This degree is a bit less reliant on London for jobs than other similar subjects, so if you'd like to work outside the capital, it might be worth considering - although the jobs still tend to be in big cities.

What about your long term prospects?

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

Social policy

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

£25k

£25k

£25k

£25k

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.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

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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

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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