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Criminology and Psychology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

7Dec
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview When you work with criminals and their victims, the ability to understand people's emotions, thoughts and actions is vital. This combined BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology degree gives you a deep understanding of criminal behaviour, for a competitive edge in your career. You'll explore why people commit crimes, the psychological fallout, and how rehabilitation works. Studying in one of the UK's largest criminology departments, your diverse options will also include specialist subjects such as forensic psychology. Course highlights

  • Tailor your degree for a career path that fits your ambitions – from policing to probation, prisons to rehabilitation
  • Be taught by experts, including forensic psychologists and criminologists, whose ground-breaking research keeps your modules relevant and eye-opening
  • Develop practical skills, such as lie detection and effective interviewing, in our Forensic Interviewing Suite, founded by a researcher who works with emergency services to develop better ways of interviewing witnesses
  • Explore how virtual reality can make a difference to understanding criminal behaviour, inspired by innovative VR research at the University of Portsmouth
  • Enjoy a sense of community with your peers, on course-specific socials and field trips – recent examples include visits to courtrooms and Bethlem Museum of the Mind, on the grounds of the infamous 'Bedlam' Hospital
  • If you’re interested in policing, probation work or community justice, you can choose modules that give you pre-entry qualifications for a career in those fields
  • Make the most of our links with agencies such as youth offender teams, the probation service and prisons, to build your network of potential employers
Careers and opportunities By studying aspects of two different but related disciplines – psychology and criminology – you’ll open yourself to a wide range of career options. You’ll be a natural fit for roles relating to work with offenders or victims of crime. Both are areas where there will likely always be a demand for skilled professionals. The psychology aspects of your studies will broaden your career options. Your understanding of the human mind and behaviour could lead you to specialist jobs, such as forensic psychology (with further training). Knowledge of psychology can also be an asset in a diverse range of roles outside of criminal justice - from market research to human resources. With transferable skills in communications, critical thinking and analysis on your CV, you’ll be a very employable graduate. What areas can you work in with a criminology and psychology degree? Organisations you could work for include:
  • the police force
  • the probation service
  • the prison service
  • academic research
  • victim and offender support charities
What jobs can you do with a criminology with psychology degree? Our graduates have gone on to jobs such as:
  • investigative data analyst
  • police officer
  • defence and security analyst
  • probation officer
  • counter fraud intelligence analyst
  • youth offending support officer
  • offender case administrator
Our Careers and Employability service can help you find a job that puts your skills to work in the field. You'll also get support for up to 5 years after you leave the University.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Criminal Justice
  • Essential Skills for Criminologists
  • Psychology for Criminologists
  • Social Psychology
  • Understanding Criminology
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Psychology and Criminal Justice
  • Questioning Criminology
  • Researching Criminology
Optional modules in this year currently include:
  • Crimes of the Powerful
  • Empire and its Afterlives in Britain, Europe and Africa
  • Engaged Citizenship in Humanities and Social Sciences
  • Fundamentals of Forensic Investigation
  • Gang Crime
  • Global Environmental Justice
  • Global Security
  • Hate Crime
  • Introduction To Teaching
  • Intercultural Perspectives on Communication
  • Key Issues in Criminal Justice
  • Marketing and Communication
  • Modern Language (Institution-wide Language Programme)
  • Modernity and Globalisation
  • Nationalism and Migration: Chaos, Crisis and the Everyday
  • News, Discourse and Media
  • Penology and Prison
  • Policing and Society
  • Principles of Economic Crime Investigation
  • Professional Experience
  • Psychology and Security
  • Space, Place and Being
  • Transitional Justice and Human Rights
  • Underworlds: Crime, Deviance and Punishment in Britain, 1500–1900
  • Victims of Crime: Key Players in Criminal Justice
  • Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response
  • Youth Crime, Youth Justice
Placement year (optional) On this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. Year 3 Core modules in this year includes:
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Dissertation / Major Project (Criminology)
  • Psychology of Criminal Conduct
Optional modules in this year currently include:
  • Black Criminology, Race and the Criminal Justice System
  • Contemporary Terrorism and the Global Response
  • Crime and New Technologies: Theory and Practice
  • Cyberpsychology
  • Dangerous Offenders and Public Protection
  • Economic Crime and Fraud Examination
  • Forensic Psychology: Investigation
  • Gender and Crime
  • Green Crime and Environmental Justice
  • Information Security Management
  • Intelligence Analysis
  • Introduction To Teaching
  • Miscarriages of Justice
  • Money Laundering and Compliance
  • Policing: Communities, Intelligence and Information
  • Policing: Law, Policy and Practice
  • Political Extremism
  • Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates
  • Professional Experience
  • Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders
  • True Crime: The Making of a Genre
We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

Assessment method

You’ll be assessed through: coursework examinations presentations group projects a dissertation You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark. You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future. The way you’re assessed may depend on the modules you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows: Year 1 students: 18% by written exams, 7% by practical exams and 75% by coursework Year 2 students: 17% by written exams and 83% by coursework Year 3 students: 33% by written exams, 8% by practical exams and 59% by coursework

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
M9C5
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015). An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
PTE Academic62An overall score of 62 with a minimum of 59 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students

There is no data available for this course. For further information visit the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

**Undergraduate fees for 2025 entry will be available shortly.** For more information about fees, go to https://www.port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Criminology and Psychology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS