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Criminology (Professional Placement Year) at Bath Spa University - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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Bath Spa University has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

11Jan
Bath Spa University undergraduate open day
Undergraduate

Course summary

Investigate, scrutinise and understand the causes and consequences of crime with our Criminology degree.

  • An interdisciplinary programme of study and a broad range of staff expertise.
  • Examines crime, justice and punishment at local, national and transnational levels of society.
  • A theoretical, empirical and applied education in Criminology to develop your knowledge and skills.
We're fascinated by crime. Turn on the television or search for something online and you'll soon encounter images, reports and programmes about crime, justice and punishment. Crime saturates media and popular culture, suggesting both our enduring fascination with wrongdoing and its consequences, and crime's status as an ongoing social problem. But, what's the story behind these representations of crime? Criminology explores the causes, motivations and patterns of criminal conduct. In addition to improving our knowledge and understanding of crime, criminology also informs policies and practices in policing, law, criminal justice and punishment. With our Criminology degree, you'll study crime from a variety of approaches, gain practical and relevant experience, and develop a range of transferable skills that you can take into a range of careers and employment sectors. More about the Professional Placement Year A Professional Placement Year (PPY), traditionally known as a sandwich year, is where you undertake a period of work with an external organisation for between 9-13 months. The placement occurs between your second and final years of undergraduate study. You can engage in multiple placements to make up the total time and are required to source the placement(s) yourself, with support from the Careers team.

Modules

In year one, you’ll learn about the research traditions of criminology and be introduced to key concepts, theories and issues. You’ll investigate different types of crime such as property crime, sexual and violent crime, homicide, corporate crime, anti-social behaviour and drug use. You’ll also learn about criminal law and criminal justice agencies and institutions. Optional modules will increase your understanding of psychological and social dimensions of crime. You’ll study models of individual personality and behaviour, and visualise and analyse key sources of social science data. You’ll also study a complementary subject. In year two, you’ll study contemporary debates in criminology, criminal justice, and the psychology of crime, and train in research methods and crime mapping techniques. You can choose from a number of optional modules to create a programme tailored to your personal interests. You can investigate the ecology of crime, delve more deeply into the social divisions associated with crime, study justice and punishment, or explore crime in the media and popular culture. Your third year is a Professional Placement Year. In your final year, you’ll undertake an original piece of criminological research in an area that interests you, along with comparative study of criminal justice and penality in a global context. Again, you can select from a range of modules, a number of which highlight the global dimensions of crime and justice. There will be opportunities to undertake a voluntary placement in an organisation relevant to the criminal justice sector.

Assessment method

We use a range of assessments to gain a comprehensive measure of your performance. Assignments may include essays, book reviews, examinations, portfolios, creative work, contributions to online resources, presentations, reports, in-class tests, reflective writing and individual and group projects.

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:
383M
Institution code:
B20
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 4

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
65%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
90%
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 £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
EU £16460 Year 1
International £16460 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

No additional fees or cost information has been supplied for this course, please contact the provider directly.
Criminology (Professional Placement Year) at Bath Spa University - UCAS