(BA) Bachelor of Arts
Criminology with Criminal Law (Including Year Abroad)
Current
University of Essex
University of Essex
Sociology and Criminology
Colchester Campus
Honours Degree
Full-time
Criminology
None
None
BA LM12
08/05/2024
Details
Professional accreditation
None
Admission criteria
- A-levels: BBB - BBC or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 full A-levels.
- BTEC: DDM - DMM or 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of the equivalent of 2 full A-levels. The acceptability of BTECs is dependent on subject studied and optional units taken - email ugquery@essex.ac.uk for advice.
- Combined qualifications on the UCAS tariff: 120 - 112 UCAS tariff points from a minimum of 2 full A levels or equivalent. Tariff point offers may be made if you are taking a qualification, or mixture of qualifications, from the list on our undergraduate application information page.
- IB: 30 - 29 points or three Higher Level certificates with 555-554.
- IB Career-related Programme: We consider combinations of IB Diploma Programme courses with BTECs or other qualifications. Advice on acceptability can be provided, email Undergraduate Admissions.
- QAA-approved Access to HE Diploma: 6 level 3 credits at Distinction and 39 level 3 credits at Merit, depending on subject studied - advice on acceptability can be provided, email Undergraduate Admissions.
- T-levels: We consider T-levels on a case-by-case basis, depending on subject studied. The offer for most courses is Distinction overall. Depending on the course applied for there may be additional requirements, which may include a specific grade in the Core.
Contextual Offers:
We are committed to ensuring that all students with the merit and potential to benefit from an Essex education are supported to do so. For October 2024 entry, if you are a home fee paying student residing in the UK you may be eligible for a Contextual Offer of up to two A-level grades, or equivalent, below our standard conditional offer.
Factors we consider:
- Applicants from underrepresented groups
- Applicants progressing from University of Essex Schools Membership schools/colleges
- Applicants who attend a compulsory admissions interview
- Applicants who attend an Offer Holder Day at our Colchester or Southend campus
Our contextual offers policy outlines additional circumstances and eligibility criteria.
For further information about what a contextual offer may look like for your specific qualification profile, email ugquery@essex.ac.uk.
If you haven't got the grades you hoped for, have a non-traditional academic background, are a mature student, or have any questions about eligibility for your course, more information can be found on our undergraduate application information page. or get in touch with our Undergraduate Admissions Team.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) code
English language requirements for applicants whose first language is not English: IELTS 6.0 overall, or specified score in another equivalent test that we accept.
Details of English language requirements, including component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here
If we accept the English component of an international qualification it will be included in the academic levels listed above for the relevant countries.
English language shelf-life
Most English language qualifications have a validity period of 5 years. The validity period of Pearson Test of English, TOEFL and CBSE or CISCE English is 2 years.
If you require a Student visa to study in the UK please see our immigration webpages for the latest Home Office guidance on English language qualifications.
Pre-sessional English courses
If you do not meet our IELTS requirements then you may be able to complete a pre-sessional English pathway that enables you to start your course without retaking IELTS.
Pending English language qualifications
You don’t need to achieve the required level before making your application, but it will be one of the conditions of your offer.
If you cannot find the qualification that you have achieved or are pending, then please email ugquery@essex.ac.uk
.
Requirements for second and final year entry
Different requirements apply for second and final year entry, and specified component grades are also required for applicants who require a visa to study in the UK. Details of English language requirements, including UK Visas and Immigration minimum component scores, and the tests we accept for applicants who require a Student visa (excluding Nationals of Majority English Speaking Countries) can be found here
Additional Notes
If you’re an international student, but do not meet the English language or academic requirements for direct admission to this degree, you could prepare and gain entry through a pathway course. Find out more about opportunities available to you at the University of Essex International College
Course qualifiers
A course qualifier is a bracketed addition to your course title to denote a specialisation or pathway that you have achieved via the completion of specific modules during your course. The
specific module requirements for each qualifier title are noted below. Eligibility for any selected qualifier will be determined by the department and confirmed by the final year Board of
Examiners. If the required modules are not successfully completed, your course title will remain as described above without any bracketed addition. Selection of a course qualifier is
optional and student can register preferences or opt-out via Online Module Enrolment (eNROL).
- Applied Data Science: In order to be eligible for the qualifier, you must successfully complete the following modules:
Year Two:
SC202 (15 credits) Researching the Real World: Quantitative Approaches to Studying Crime and Society
and
SC208 (15 credits) Quantitative Research: Crime and Inequality Across the Life Course.
Final Year:
SC385 (30 credits) Modelling Crime and Society
and
SC830 (30 credits) Quantitative Research Project
For details of further recommended modules please web search “Essex Q-Step”.
Rules of assessment
Rules of assessment are the rules, principles and frameworks which the University uses to calculate your course progression and final results.
Additional notes
Law will be involved in the delivery of approximately 25% of this degree scheme – the component dedicated to Criminal Law.
There are no modules delivered on a distance learning basis.
External examiners
Dr Emily Gray
Assistant Professor of Criminology
University of Warwick
External Examiners provide an independent overview of our courses, offering their expertise and help towards our continual improvement of course content, teaching, learning, and assessment.
External Examiners are normally academics from other higher education institutions, but may be from the industry, business or the profession as appropriate for the course.
They comment on how well courses align with national standards, and on how well the teaching, learning and assessment methods allow students to develop and demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills needed to achieve their awards.
External Examiners who are responsible for awards are key members of Boards of Examiners. These boards make decisions about student progression within their course and about whether students can receive their final award.
Programme aims
- To provide students with an understanding of the distinctive character of criminological and criminal legal thinking (B).
- To provide students with a knowledge of the main theoretical traditions of criminology and criminal law (B).
- To provide students with an understanding of research methods in criminology and criminal law (B).
- To develop students capacity for critical enquiry, argument and analysis (B).
- To develop students capacity for independent learning.
- To provide students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to proceed to further study and research.
Reference to the QAA Benchmarks for Criminology are indicated by the letter B.
Learning outcomes and learning, teaching and assessment methods
On successful completion of the programme a graduate should demonstrate knowledge and skills as follows:
A: Knowledge and understanding
A1: A knowledge of key criminological concepts and theories (b)
A2: An understanding of some substantive areas of law in depth
A3: A knowledge of the social, political and mediatised processes of victimisation and criminalisation (b)
A4: An understanding of the relationship of social divisions and diversity in relation to crime, deviance, victimisation and responses to crime. (b)
A5: An understanding of changing and diverse policing forms, practices, structures and cultures, and the relationships between individuals, groups and public and private police (b)
A6: An understanding of the changing values, policies, practices and institutions involved in different forms of punishment, community safety, security and criminal justice (b)
A7: An understanding of the principles of research design and the main approaches to data collection in crime and social problems (b)
A8: An understanding of the value of comparative analysis (b)
A9: An understanding of the relationship between theory, concepts and substantive issues in criminology (b)
A10: An understanding of the fundamental doctrines and principles of the criminal law, and the institutions and procedures of the legal system of England and Wales.
Learning methods
A1-10 are acquired via lectures and classes in Sociology, Criminology and Law to present material - ideas, data and arguments- in a clear and structured manner using examples, mapping the field and the contours of debates.
In each Module the issues and arguments covered in lectures are explored further through weekly classes or workshops for which students have to prepare.
The curriculum is designed to involve clear progression between the foundational work in the first year and the subsequent compulsory Modules.
There is a strong emphasis on developing students’ theoretical understanding of criminological work and legal thinking through the compulsory criminology modules, especially the progressive structuring of the material in SC104, SC204, SC205, SC304, SC382, LW104, LW105 and specified LW options.
Classes, and preparation for classes, provide the opportunity for students to develop their knowledge and understanding of the content of the Modules.
In addition student learning takes place through the work they do preparing essays and assignments.
In the first year on SC101 students are required to produce assignments based on selected empirical and methodological studies in sociology/social science.
SC104 and SC101 also specifically introduce students to examples of ongoing research in the criminology within the department.
In the second-year Module SC203 students gain knowledge of research methods through workshops and small groups, in the context of preparation for the final year project.
In the third-year Modules SC304 and SC382, there is a particular focus on comparative analysis and on criminal justice practitioners in action through international case studies and guest sessions.
In their third year students can carry out independent work for a research project (SC831) for which they receive some individual supervision.
Assessment methods
Outcomes A1 to A10 are assessed through Module work and unseen written examinations.
Module work includes assessed oral presentations, essays, assignments, journals, and a research proposal.
In addition, the assessed work for all third year students includes a research project.
B: Intellectual and cognitive skills
B1: An ability to understand, summarise and critically assess criminological work (b)
B2: An ability to compare competing theories and explanations (b)
B3: An ability to develop a reasoned argument (b)
B4: An ability to assemble, evaluate and interpret evidence (b)
B5: An understanding of the epistemological and ethical dimensions of research (b)
B6: An ability to identify and apply relevant primary and secondary legal sources
Learning methods
Students enhance the above intellectual skills primarily through the work they do for their modules, although lectures and classes provide a means of teachers demonstrating these skills.
Preparation for classes and class presentations involve the reading, interpretation and evaluation of criminological texts and the collection and evaluation of empirical data and policy documents.
Class tutors provide feedback on class presentations and contributions to classes through comment and discussion.
Similarly the preparation of essays and other assignments also develop the listed intellectual skills.
Students are provided with feedback on all assessed work and this is crucial to their intellectual development.
Their work for the first, second and third-year journals and the third year research project is also vital to the Department’s learning and teaching strategy for this degree.
Assessment methods
Outcomes B1 to B6 are assessed by module work and exam.
B1 and B2 are assessed through essays, assignments, critical reflections, book reviews, oral presentations and unseen written examinations for the criminology modules.
Not all assignments require the evaluation and interpretation of empirical evidence (B4) though many do, and these skills are specifically assessed in some of the assignments for SC203.
On all modules students are required to marshal material in order to expound an argument.
C: Practical skills
Learning methods
Assessment methods
D: Key skills
D1: Communicate ideas and arguments in a coherent and effective manner
D2: Ability to critically approach a text and understand the key arguments presented
D3: Problem solving and analytical skills
D4: Preparing informal presentations and communicating in a group
Learning methods
Generic skills are taught and learned throughout the degree through a range of strategies for example, requiring students to give oral presentations, through giving them specific assignments such as carrying bibliographic and web searches, through specific assignments requiring numerical skills, and through class discussion and class and essay preparation.
Students have the opportunity to discuss essay plans with staff and are given clear deadlines for their work which they must meet.
They are given feedback on all their module work and are encouraged to reflect and improve upon their work.
Students also have the opportunity to develop skills in working in groups through their participation in the classes for every Module.
Assessment methods
Communication and debating skills are assessed throughout the degree through continuous assessed module work (including oral presentation) and examinations.
IT skills are a component in the evaluation of most assessed work which require bibliographic and web searches, but there is a particular focus on them in assessments for sc101 and in the literature review assignment for SC203.
Numeracy skills are assessed in SC203, which includes the computer application of statistical procedures.
Problem solving skills are assessed in almost all assignments.
Since the curriculum is structured in a progressive manner, student skills in improving learning and performance are also assessed through the related structured progression of formal assessed work.