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Professional Policing at University of Portsmouth - UCAS

Course options

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

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 Simulated facilities that replicate situations you’ll face in your job, insights from teaching staff who have law enforcement experience and opportunities to gain experience with local police forces. Following the National Police Curriculum as set out by the College of Policing, this BSc (Hons) Professional Policing degree prepares you for the emotional, physical and mental demands of a rewarding career in policing and related fields. You'll gain legislative, policy and procedural knowledge and develop the critical thinking, communication, decision making and conflict management skills you need. You’ll graduate as a qualified police officer and have the foundation to explore a career in law enforcement and criminal justice, or continue your studies at postgraduate level. Course highlights

  • Explore crime scenes and situations using virtual reality environments, allowing you to test your skills in a simulated environment
  • Build your professional network through our close ties with Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire constabularies
  • Get experience of the interdisciplinary work practices you’ll encounter in your career as you study alongside criminology students
  • Enhance your CV and apply your skills through volunteering opportunities with local police forces
  • Have the opportunity to see other countries’ approaches to policing by spending your placement year at a policing-focused overseas university
Licensed by: This course is a national pre-join degree programme licenced by the College of Policing. Careers and opportunities A career in policing is an exciting, rewarding way to serve your local community and make a positive impact on society. Working as a police constable This degree is an approved entry route into the police services in England and Wales, so you'll be eligible to apply for police constable roles when you graduate (you won’t need to do a graduate conversion programme). This allows you to work in neighbourhood and response policing. With experience, you can rise in the ranks to roles such as:
  • sergeant
  • inspector
  • superintendent
  • chief constable
Working in other police force units After a 2-year probationary period as a police constable, you can apply to work in specialist areas such as:
  • criminal investigation department (CID)
  • firearms
  • traffic
  • intelligence
  • child protection
  • fraud squad
  • drug squad
This course also gives you the knowledge and skills for roles in security organisations such as the National Crime Agency.

Modules

Year 1 Core modules in year 1 currently include:

  • Crime and Society (20 credits)
  • Criminal Justice (20 credits)
  • Essential Skills for Criminologists (40 credits)
  • Evidence Based Policing (20 credits)
  • Introduction to Policing (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules in year 2 currently include:
  • Community Policing and Public Protection (20 credits)
  • Complex Investigations (20 credits)
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing (20 credits)
  • Policing and Society (20 credits)
  • Researching Criminology (20 credits)
  • Victims of Crime: Key Players in Criminal Justice (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Placement year (optional) Choose to do a work placement year with a UK police force 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 Core modules in year 3 currently include:
  • Applied Policing and Investigation (20 credits)
  • Dissertation (Criminology) (40 credits)
  • Management of Criminal Investigations (20 credits)
  • Policing: Communities, Intelligence and Information (20 credits)
  • Policing: Law, Policy and Practice (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. 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:

  • Essays
  • Reports
  • Oral presentations
  • Group projects and portfolios
  • Seminar participation and engagement
  • Thesis/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 all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.


How to apply

Application codes

Course code:
M392
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1

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 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. 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
Professional Policing at University of Portsmouth - UCAS