Skip navigation
Sociology with Criminology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 20262026 - 2027
Apply

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

5Jul
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate
6Sep
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate
12Oct
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 People are not born criminals. On this course, you’ll explore how human relationships and social structures influence behaviour. You’ll discover how power dynamics and inequalities create crime. And you’ll see people who break and enforce the law in a new light. With many diverse options to choose from, you can tailor this BSc (Hons) Sociology with Criminology degree around topics that fascinate you – from identity issues, such as race and sexuality, to issues of experience, such as happiness, gang crime or serial killing. Modules are taught by experts who draw directly from their research activity – to give you the latest knowledge in the field. . Course highlights

  • Explore topics informed by our latest research, from a curriculum constantly updated to reflect new ideas in areas as diverse as black studies, gender, class and inequality
  • Learn how to persuade others through evidence-based argument, by taking a critical look at different ideas of society, crime and justice
  • Go beyond issues of crime to explore the human experience more broadly – from migration to inequalities, from food to celebrity culture
  • Practice analysing human behaviour through social research, so you can gain insights to help improve people’s wellbeing
  • Customise your degree to match your ambitions: some modules reduce the amount to time you’d need to train for a policing career or as a probation officer
Careers and opportunities Studying a combination of sociology and criminology opens up a wide range of potential careers, both in and out of the criminal justice system. Whether you’re attracted to careers that involve working closely with other people, or roles that call for rigorous and structured thinking, you’ll be well prepared. This is because you’ll graduate with a set of skills that are transferable to all kinds of professions. Those skills include:
  • insight into people and social dynamics
  • critical thinking and analysis
  • qualitative and quantitative research
  • the ability to shape and communicate an argument
For proof that a wide range of employers value these skills, look at the diversity of roles our recent graduates have taken on. They include: police officer, recruitment consultant, litigation paralegal, digital forensics assistant and victim support caseworker. What areas can you work in with a sociology with criminology degree? You’ll graduate ready to pursue a career or further training in areas such as:
  • health and social care
  • law enforcement
  • probation
  • counselling
  • advertising, marketing and media
  • teaching and lecturing
  • human resources and recruitment
  • business administration and personnel management
You could also progress into research-related jobs or pursue further research and study at postgraduate level. What jobs can you do with a sociology with criminology degree? Job roles you could take on include:
  • social researcher
  • probation officer
  • investigative analyst
  • police officer
  • human resource manager
  • counsellor
  • teacher
  • charity worker
  • detention custody officer

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in this year include:

  • Criminal Justice - 20 credits
  • Developing Your Sociological Imagination - 40 credits
  • Navigating Global Challenges - 20 credits
  • Theorising Social Life - 20 credits
  • Understanding Criminology - 20 credits
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in this year include:
  • Doing Sociological Research (20 credits)
  • Questioning Criminology (20 credits)
Optional modules in this year include (20 credits each):
  • Consumer Society: Critical Themes and Issues - 20 credits
  • Drugs and Society - 20 credits
  • Gender and Sexuality - 20 credits
  • Global Environmental Justice - 20 credits
  • Hate Crime - 20 credits
  • Health, Wellbeing and Happiness - 20 credits
  • Modern Foreign Language (Institute-Wide Language Programme) - 20 credits
  • Organised Crime - 20 credits
  • Race and Racism - 20 credits
  • Sociology of Culture: Taste, Value and Celebrity - 20 credits
  • Victims of Crime: Key Players in Criminal Justice - 20 credits
  • Work, Employment and Society - 20 credits
  • Youth Crime, Youth Justice - 20 credits
  • Global Security - 20 credits
  • News, Discourse and Media - 20 credits
  • Principles of Economic Crime Investigation - 20 credits
  • Wildlife Crime: Threats and Response - 20 credits
  • Contemporary Terrorism and the Global Response - 20 credits
  • Crimes of the Powerful - 20 credits
  • Emotions And Social Life - 20 credits
  • Equality or Liberation? Theorising Social Justice - 20 credits
  • Family, Career and Generation - 20 credits
  • Modernity and Globalisation - 20 credits
  • Penology and Prison - 20 credits
  • Policing and Society - 20 credits
  • Professional Experience - 20 credits
  • Risk and Society - 20 credits
  • Social Power, Elites and Dissent - 20 credits
  • Understanding Personal Life - 20 credits
Placement year (optional) Have the opportunity to do a work placement year after your second or third year on this Connected Degree - we're the only UK university to offer flexible sandwich placements for undergraduates. Year 3 Optional modules in this year are:
  • Dissertation (Social Sciences & Humanities) - 40 credits
  • Major Project - 40 credits
  • Independent Project (Social Sciences & Humanities) - 20 credits
  • Consumer Society: Critical Themes and Issues - 20 credits
  • Crime and New Technologies: Theory and Practice - 20 credits
  • Dangerous Offenders and Public Protection - 20 credits
  • Fraud and Financial Investigation - 20 credits
  • Gender and Sexuality - 20 credits
  • Green Crime and Environmental Justice - 20 credits
  • Health, Wellbeing and Happiness - 20 credits
  • Introduction to Teaching - 20 credits
  • Policing: Law, Policy and Practice - 20 credits
  • Political Extremism - 20 credits
  • Race and Racism - 20 credits
  • Sociology of Culture: Taste, Value and Celebrity - 20 credits
  • Professional Development: Recruiters and Candidates - 20 credits
  • Emotions and Social Life - 20 credits
  • Equality or Liberation? Theorising Social Justice - 20 credits
  • Family, Career and Generation - 20 credits
  • Gender and Crime - 20 credits
  • Miscarriages of Justice - 20 credits
  • Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing - 20 credits
  • Policing: Communities, Intelligence and Information - 20 credits
  • Professional Experience - 20 credits
  • Religion and Politics in Global Perspective - 20 credits
  • Social Power, Elites and Dissent - 20 credits
  • Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders - 20 credits
  • True Crime: The Making of a Genre - 20 credits
  • Understanding Personal Life - 20 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, 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:

  • written essays
  • group and individual presentations
  • group and individual projects
  • seminar participation
  • examinations
  • a 10,000 word dissertation
You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

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:
LM40
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
72%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
91%
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

EU £9535 Year 1
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
International £17200 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

Students who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2025/26): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,430 EU – £1,430 International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. Please check the course page on our website for the most up to date fee information All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Sociology with Criminology at University of Portsmouth - UCAS