Criminology and Criminal Justice

You will be taught by a team of experienced lecturers with a wealth of knowledge and industry experience of the criminal justice sector. Many of our staff are professional practitioners with experience of working with the probation, youth services, prison education and in research.

Our whole team regularly update their knowledge and skills, with strong links to industry. All staff have, or are working towards a higher-level Master’s qualification.

• 64 UCAS Tariff Points

• Level 3 qualification or equivalent in a related subject for example Criminology , Social Sciences, Public Services, , A Levels etc (Contact the course tutor for further details).

You may be initially required to attend an interview and complete an interview task.

Mature applicants (aged 21 or over) who are able to demonstrate relevant skills or knowledge gained in employment or vocational activity will be considered and may be invited to interview.

UCEN Manchester is unable to consider international applications due to UKVI regulations.

Year 1: Introduction to Criminological Theory (20 credits)
This module introduces students to criminological theories and concepts to develop the foundations of their understanding of the discipline. The module will chart the chronological development of the shifts in explanations of crime, deviance, and, later, harms from the 19th century to the 21st century.

Year 1: Introduction to the Criminal Justice System (20 credits)
This module introduces students to the process of criminal justice from arrest to sentence. The different stages of the criminal justice system will be outlined and critiqued highlighting differential experience, inequalities, and contemporary issues.

Year 1: Key Crime Events (20 credits)
This module will assess how some crimes result in changes to criminal justice policy and practice. The module will consider the role of the media, newsworthiness, and moral panics in response to crime. The changes in policy and practice that are implemented after such cases will be evaluated and critiqued.

Year 1: Multi-Agency Practice (20 credits)
The module will provide a historical contextualisation of the development of multi-agency practice. Examples of multi-agency workings between services such as police, education, health, housing, probation, drug and alcohol services, prisons, independent domestic violence advisor (IDVA), local authorities and victim and offender support services.

Year 1: Politics, Crime and Society (20 credits)
This module introduces students to the significance of the political backdrop to the criminal justice system, law, society and welfare. The UK constitution and the process of law-making will be evaluated. The module will provide the opportunity to understand competing political ideologies and how they shape responses to crime, justice, and welfare.

Year 1: Studying Criminology (20 credits)
This module introduces students to the key skills that are required to undertake study in Higher Education. The module will emphasise the importance of academic conventions and standards to avoid misconduct and produce quality work. Students will be guided to identify appropriate criminology materials and the differences between academic, official, and alternative accounts.

Year 2: Human Rights and Criminology (20 credits)
This module will provide students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of human rights from a criminological perspective drawing on a range of issues relating to state violence from legal, theoretical, conceptual and practical explanations.

Year 2: Politics of Policing in Contemporary Society (20 credits)
This module will introduce the historical development of the modern police service. It will explore how models of policing have been influenced by social, economic and key policing events. It will highlight controversial policing policies and practices and how marginalised populations are impacted.

Year 2: Social Harms and their consequences (20 credits)
This module with evaluate the limitations of Criminology’s focus on crime and then assess Zemiology’s attention to harms. The concerns of Zemiology in relation to justice and global inequalities will be examined. State, corporate and the symbiotic nature of state-corporate crimes will be assessed in a globalised context.

Year 2: The Politics of Offender Management (40 credits)
This module will examine the link between criminogenic factors and how offender management strategies use them to influence interventions to promote desistence. It will explore the impact of privatisation on the prison and probation service. It will examine and evaluate the effectiveness of responses to vulnerable and marginalised populations.
Research Methods 1 - This module will provide students with an understanding of research methods to allow them to produce a research proposal within a self-selected aspect of Criminology. The student will be required to identify a current issue of concern, develop research question(s), design a research project, and select the appropriate research method.
Research Methods 2 - Students will be encouraged to undertake research within a situated practice-based context to reflect the realities do contemporary criminological or criminal justice practice.

The course will be delivered via lectures, seminars, tutorial, practical sessions, guest speakers / visits, independent study, and assessment – both individual and group – includes:

• Reports
• Essays
• Presentations
• Portfolio submissions
• Examinations
• Practical and research based coursework assignments.

There are two main costs you will have whilst studying and if you are a home student studying on a full-time course, you can apply for student finance to cover both of these:

- Your tuition fees for each year of your course.
- Help with your living costs e.g. rent, food, clothing, course materials, entertainment.

You can find more details, including the actual tuition fee charged on our Fees, Funding and Finance Page.

All of the books required for the course are available either from the library or as e-books.

However, many students choose to buy some of the core textbooks for the course and/or a laptop. You may also need to print assignments and other documents.

Campus printing costs start from 5p per page.

Estimated costs are £300 for a laptop and up to £50 each year for books and printing

If undertaking work experience (which may be paid or unpaid) you may also need to factor in travel costs to your place of work

You may be required to have an enhanced DBS check for this course to ensure you meet both our and industry safeguarding requirements. Please note there will be an additional cost to your course fees to cover Disclosure and Baring Service (DBS) checks. Please see the GOV.UK website for DBS costs.