





Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
An overview of the BA (Hons) Criminology degree offered by the university. The course aims to produce competent criminology graduates with the ability to apply complex concepts and theories to practical crime issues. Students will engage in a range of learning methods, including formative tasks and summative assessments. The degree covers criminological theory, the criminal justice system, and policy drivers that underpin changes in criminal justice policy. Students have the opportunity to apply for a Prison Sandwich placement in their third year.
What you will learn
Typology: Study notes
1 / 9
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
Basic Course Information
BA (Hons) Criminology BA (Hons) Criminology (Sandwich) Full-time
To engage with these questions, we examine three interrelated components:
In 2015, the university launched its five-year Strategic Plan to create the University of the future, with five key strategic themes: creating opportunity, valuing ideas, enriching society, connecting globally and empowering people. The guiding principle behind the design of the course has been to ensure the delivery of a criminology curriculum which meets the changing needs of students, employers and society. There is a strong emphasis upon equipping our graduates with the necessary employability and transferable skills. Furthermore, we seek to demonstrate through the integration of our teaching, research and partnerships, how criminology can make a positive impact on our local, national and international/global communities. Through the introduction of service learning, practitioner inputs on many modules, opportunities for Erasmus (and International) exchange and practice-related research project options, employability is located at the heart of our course.
Between levels 5 and 6, students have the opportunity to apply for a Prison Sandwich placement opportunity. Please note, that due to the recruitment cycle of the Prison Sandwich placement, it is not possible for students to undertake both the Study Abroad and the Prison Sandwich placement.
The course is delivered by staff who are engaged in theoretical and applied research that covers a broad spectrum of criminology and criminal justice issues. Through our research activities, we seek to provide a teaching and learning environment that is underpinned and informed by cutting edge knowledge.
The course aims to:
Skills, qualities and attributes By the end of the course you should be able to:
Our expectations of you in these teaching and learning environments develop over the course, as we seek to help you move from having relatively high levels of support in level 4 to being increasingly independent learners in your final year of study. We do not require you to have studied criminology prior to joining us but even if you have, the first year moves beyond what you have already studied. Therefore, learning and teaching in level 4 reflects this
Formative Assessment: a formative task/assessment is one which is developmental for students’ learning, but does not contribute to credit points. Throughout the BA Criminology degree, formative assessment has been designed to support meaningful learning and to foster a sense of criminological ‘identity’. Further, formative assessment provide students with the opportunity to:
To achieve this, students on the BA Criminology will undertake a number of formative tasks which include:
Summative assessment: aligned with the formative assessments outlined above, summative assessment results in a final grade (and feedback) which reflects the standard of achievement of the student work against the identified learning outcomes.
Summative assessment methods which are deployed on BA Criminology include:
Level 4 assumes no previous knowledge of criminology so each of the core modules are introductory in nature and have been designed to ensure your understanding of: the criminal justice system, its associated agencies and processes, criminological theory, the legal system, aspects of society and social change pertinent to crime, whilst also introducing you to study skills and approaches to research in criminology.
Level 4 modules:
Level 5 develops the key knowledge of criminology and the criminal justice system which underpins the course as a whole. In term one, you will take three core modules. In term two, you will undertake one core 20 credit point module and a 40 credit point Service Learning module. Additionally, students who wish to study abroad are able to apply to participate in study abroad opportunities (such as an Erasmus Exchange) in term two.
Teaching and learning methods in level 5 are constructed to facilitate your increased participation, for example through the use of workshop exercises, group presentations and student-led debates. Level 5 also encourages the development of analytical skills and increased independent learning.
Level 5 modules:
Core modules:
Interim awards:
If you acquire 120 credits in year one and do not progress to year two, you will be eligible for the award of Certificate of Higher Education in Criminology. If you acquire 120 credits in year one and year two respectively, but do not progress to year three, you will be eligible for the award of Diploma of Higher Education in Criminology. If you obtain 120 credits from year one, 120 credits from year two, and 60 rather than 120 credits from year three, you will be eligible for the award of an Ordinary Degree in Criminology.
For current information regarding all entry criteria for this course, please see the entry requirements on the course information web page.
Inductions The course commences in Level 4 with a number of induction events designed to encourage collegiality between students from day one, whilst also familiarising you with staff that you will encounter across the course. Inductions will provide key messages as to the expectations of the course, whilst such messages will also be reinforced via the tutorial programme. In Levels 5 and 6, inductions serve as transition workshops, identifying changing standards of expectation, key differences in modules and/or assessment modes, and a reminder for students of support measures/policies available to them.
Tutorials The tutorials programme is the primary means by which pastoral care is provided to students on this course. A combination of one-to-one and small- group tutorials ensure that every student is allocated (and becomes familiar with) a specific academic staff member who remains their personal tutor for the duration of the course. Emphasis in Level 4 is placed on introducing you to the range of support services across the school and university including study support, mental/physical wellbeing and the NEC process, the NTU student code of conduct, and academic irregularity policy. Furthermore, a range of study skills are also explored through tutorials at all levels, designed to support you via an incremental approach, whilst issues specific to police practice will also be discussed as part of the tutorials programme at all levels of the course. Personal tutors perform mid-term reviews of students’ progress and engagement across both tutorials and course modules, the outcomes of which are then communicated to students and where appropriate, students are then directed to suitable NTU support mechanisms or invited to meet with the course lead in order to identify potential barriers to engagement. All information from tutorials is also posted into a dedicated NOW page, including links to the NTU student handbook and relevant employability/student support portals, to ensure its availability to course students.
Course Committee Like all courses at NTU, the BA Hons Criminology (Prison Sandwich) course has a course committee comprised of course teaching
staff, representatives from IT and the Library and student representatives, which meets termly to discuss arising course developments and issues.
Libraries & Learning, IT A tour of the library forms part of the Level 4 course induction programme and includes meeting the member of library staff assigned to the Criminology course. They also attend each of the Course committee meetings to ensure regular updates on training sessions are highlighted to students and staff, and such opportunities are also emphasised within the tutorials programme in all levels of the course. There is also a Study Skills Advisor in the School of Social Sciences, who can offer you advice on request.
IT support is provided by a dedicated IT support team and IT skills form an integral part of several modules, including Understanding Crime and Society (Level 4) and The Research Project (Level 6). IT staff are also represented at the Criminology course Committee and provide regular updates on developments in IT provision.
Further student support services External to the course, we have strong links with Student Support Services, and a clear referral system to services such as counselling. Your personal tutor can help you identify any relevant services (within the school and beyond) but you are also strongly encouraged to make contact with Student Support Services yourself if you need assistance from them. You will be provided with details of how you can do this at induction.
All course information is also included in course handbooks which are distributed to you at induction and made available electronically via NOW. University-level information is also provided in a handbook and via the University's student website.