University of Chester has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.
Course summary
This course is a national pre-join degree licensed by the Policing Professional Body, the College of Policing. The course is delivered by subject-matter experts and experienced practitioners (including retired police officers) with a wealth of subject expertise to prepare you with key transferable skills required for the role of Police Constable. Getting into any of the 43 Police Forces in England and Wales has changed and is something to consider if you are thinking of pursuing a career as a Police Officer. Since 2020, you need a professional educational qualification to be confirmed in post, as a Police Constable. On our course, you will cover all the learning content of the College of Policing’s Degree in Professional Policing, as well as receive additional detailed inputs on specialist subjects like Counter Terrorism and Digital Crime. You will gain a grounded knowledge of the key aspects of policing like legislation, police powers, and investigative interviewing skills. Our excellent simulation facilities for role-play scenarios will allow you to put your knowledge into practice in a safe learning environment. Our Policing Skills Labs comprise an immersive learning suite, interview rooms, crime scene houses, road policing scenarios, a custody office, and a mock courtroom. Through our relationships with police colleagues, we can help you obtain an opportunity to apply to be a special constable, allowing you to put your knowledge and skills into practice with on-the-job experience, and providing evidence to support your CV. Foundation Year courses have been designed for students who do not have the necessary academic qualifications needed to enter directly into the first year of a degree but who have the ability and commitment to do so. Once the Foundation Year has been completed successfully, you can then go on to complete your degree.
Modules
This degree is designed to give you the skills and abilities you will need to progress in a career in policing and wider law enforcement. You will study a wide range of modules that give you a thorough understanding of the key areas of policing with practical employability skills appropriate for a career in a Police force or wider law enforcement agencies such as the National Crime Agency. The first year of study is designed to provide students with the knowledge and practical skills required to become a Special Constable if they so wish. Students will study criminal law and police powers and procedures. In addition they will gain invaluable knowledge in relation to intelligence, road traffic policing and response policing The second year of the degree builds upon this knowledge studying evidence-based policing, criminology theory and community policing. There is also a practical-based module where students will investigate a crime from the initial report to giving evidence in court. This includes investigative interviewing, investigation skills, forensics and intelligence gathering and understanding. In the third year of study, students will study digital policing and leadership skills together with undertaking an academic project in an area of policing or law enforcement that they are interested in or an area of policing in which they wish to pursue as a career. There is a final module where they will apply skills, abilities and experiences they have gained throughout the degree to investigate a complex criminal investigation. The University is licensed by the College of Policing, the professional body of the police, to deliver the professional degree course which is one of the pathways into a police force. However, the skills and abilities you will gain provide a wide range of employment opportunities and potential in law enforcement and wider employment. The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.
Assessment method
This course is taught in three terms of ten weeks each. Scheduled contact hours will be approximately 12 hours per week. Teaching takes place on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. This course is delivered with the majority being in-person learning, however, there may be elements of online learning. Students can expect to take part in lectures, workshops and peer-led seminars. Students should expect to spend an average of 10-20 hours per week on independent study which might include following asynchronous learning material on the University’s VLE, tutorial time with staff, using the University’s library, working with peers and preparing work for assessment. Teaching will be delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers. The assessment strategy for this course was developed in accordance with the requirements of the College of Policing to provide students with the necessary skills, abilities and experience to be an effective candidate for the Police. Students will be assessed using a variety of methods, incorporating practical elements where applicable. Formative and summative assessments have been designed to authentically reflect professional policing through the production of material utilised within policing, thereby developing effective and robust transferable skills in graduates. Some of the assessments include: coursework in the form of essays academic posters presentation witness /suspect interviews investigative decision logs conducting a stop/search a road traffic collision and giving evidence in a courtroom. The assessment methods are continuously reviewed so that they reflect the requirements of the College of Policing. They are created so that the teaching on this course adequately prepares students for graduate-level employment.
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:
- L901
- Institution code:
- C55
- Campus name:
- Chester
- Campus code:
- -
Points of entry
The following entry points are available for this course:
- Foundation
Entry requirements
Qualification requirements
UCAS Tariff - 72 points
A level
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016) - MMP
Access to HE Diploma
Scottish Higher - CCDD
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme - 24 points
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017) - H4, H4, H4, H4, H4
T Level - P
The University of Chester considers a wide range of Level 3 qualifications and a wide range of professional / vocational qualifications.
Student Outcomes
Operated by the Office for Students
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
Go onto work and study
The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.
Fees and funding
Tuition fees
| England | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Northern Ireland | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Scotland | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Wales | £5760 | Year 1 |
| Channel Islands | £5760 | Year 1 |
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
The tuition fee for the subsequent years of study on the full-time undergraduate degree will be charged at the undergraduate degree fee level. This fee is currently £9,535 a year the University may increase these fees at the start of each subsequent year of your course in line with inflation at that time, as measured by the Retail Price Index. These fee levels and increases are subject to any necessary government, and other regulatory, approvals.
Provider information
University of Chester
Parkgate Road
Chester
CH1 4BJ