Overview
In this course you will explore the causes of crime, control of crime and public reaction to crime. In addition to the focus on the causes of crime you will also study the means by which society, social groups and the state, including prisons and police, attempt to deal with it.
Throughout the course you will engage with contentious issues including ‘What are the causes of crime?’ ‘How can crime be prevented?’ and ‘Do prisons work?’ Examining these questions from a variety of perspectives and reviewing the evidence for and against different theories. This course is ideal if you are interested in a career in the criminal justice sector, in professions such as policing, community safety or youth offending.
You will be taught through an innovative approach to learning which involves guest speakers from different spheres of criminological activity such as the UK Borders Agency, practising psychologists, victims and oversight agencies to provide effective learning insights which complements the expertise of lecturers and is designed to ensure you are engaging with the most contemporary issues in criminology.
We place a strong emphasis on relevant work experience and have excellent professional links with the Police, HM Prison Service and Youth Offending Service. Our partnership with Warwickshire Police to provide Police Support Volunteers was the first scheme of its kind in the country.
Criminology at Coventry University is ranked 8th for Student Satisfaction and 4th for career prospects in the Guardian University Guide 2020.
See the facilities available in our brand new Alison Gingell Building.
Why Coventry University?
An award-winning university, we are committed to providing our students with the best possible experience. We continue to invest in both our facilities and our innovative approach to education. Our students benefit from industry-relevant teaching, and resources and support designed to help them succeed. These range from our modern library and computing facilities to dedicated careers advice and our impressive Students’ Union activities.
To ensure an optimised and continual student experience, the university may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via emerging online technologies and methods across all courses.
Global ready
An international outlook, with global opportunitiesEmployability
Career-ready graduates, with the skills to succeedTeaching Excellence
Taught by lecturers who are experts in their fieldCourse essentials
A degree which offers you more, at no extra costOur Facilities
Hospital Wards
We have two fully-equipped mock hospital wards, each containing 4 beds. The wards are built to NHS standards and contain moveable beds, first aid equipment and patient monitoring tools.
Life Sciences Research
Our facilities include a real ambulance, which students can use as part of their studies, and a purpose-built Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre. This allows for improved training quality in patient care and patient safety.
SuperLab
The Alison Gingell building contains a state-of-the-art SuperLab, capable of holding up to 270 people at once. The lab's facilities include equipment for microscopy, DNA analysis and forensic testing.
What our students say...
Studying Criminology at Coventry University provides the opportunity to examine many aspects of a diverse subject, in a way that is engaging and creates a hunger to know more.
Course information
This course aims to equip you with a critical perspective on a wide variety of phenomena associated with crime, victimisation, punishment and criminal justice, with a focus on its causes and the various means by which society and social groups attempt to deal with it.
98%
of our students are satisfied with the quality of the course
NSS, 2018
Course Specification
Download PDF (158kb)
Modules
We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.
Coventry University is ranked 15th in the United Kingdom by The Guardian University Guide 2020
In more detail...
You will have the opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the workings of the criminal justice system, policing and different aspects of punishment, enhanced by regular interaction with criminal justice agencies. You’ll have the opportunity to hear regularly from guest speakers (subject to availability) from different sectors of the criminological spheres, which have previously included the Prison Service, Police, UK Borders Agency and Youth Offending Team. We also organise a number of practical field trips* – in the past visiting Rye Hill and Onley prisons, The Old Bailey and The Holocaust Centre (additional costs may apply).
Course content is regularly reviewed by our Partnership Group, which is currently made up of key criminal justice agencies and allied professions, including West Midlands Police, HM Prison Service, the Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, MIND and the Citizens Advice Bureau. We strongly encourage our students to gain practical work experience; you can volunteer as a special constable or spend a year on professional placement working in organisations*, such as victim support or youth hostels for young offenders.
* Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.
- Excellent current professional links with employers including Police, HM Prison Service and Positive Youth Foundation.
- Criminology at Coventry University is ranked 4th for Career Prospects and 8th for Student Satisfaction in the Guardian University Guide 2020
- Develop the skills employers desire, such as working to deadline, presentation, verbal and written communication and report writing.
- Opportunities to participate in exciting field trips abroad, which have previously included the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, Robben Island and Victor Verster Prison in South Africa and the Stasi museum in Berlin (additional costs may apply)*. * Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.
- Expert guest lecturers which recently have covered topics including policing and mental health, representing victims of sexual abuse, female genital mutilation, and deaths in police custody (subject to availability) .
of graduates in work or further study after six months (DLHE 2014/15).
Your main study themes are:
- Criminological Perspectives on Crime, Justice and Society: Exploring the wide spectrum of historical and contemporary criminological theories which help us to examine and analyse criminal activity, crime control and prevention. These perspectives are applied to a range of criminological issues throughout each stage of the course.
- Key Criminological Institutions: There is a strong emphasis on applying theory to practice by analysing the work of key institutions within the criminal justice sector, such as the police, prisons and probation.
- Applied Research: The course design includes a research thread that encourages students to engage with the idea and practice of research at each level, building expertise that culminates in their major research project in their final year.
- Professional Practice: All elements of the course are intended to enhance job prospects and we strongly encourage students to gain practical work experience with a structured opportunity to do this offered as an optional enhancement year involving either study abroad or work experience*.
* Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.
You are taught using a mixture of lectures and small group seminars and ‘hands-on’ skills workshops. This combination supports you to explore topics more independently and in more depth. The teaching team come from a range of specialist backgrounds including mental health, psychology, sociology, and criminal justice to name a few and these feed in to a rich and varied range of perspectives that underpin teaching and learning. Staff engage in research, national and international conference presentations, and writing for publication on topical issues related to the curriculum, such as gun control, drugs, violence, sexual abuse, policing and policy issues, all of which inform teaching and learning and maintain its currency.
The Criminology course has a strong international experience for students. A focus on out of classroom activity emphasises practical field trips to prisons, courts and destinations including international destinations such as South Africa, Finland, New York, Germany and Poland*.
To support student work experience emphasis is placed on encouraging student involvement in volunteering activities (subject to availability). In previous years an annual Criminology Volunteering Fair has been hosted. Agencies such as Warwickshire and West Midlands Police, Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, Victim Support have attended to advertise PCSO and support worker roles. This event also provides excellent professional networking opportunities for posts such as intelligence analysts.
Your teaching and learning will be enriched by guest speakers, presentations and input from experts in practice, including forensic psychiatrists, police officers, practitioners from drug and alcohol services or victim services, probation officers, mental health service users, and offenders currently on licence with the probation service. We also hold an annual Criminology Volunteering Fair, which is attended by Warwickshire and West Midlands Police, Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, Victim Support and many more, providing excellent professional networking opportunities, as well as the chance to gain additional work experience.
We regularly introduce contemporary issues into the classroom and, in the past, have debated a prisoner’s right to vote, considered how Black Lives Matter emerged in the United States as a reaction to police brutality and how the slave trade has re-emerged in the UK.
* Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.
The course adopts a wide-ranging approach to assessing learning, including digital stories, website design, poster creation and infographics, culminating in you undertaking a research project. These are intended to encourage creativity and re-inforce progressive understanding of the field and mirror employment-based tasks.
The Coventry University Group assessment strategy ensures that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards the achieving the intended learning outcomes. Assessments may include exams, individual assignments or group work elements.
On successful completion, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the major theoretical approaches within criminology, including Classical and Radical perspectives, their historical development, and role within contemporary debates.
- Demonstrate awareness of the background and role of the main agents and institutions, such as prisons and courts that respond to crime and deviance and how to appraise their work.
- Demonstrate the ability to think reflectively about and to advance thinking on topics such as drug use, exploitation and policing in an international context.
- Display insight into the options for and application of research methodologies applicable to Criminology, whether library-based or field-based studies.
- Develop enterprising behaviors by locating appropriate information from a variety of sources (e.g. NGOs, government materials, databases) and apply them to issues of justice and crime.
In a typical teaching week, you will have around 14 ‘contact’ hours of teaching. This generally breaks down as:
- Personal tutorial/small group teaching: tutorials or individual project supervision each week
- Medium group teaching: of skills workshops or seminars each week
- Large group teaching: lectures
In addition, you will be expected to undertake a further 15-20 hours of self-directed study each week e.g. completing the recommended reading that accompanies your lectures, working on coursework assignments, taking part in group work and exam revision. Contact hours may reduce as the course progresses and you become a more independent learner.
As well as offering a range of short international field trips, which have previously included a visit to Krakow in Poland to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau, you also have the opportunity to complete the course over four years with a sandwich year spent studying abroad.
The University has links with over 20 institutions in Cyprus, France, Malta, Spain, Sweden and Turkey, as well as several other countries around the world. Courses are largely taught in English, but there are opportunities to learn and attend courses in a foreign language. In the past, students on this course have studied the youth justice system in Malta and the sex industry in the context of people trafficking in Madrid.*
* Please note that we are unable to guarantee any placement or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (e.g. travel, visas and accommodation etc.), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the requirements in this regard, please contact the International Office for further details if you are an EU or International student.
Global ready
Did you know we help more students travel internationally than any other UK university according to data from the experts in higher education data and analysis, HESA?
In 2018/19, we were able to provide a total of 5,469 experiences abroad that lasted at least five days.
Much of this travel is made possible through our Global Leaders Programme, which enables students to prepare for the challenges of the global employment market, as well as strengthening and developing their broader personal and professional skills.
Explore our international experiences1st for
international experiences
Sending more students overseas than any other UK uni 2016/17
5,469
Student experiences
The number of student trips abroad for at least 5 days in 2018/19
12,000
and counting
The number of students we’ve helped travel internationally since 2016
12
global programmes
As well as trips, we offer other opportunities like language courses
What our students say...
Studying Criminology at Coventry University provides the opportunity to examine many aspects of a diverse subject, in a way that is engaging and creates a hunger to know more.
Entry Requirements
What our students say...
Studying Criminology at Coventry University provides the opportunity to examine many aspects of a diverse subject, in a way that is engaging and creates a hunger to know more.
Tuition Fees
We pride ourselves on offering competitive tuition fees which we review on an annual basis and offer a wide range of scholarships to support students with their studies. Course fees are calculated on the basis of what it costs to teach each course and we aim for total financial transparency.
For more information, please visit our Finance pages.
Course essentials at no extra cost
We're committed to communicating study costs clearly to make sure you're not faced with having to make any unexpected payments.
This is why our ‘Flying Start’ package provides you with a few course essentials. Your full-time fee for an undergraduate degree will cover the following:
UK field trips
Any mandatory site visits and trips within the United Kingdom.Key material
This can include core textbooks, software and equipment.Laser prints
1,000 A4 sides of black and white laser printing credits per year.Optional year
Pay no tuition fees for optional work placements or study abroad trips.As well as covering UK field trips, key materials and laser print, the fees for this course also include:
- Disclosure and Barring Service (formally CRB Disclosure) for those undertaking placements with children
The following are additional items not included in the fees:
- Any optional overseas field trips or visits
EU student fees
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year remain eligible for the same fees as home students and the same financial support. Financial support comes from Student Finance England, and covers undergraduate and postgraduate study for the duration of their course, providing they meet the residency requirement.
For tuition fee loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland for the three years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that three year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
For maintenance loans
EU nationals starting in the 2020/21 academic year must have resided in the UK and Islands for the five years prior to the start of their course. The purpose of that five year residency should not have been mainly for the purpose of receiving full time education.
What our students say...
Studying Criminology at Coventry University provides the opportunity to examine many aspects of a diverse subject, in a way that is engaging and creates a hunger to know more.
Career prospects
Graduate Immigration Route visa
Based on current information from the UK Government, international students whose study extends beyond summer 2021 may be eligible for a visa under the UK Government’s Graduate Immigration Route, which will enable students to stay and work, or look for work, in the UK at any skill level for up to two (2) years. Check the most up to date guidance available to check your eligibility and any updates from the UK Government before making an application or enrolment decision.
Successful completion of a Criminology degree from Coventry can provide you with an excellent basis for graduate-level employment in a wide range of relevant professions, from the more established careers such as the prison, probation and police service to the newer initiatives in areas of community safety and crime prevention.
Our courses have been designed to provide practical work experience and equip you with a range of skills and competencies that aims to set you apart from other graduates and make you attractive to potential employers, such as group work, literature reviewing, critical analysis and the delivery of oral presentations.
We are committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The university's Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your career.
98%
of students agreed staff are good at explaining things
Where our graduates work
Recent graduates have gone on to pursue postgraduate qualifications and work for a range of organisations, including The National Crime Agency, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, HM Prison Service, Coventry Cyrenians and West Midlands Police.
for Student Satisfaction in the Guardian University Guide 2020.
What our students say...
Studying Criminology at Coventry University provides the opportunity to examine many aspects of a diverse subject, in a way that is engaging and creates a hunger to know more.
Disclaimer
By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. A copy of the 2020/21 Contract can be found here. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.
The tuition fee for the course that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For UK and EU students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation. Following the UK’s exit from the European Union, EU students should be aware that there may be a change to UK laws following the UK’s exit, this may change their student status, their eligibility to study part time, and/or their eligibility for student finance. We will act in accordance with the UK’s laws in force in relation to student tuition fees and finance from time to time.
For International students the tuition fee that is stated on the course webpage and in the prospectus for the first year of study will apply. We will review our tuition fees each year. For international students, we may increase fees for each subsequent year of study but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation.
