Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

Sociology and Criminology with Foundation Year

Entry requirements


A level

D,D

Access to HE Diploma (60 credits) of which a minimum of 45 must be at Level 3 (48 UCAS point equivalence, minimum 45 credits at pass)

OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma

PPP

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

MP

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

PPP

T Level

P

Core grade needs to be D or E.

UCAS Tariff

48

Equivalent experience. We can consider applicants with other qualifications or relevant experience so if you do not have 48 UCAS points, please make sure you outline this experience within your personal statement. This can also be assessed through an alternative assessment route such as an academic essay.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Criminology

Sociology

**This is a 4 year degree course. Please ensure that when you apply for this course you choose Point of entry 1 in your UCAS Hub.**

The Foundation Year will introduce you to studying at university. You will develop your academic and study skills alongside studying modules that introduce you to the disciplines offered by courses across the Faculty. The Foundation Year will therefore provide a springboard for successful study at levels 4, 5 and 6. A Sociology and Criminology degree from The University of Wolverhampton equips students with expertise in employer-identified skills and attributes for work in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. This includes not only traditional skills such as organisation and time-management but also problem solving, digital skills, the ability to read and interpret data, and the proficiency to engage with a range of audiences. These skills are embedded through the course programme that offers students’ the opportunity to understand and analyse the complexities of the world at the local, regional, national, and international, level. During your studies, will learn how to critically apply a diverse range of concepts, theories and methods essential to what we call the ‘sociological imagination’ – that special way of identifying, describing and understanding the nature of social life. You will also learn how crime is defined, why some people commit crime, and what happens when they do; as well as studying the development of the police, the courts the penal system, and the prevention and deterrence of criminal behaviour. In doing so, you will develop a critical understanding of a range of institutional conditions, cultural processes and social relations and apply these concepts, theories and methods that are unique to these exciting disciplines. You will study a wide range of topics covering sociological and criminological issues, including the operation of the criminal justice system through punishment and sentencing, policing of society, probation and rehabilitation of offenders, victimisation, and the law, as well as social inequalities such as class, gender, race and (dis)ability. At each level of study you are given the opportunity to undertake advocacy or accredited voluntary work for, and with, not-for-profit agencies and organisations in the local community – an experience that broadens sociological understanding, deepens appreciation of civic responsibility and further enhances opportunities for graduate employment.

At level 3 you can develop the skills and knowledge that you need to study at undergraduate level, building on your strengths and working on your weaknesses, so that you can feel confident that by the end of the first year that you are ready to commence a degree course, and to apply the skills to undertake the directed and independent learning which will help you to achieve your potential. This course develops students knowledge and skills in various areas of sociology and criminology. Students learn to apply these important tools to a range of contemporary topics. • You will learn about the causes and consequences of crime, victimology, rehabilitation and the history of crime and punishment.. • This course encourages community-based learning through advocacy and volunteering in not-for-profit agencies and organisations. The social science department at The University of Wolverhampton are pioneers of accredited volunteering in the UK and these modules are embedded in the course as an accredited part of the student learning experience. • Graduate employability is embedded throughout the degree programme at The University of Wolverhampton, developing students’ expertise in a range of key employer-identified skills that prepare our students for the workforce of the future. • The teaching team are all active researchers who bring their research expertise into the classroom to share their practical experiences of ‘doing Sociology and Criminology’.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Wolverhampton

Department:

School of Social, Historical and Political Studies

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.

70%
Criminology
70%
Sociology

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

66%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
72%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
64%
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

57%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
70%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
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?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
19%
Male students
81%
Female students
51%
2:1 or above
16%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
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.

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.

£17,000
low
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

20%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
8%
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.

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.

£19k

£19k

£20k

£20k

£26k

£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.

Share this page

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Course location and department:

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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