Criminology with Psychology
UCAS Code: M9C8
Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
We also accept other combinations equivalent to 112-128 Tariff points from 3 A levels.
112-128 Tariff points from the Access to HE Diploma.
Cambridge Pre-U score of 54-60.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
3 GCSEs at grade C or above to include English and Mathematics/3 GCSEs at grade 4 or above to include English and Mathematics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
29 points from the IB Diploma, with 655/754 at Higher Level - 30 points from the IB Diploma. 665 at Higher Level.
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
H3,H3,H3,H3,H4-H2,H2,H3,H3,H3
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Acceptable when combined with other qualifications.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
112-128 Tariff points.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**Overview**
Understand the mind of offenders, victims and witnesses, and learn about the theories of crime and criminality on this combined BSc (Hons) Criminology with Psychology degree course.
You’ll get a foundation in the psychology of crime, and enhance your studies by exploring the causes of offending behaviour, responses to crime, and how rehabilitation works.
This course prepares you for a career in areas such as the prison or probation service, criminal justice agencies and victim support.
95% Overall student satisfaction (NSS, 2018)
**What you'll experience**
On this Criminology with Psychology degree course, you'll:
- Study in one of the largest criminology departments in the UK, with teaching drawn from the latest research in criminology and psychology
- Tailor your degree to your interests and career ambitions, and hear from recent graduates who are working in the field
- Interact with practitioners from criminal justice agencies, businesses and charitable organisations
- Get out of the classroom by using our forensic interviewing facilities
- Make the most of our networks with agencies such as youth offender teams, the probation service, prisons, and Hampshire Fire and Rescue.
**Careers and opportunities**
This course opens up career opportunities in areas related to psychology and criminology.
What can you do with a Criminology with Psychology degree?
Organisations you could work in include:
- the police force
- the probation service
- the prison service
- academic research
- victim and offender support charities
You could also work in third sector organisations and charities that work towards improving the lives of those in or leaving the criminal justice system.
What jobs can you do with a Criminology with Psychology degree?
Our graduates have gone on to jobs such as:
- investigative data analyst
- police officer
- probation officer
- youth offending support officer
- offender case administrator
Our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the field. You'll also get support for up to 5 years after you leave the University.
**Professional accreditation**
By choosing certain optional units on this course, you can get pre-entry qualifications for a career in probation work and community justice.
Modules
Year 1
Core modules in this year include:
- Criminal Justice
- Essential Skills for Criminologists
- Introduction to Social Psychology
- Psychology for Criminologists
- Understanding Criminology
Year 2
Core modules in this year include:
- Psychological Science
- Psychology and Criminal Justice
- Questioning Criminology
- Researching Criminology
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Community Justice
- Crimes of the Powerful
- Foundation of Economic Crime
- Fundamentals of Forensic Investigation
- Global, State and Corporate Security
- Hate Crime
- Introduction to Teaching
- Key Issues in Criminal Justice
- Law and Legal Skills
- Learning from Experience
- Modern Foreign Language
- Missing Persons: Issues and Investigation
- Penology and Prison
- Police, Law and Community
- Policing a Diverse Society
- Principles of Economic Crime Investigation
- Victims of Crime: Key Players in Criminal Justice
- Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response
- Youth Crime, Youth Justice
Placement year (optional)
On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.
Year 3
Core modules in this year includes:
- Dissertation / Major Project (Criminology)
- Psychology in the Community
- Psychology of Criminal Conduct
Optional modules in this year currently include:
- Contemporary Criminologies
- Contemporary Terrorism and the Global Response
- Crime, Exclusion and Mental Health
- Cybercrime: Deviance, Crime and Terror
- Dangerous Offenders and Public Protection
- Forensic Psychology: Investigation
- Gender and Crime
- Green Crime and Environmental Justice
- Intelligence Analysis
- Introduction to Teaching
- Learning from Experience
- Management of Criminal Investigations
- Miscarriages of Justice
- Money Laundering and Compliance
- Political Extremism
- Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates
- Social Policy, Justice and Crime
- Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.
Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through:
coursework
examinations
presentations
group projects
a dissertation
You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.
The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:
Year 1 students: 18% by written exams, 7% by practical exams and 75% by coursework
Year 2 students: 17% by written exams and 83% by coursework
Year 3 students: 33% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 59% by coursework
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
University of Portsmouth
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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.
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.
Psychology (non-specific)
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Sociology
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Psychology
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Psychology
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
£22k
£26k
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.
Sociology, social policy and anthropology
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£20k
£25k
£27k
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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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?
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