Undergraduate study

Overview

The course offers applicants the opportunity to study Criminology at a University with a long tradition of teaching and research in the subject. Keele pioneered the teaching of Criminology at undergraduate level over 20 years ago and our programme is one of the longest running, strongest and most successful in the country. Criminology at Keele is taught by a large group of active criminological researchers with international reputations specialising in areas such as policing, prisons, punishment and community safety, as well as criminological theory, research methods, comparative criminology and the history of crime and punishment.

As a result, Keele can offer a distinctive curriculum in Criminology where students are supported within a thriving academic and educational community. It is an integrated yet flexible degree programme taught by specialists in the field which offers:

• A comprehensive overview of key conceptual and substantive issues involved in the study of crime and justice
• The opportunity to study Criminology from a range of perspectives: social, historical, legal, political, economic and psychological
• In-depth exploration of particular topics of theoretical and practical interest at the forefront of criminological research
• Sound training in methods of criminological research
• Links with local criminal justice services providing professional and research contacts and a dedicated module designed to enable students to explore and prepare themselves for working in the criminal justice and related sectors

Criminology Finalists have been winners and runners up in the University's Student of the Year award in recent years.

Course Content

The programme offers opportunities for students to engage with the key issues in the study of crime and criminal justice at all three levels of their degree studies. For example, these are just a few of the issues with which criminology is concerned and which are explored throughout the programme:

• The possible causes of criminal behaviour and effective methods of tackling these causes
• The impact of crime on its victims and on society in general
• The relationship between crime, victimisation, social change and divisions based on age, gender, sexuality, ‘race’ and ethnicity
• The ways in which definitions of crime and responses to it change over time and place
• The development and nature of social responses to crime such as policing, the criminal justice process and the penal system
• The usefulness of different approaches to criminological research and sources of information about crime and criminal victimisation
• The representation of crime and criminal justice in the media and popular culture and their possible impact on public attitudes to crime

Keele offers an integrated and flexible programme of study designed to equip students with the basic knowledge and skills needed to study Criminology in the first year, to develop knowledge and skills in the second year, and to apply what has been learned in the third year by exploring problems at the cutting edge of current criminological research. The exciting combination of core and elective modules offered by Criminology enables students to pursue individual interests in particular areas of criminology as well as providing them with an integrated employability skills programme with a focus on working in the criminal justice sector. In addition, the Keele Criminology programme, with its social scientific tradition and philosophy, provides students with opportunities to develop skills to enhance employability in a wide range of ocupations and contexts.

Students may also spend one or two semesters of their second year studying Criminology at one of Keele's partner universities in Australia, Canada, the US and South Africa.

 First year

Core modules
Understanding Crime introduces the discipline of criminology, ways of measuring crime and victimisation and some important theoretical traditions in criminology. It also offers support in developing the abilities and skills needed to study the subject effectively.

Criminal Justice: Process, Policy and Practice introduces the institutions, actors and organisation of the criminal justice process and to the main theoretical perspectives used in studying it.

Electives
Investigating Crime: Criminological Perspectives
Murder
Psychology and Crime
Punishment: Beyond the Popular Imagination

Modules may also be chosen from a range of electives from related disciplines such as Law and Sociology.

Second year

Core modules
Research Methods in Criminology develops understanding of the logic and skills of social science research as applied to the study of crime and criminal justice, and equips you with a critical appreciation of a range of strategies for research design, data collection and analysis.

Crime and Justice in a Global Context examines the challenges posed for criminology and criminal justice actors/institutions by the changing nature of crime and justice in the global era. It explores issues such as the global trade in drugs, war and terrorism, international justice and policing beyond national borders.

Electives
Policing and the Police
Building Safer Communities
Working for Justice
Crime, Culture and Conflict 1700-1914
Crime, Morality and the Media
Study Abroad

Third year

In the third year you will deepen your knowledge of selected criminological topics by studying in either one or two special option groups each semester. We offer an extensive and frequently updated range of options that reflect the expertise and active research interests of members of staff, and so the subjects covered vary from year to year.

Instead of taking four taught modules in the third year, you may choose to study two (one module in each semester), and to write a research dissertation. Dissertations may be library-based or involve 'hands-on' empirical research, such as interviewing criminal justice professionals or analysing media representations of crime. If you choose to do this you will work under the guidance of a supervisor throughout your third year.

Modules include:
The Politics and Cultures of the Death Penalty in the 21st Century
State Crimes and Crimes against Humanity
Power, Process and Victimisation
Gender, History and Punishment 1486-1955
Prisons and Imprisonment
Popular Culture and Crime
Risk and Criminal Justice
Forensic Mental Health and Offending
Crime, Crime Control and Democracy in Post-Apartheid South Africa
Research Dissertation (two modules)
Living with 'Aliens': Immigration, Crime and Social Control
Drugs: High Crime or misdemeanours?

Our portfolio of third year modules is continually updated to reflect new areas of expertise amongst staff as well as new emerging areas of criminological research and criminal justice policy.

Codes and Combinations

Students are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) (BA Hons) if their two Principal courses are in humanities and/or social science subjects.

All students who study a science subject are candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Science (with Honours) (BSc Hons).

Dual Honours course can be combined with:

 *subject to approval

Single Honours, Major and Foundation course available:

Teaching and Assessment

School staff provide innovative, student-focused teaching as part of Keele's wider commitment to providing a high quality student experience. As a consequence, half of the staff group were nominated for University Teaching Excellence Awards in 2010/11 and again in 2011/12. One member of the Criminology teaching group received a Teaching Excellence Award in 2010/11.

Students will take part in a range of learning activities based on a comprehensive programme of lectures, student-led seminars and tutorials. Lectures are designed for large groups of students whereas seminars and tutorials comprise up to 14 students.

Independent learning is encouraged throughout the course but is particularly important in the third year when many will undertake a piece of independent research supervised by a member of staff. All students have access to a wide range of learning resources and to the University’s virtual learning environment.

Assessment is continuous and involves a mix of examinations and in-course assessments. Apart from the traditional essay, these may include structured exercises, reviews of published work, reports on the criminal justice system at work, posters and presentations and, in the final year, a research dissertation. Detailed feedback is provided on all assessed work.

Programme specifications (new window)

Skills and Careers

Studying criminology opens up a wide range of career possibilities across local and national government and the voluntary sector; in the police, probation and prison services; in social work and community care; in the rapidly expanding fields of crime reduction and community safety; and in occupations concerned with the regulation of, amongst other things, the environment, public health, financial services and the tax and benefits systems. Many criminology graduates go on to further study at Masters level and beyond leading to careers in research and in further and higher education. Easily transferable problem-solving, research and communication skills acquired by studying Criminology can also be put to good use in many other occupations across the public and private sectors. The programme encourages and offers opportunities for students to develop their understanding of, and prepare for, careers in criminal justice and other relevant occupations.

We have links with our alumni, both through the University's Alumnus Office, and by alumni offering lectures and career progression talks to students.

Visit our Careers pages (new window)

Criminology and Psychology

The typically more quantitative approaches to research favoured in Psychology are matched by strong qualitative traditions in Criminology. This combination makes for well-rounded, highly skilled and eminently marketable Dual Honours graduates with substantive knowledge across two disciplines of particular contemporary significance. Criminology uses psychological as well as sociological and legal approaches, and situates them within the very real context of everyday crime and disorder. The overlap is perhaps most apparent when examining the treatment of offenders, media representations of crime and criminals, and the fear of crime.

The Criminology course offers an attractive suite of electives at Level I and Level II focusing on the links between Psychology and Criminology such as Crime and Psychology I, and Crime and Psychology II. Students can also choose modules on aspects of the criminal justice system that offer career opportunities, for example Investigating Crime or Working for Justice.

Criminology and Law

Both subjects are taught from similar perspectives which emphasise their broader social and political contexts. Criminology draws on legally informed notions of social justice and uses criminal law definitions to introduce wider ranging discussions of social deviance. Both disciplines are interested in systems for regulating social behaviour and imposing sanctions for contraventions. Criminology offers Law students an opportunity to put into practise some of their core material in Law in understanding pressing contemporary concerns. Whilst both subjects are taught in a critical manner, Criminology can also be seen as offering a more sustained critique of conventional legal definitions which students often find stimulating and engaging.

Criminology and Sociology

Crime, deviance and social order are some of the most taxing issues our society faces. Sociology and Criminology complement each other well in enabling students to understand broad issues revolving around social structure and social change, as well as the ways in which institutions, power systems, identity, culture and economics impact on crime and disorder. Sociology supports Criminology students by offering depth and background understanding. In many respects the history of Criminology is rooted in Sociology. As such, many of the ideas Criminologists use are sociological terms. For this reason, Sociology can help Criminology students to better understand concepts, analytical techniques, and social history. On the other hand, Criminology supports Sociology by offering a specific field for the application of sociological insights.

Many students who study this combination find their degree useful for careers in probation, social work, socio-legal work, and policing.

Criminology and Forensic Science

This combination provides complementary study in both the scientific and sociological understanding of crime, detection, justice and punishment. Criminology covers the inter-relation between law, crime and society in a wide range of contexts. Forensic Science focuses on the role of the scientific method in the detection of crime. By coupling the strong tradition in qualitative approaches favoured by Criminology with the rigorous, quantitative skills developed within Forensic Science, graduates from this degree combination gain an excellent understanding of the criminal justice system and have a very strong skills base on which to pursue a wide range of careers.

Criminology is also studied by students taking as their other discipline; international relations; history; geography; business and management studies; American Studies; English Literature and other Humanities and social science combinations.

Experience and Excellence in Teaching: Keele was the first University to offer Criminology at undergraduate level 20 years ago, four of our staff received Teaching Excellence Awards in 2010/11 and the winner and one of the runners up of the University's Student of the Year Awards 2010/11 were Criminology finalists.

Study Abroad

Students may also spend one or two semesters of the second year studying Criminology at one of Keele's partner universities in Europe, Australia, Canada, the USA or South Africa.

Those students who choose this option will find that they will be especially attractive to employers who aren't just interested in your academic profile. They'll want to know what else you've done with yourself at university, and a semester on exchange really grabs attention. It shows your initiative, independence and ability to interact with different groups of people. The Study Abroad programme is administered by Keele International.