Start date:September
Institutional code: O10
UCAS code:LL31
Duration:2 years full time / 3 years part time
Course type:Full Time / Part Time
Fees per year 2024/25 entry:£7500 Full Time; £5000 Part Time
Fees per year 2025/26 entry:£8000 Full Time; £5334 Part Time
Additional costs per year:Trips may incur some cost
Delivery Method:Face-to-face via Lectures, Seminars and Tutorials
FdA Criminology and Criminal Justice validated by University of Central Lancashire
Criminology is the study of crime. Here at University Campus Oldham we give you the tools to understand what constitutes crime, consider how crime and criminal behaviour impacts children and young people, and reflect on ways of addressing crime within our society.
Our FdA has been aligned with job roles in Youth Offending Services within Local Authorities. This is course is a Higher Technical Qualification which is approved by IFATE which means you will develop skills and knowledge needed for working with children who have offended or who are at risk of offending.
Studying the FdA in Criminology and Criminal Justice is a great way to start your journey towards employment within the Criminal Justice System, social work or relevant charitable organisations. The course will enable you to develop your critical, analytical and interpretive skills in order to forge a deeper criminological understanding of the world around you.
This course is designed around contemporary criminological concepts including Comparative Criminology and Zemiology, expanding on traditional criminological thought by applying focus to more universal ‘social harms’ which allow for investigation into issues of injustice and harm, locally, nationally, and internationally, whether or not these are deemed to be against the law.
Studying this course, you will gain knowledge and understanding of a complex range of sociological, psychological and biological perspectives which influence people to commit crime. This will give critical analytical skills that will challenge perspectives in order to better understand the influences and harms within society.
Mandatory Modules
Beyond Crime and Criminology (20 Credits)
This module begins by exploring the realities of crime in our society, looking at how crime is defined, measured and represented. We then move on to explore alternative conceptions of ‘crime’ through the social harm approach, investigating how the idea of ‘social harm’, affects our perceptions of crime, the criminal, and criminalisation and with what effect.
Skills, Research, and Employability (20 Credits)
This module supports students to develop a range of transferrable skills which will underpin future research and assessments, alongside facilitating independent learning and reflective practice.
History of Criminal Justice (20 Credits)
This module outlines the history of punishment and criminal justice in the UK and shows how systems of criminal justice are, and have been, influenced by the social, political, religious, cultural, and theoretical trends and themes. Within this module we explore the importance of these contexts to the development of criminal justice and acknowledge that such development cannot be understood outside that context.
Crime and Morality (20 Credits)
This module is designed to introduce students to the wider and often controversial issues in criminology alongside exploration of the theoretical context in which enquiry about crime is located. The module examines a number of political, moral and legal concepts such as obligation to obey the law, disobedience, criminalisation, policing, human rights and justifications of punishment.
Key Approaches in Criminology (20 Credits)
The module is designed to stimulate, challenge and provoke thought and debate and to introduce students to the key theorists and ideas within criminology, so they can engage critically with the framework ideas, theories and practices that inform their respective approaches.
Criminal Justice in Action (20 Credits)
This module introduces the major stages, processes, procedures and personnel comprising the Criminal Justice system in England and Wales. The module includes guest lectures from practioners within the CJS and a visit to the Crown Court.
There are 6 modules; Research Methods and Theory, Understanding Policing and Security, Youth Justice, Punishment and the Penal System and Violence Against Women and Girls
The course will include trips, employer engagement and guest lectures, voluntary work will be encouraged and voluntary opportunities provided with the likes of the probation service, rehabilitation charities, victim support organisations and Positive Steps.
Graduates may wish to progress to the BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice top up where you will further apply your criminological understanding to key issues such as crimes of the powerful, human trafficking, as well as developing a dissertation project of your choosing.
Graduates can pursue careers in areas such as Youth Offending Services within Local Authorities, the police, the probation service, prisons and branches of the Home Office such as the Border Agency and the Criminal Justice Social Work. Students might also consider community development work, youth offending teams, educational institutions and adult guidance work with ex-offenders. Paid employment in the voluntary sector is an increasingly important area with positions in victim support and women’s refuges.
The course is delivered using a range of contemporary methods including ‘traditional’ lectures, interactive lectures, workshops, seminars, debates, Virtual learning and self-directed study.
The course is assessed using a range of methods including essays, examinations, presentations, reports, reflections, research projects.
The course is delivered at the UCO campus and benefits from small class sizes. Students will have access to the mock court room at UCLAN.
Applicants interested in applying to the FdA Criminology and Criminal Justice must have:
80 UCAS points.
BTEC National Diploma at pass level in an appropriate subject. Non-standard applications, industry professional qualifications, relevant work or life experience and who can demonstrate the ability to cope with and benefit from degree-level studies are considered on an individual basis and applicants may be interviewed.
Students where English is not the first language need to demonstrate their ability in the English language through obtaining an IELTS score of 6.0 or above or equivalent.