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Economic Crime (Distance Learning) at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

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2024 - 20252025 - 2026
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Course summary

Overview Start your career in countering economic crime, or if you're already working in the field and want to aim for higher level roles, get the knowledge and skills you need on this MSc Economic Crime degree course. Study part-time by distance learning. You'll explore and evaluate the intricacies of economic crime and its social and financial impacts. You'll get to grips with existing crime reduction policies and weigh up their effectiveness. Choose specialist topics that interest you – such as countering corruption and fraud examination, terrorism and security, and managing intelligence – as you tailor your studies toward a career in law enforcement, investigations, compliance, research, analysis, management or policy development. When you graduate, you'll be equipped with skills that will open further opportunities to combat economic crime across the criminal justice system, in the public or private sector.

  • Evaluate the scale and impact of international economic crime, with a focus on money laundering and related activity, such as global sanctions and terrorist financing
  • Learn from an experienced team of economic crime specialists in our School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and hear from industry expert guest speakers from around the world
  • Be part of our community of researchers by getting involved with our criminology research centres, such as the Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime, the Economic Crime group, and the Cybercrime and Cybersecurity group
  • Interact and explore economic crime with fellow professionals from the field of criminal justice
  • Study part-time by distance learning alongside your role - such as in law enforcement, the private or public sector - and build a professional network of criminal justice specialists from across the world
Careers and opportunities According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), fraud and economic crime is now the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales. When you graduate from this Master's in Economic Crime, you'll be equipped with the tools you need to not only understand economic crime and how it is countered, but also to challenge existing processes and make improvements. You'll have a comprehensive understanding of economic crime and will be able to work in areas such as counter fraud and counter corruption, law enforcement, customs and excise, crime prevention and community safety. You'll gain a tailored postgraduate qualification to add to your undergraduate degree, or to back up your existing career knowledge from the field. You'll delve deep into the subjects you choose to study through research, gaining an evidence-based perspective and a greater ability to be analytical and evaluative. If you already work in the field of criminal justice, you'll be ready to pursue higher-level roles, or to break into a different area of the discipline. If you're yet to embark on your career, you'll gain the knowledge and advanced research problem-solving skills you need to stand out to employers and contribute positively to justice system reform. You could also go on to further study, or progress on to a graduate scheme such as PoliceNow or the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme. Graduates of this course can go on to roles such as:
  • economic crime or counter fraud investigator
  • police or law enforcement officer
  • probation or prison officer
  • data analyst
  • intelligence analyst
  • cybersecurity
Graduates of this course can go on to work for organisations such as:
  • the Civil Service
  • national and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
  • Government agencies and departments internationally
  • probation and prison service
  • the Courts
  • local administration / authorities
  • private security companies
  • charities

Modules

Part-time Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Economic Crime (Dl) (30 credits)
  • Money Laundering (Dl) (30 credits)
  • Research Methods and Research Ethics (30 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules
  • Dissertation - 60 credits
Optional modules
  • Countering Corruption and Fraud Examination - 30 credits
  • International and Transnational Offending - 30 credits
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, course content is revised and regularly reviewed. This may result in changes being made in order to reflect developments in research, learning from practice and changes in policy at both national and local levels.

Assessment method

You'll be assessed through:

  • essays
  • reports
  • oral presentations
  • projects and portfolios
  • seminar participation and engagement
  • dissertation / major report
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 practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class honours degree in a relevant subject (Social Science, Humanities, Law, Psychology, or Management subject). Information Technology or science related subjects will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants with equivalent professional experience in a relevant organisation will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.5 with no component score below 6.0.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) and Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015) An overall score of 176 with no component score less than 176.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) and Proficiency (CPE) (taken after January 2015) An overall score of 176 with no component score less than 176.
TOEFL (iBT)91 with a minimum of 24 in Reading, 23 in Listening, 25 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.
PTE AcademicAn overall score of 61 with a minimum of 61 in each skill.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £4450 Year 1
England £4450 Year 1
Northern Ireland £4450 Year 1
Scotland £4450 Year 1
Wales £4450 Year 1
Channel Islands £4450 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £4450 Year 1
International £4450 Year 1

Additional fee information

Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Fees may also go up in later years, in line with inflation.
Economic Crime (Distance Learning) at University of Portsmouth - UCAS