Degree in Professional Policing BA (Hons)

Pursue a career in the vital sector of policing and investigations, serving to maintain law and order and detect, prevent and investigate crime. Licensed by the College of Policing, this course allows graduates to apply to the police service in England and Wales as Police Constables.

You deserve a positive teaching and learning experience, where you feel part of a supportive and nurturing community. That’s why most students will enjoy an innovative approach to learning using block teaching, where you will study one module at a time. You’ll benefit from regular assessments - rather than lots of exams at the end of the year - and a simple timetable that allows you to engage with your subject and enjoy other aspects of university life such as sports, societies, meeting friends and discovering your new city. By studying with the same peers and tutor for each block, you’ll build friendships and a sense of belonging.

Overview

The programme helps equip you with a broad understanding of policing while examining the causes, legal framework and responses to crime. We are licenced by the College of Policing to offer the pre-join degree in Professional Policing, allowing you to study first and then apply to a force and follow a shorter on-the-job training programme.

Designed to prepare you for work in the public or private policing sector, this course is taught by former police service staff who are knowledgeable in the requirements of the division, with topics centred on the College of Policing’s National Policing Curriculum to ensure your learning is relevant to developments and challenges within the sector.

Our Policing programme is also one of few courses that enable you to undertake academic modules alongside volunteering as a special constable, a trained member of the community who works with and supports the local police. Special constables generally volunteer around four hours a week, or more, to assist the police in tackling crime in their community. This invaluable experience can help to prepare you for a range of employment opportunities within the police service after graduating.

Key features

You will benefit from Education 2030 - DMU’s new way of delivering courses, focusing on ensuring the best possible experience for our students. Through block teaching, you will focus on one subject at a time instead of several at once. This means that you will be able to focus closely on each subject and absorb your learning material in more depth, whilst working more closely with your tutors and course mates.
This course teaches you the skills and expertise to prepare for a career in the public or private policing sector, where you will be taught by former police service staff who have first-hand experience of the sector and its requirements.
Teaching is centred on the National Policing Curriculum to ensure your learning is relevant to contemporary developments and challenges in the sector.
Apply your learning to a real-world context with opportunities to volunteer as a special constable to develop their real-world understanding of the material taught on the course and prepare you for a range of employment opportunities within the police service (please note this is subject to meeting the requirements of Leicestershire Police and those set out by the Home Office).
Gain international experience related to your studies through our DMU Global Programme, helping you to apply your learning to a global context. Policing students have previously visited Poland to investigate state crime at the Auschwitz concentration camp, as well as New York to learn about critical incidents ofpolicing in the city.
This programme caters for a range of career aspirations within the police service and investigatory sector.
You’ll also have the opportunity to join the Society of Evidenced Based Policing and engage with the East Midlands Police and Academic Consortium to provide you an insight and context to real life policing.

Benefit from block teaching, where most students study one subject at a time. A simple timetable will allow you to really engage with your learning, receive regular feedback and assessments, get to know your course mates and enjoy a better study-life balance.

Scholarships

DMU offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate scholarships and bursaries to help you realise your academic ambitions.

International student scholarships

Find out about available international scholarships or visit our fees and funding page for more information.

More courses like this

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EU/International

Key facts for UK students

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: 5N23

Start date: September

Duration: Three years full-time. 360 credits are required to complete the course

Location: De Montfort University, Leicester UK

Fees and funding:

2025/26 fees: £9,535* per year

*subject to the government, as is expected, passing legislation to formalise the increase.

Additional costs: You may incur additional costs for this programme, including the cost of travelling to and from project/placement locations.

How to apply

Submit a study-related enquiry

Key facts for international students

This programme is not currently available to international students

Entry criteria

GCSEs

GCSEs English and Maths at grade C/4 or above

Plus one of the following:

A levels

A minimum of 96 points from two A levels: with one A Level at grade B

T Levels

Merit

BTEC

BTEC National Diploma - Merit/Merit/Merit
BTEC Extended Diploma - Merit/Merit/Merit

International Baccalaureate

24+ points

Access Course

Pass in the QAA Accredited Access to HE with at least 30 Level 3 Credits at Merit.

English GCSE required as separate qualification. Equivalency not accepted within the Access qualification

Interview required: No

Work experience required: No

Applications from mature students for this programme are welcome and candidates with relevant work experience and other qualifications, which do not necessarily amount to the minimum entry requirements for the programme will be considered on a case by case basis. Requirements for these students would include an interview and the consideration of the candidate’s CVs by the programme leader. Alongside this, the student would also be required to submit a piece of work to indicate the their abilities to write and engage at an appropriate level. A diagnostic test would be given with regards to Level 2 Functional Skills.
Candidates need to understand that successful completion of the `Degree in Profession of Policing` BA (Hons) programme does not guarantee entry to any Police Service in England and Wales
Regarding the currency of this degree qualification: It is important to be aware that where students are awarded the `Degree in Professional Policing` BA (Hons) under this programme: the degree qualification will only remain current, for the purposes of it being a relevant Policing Degree in order for eligibility to apply and enter the police service, for a maximum of no longer than 5 years from the award date. This is a stipulation required by the College of Policing.

UCAS Tariff changes

Students applying for courses starting in September will be made offers based on the latest UCAS Tariff.

Structure and assessment

First Year

Block 1: Profession of Policing (30 credits)
Block 2: Problem based Policing (30 credits)
Block 3: Legislation and Policy (30 credits)
Block 4: Research and Study Skills (30 credits)

Second Year

Block 1: Research and Practice (15 credits)
Block 1: Choose one from the below: (15 credits)
- Religion, Faith and Crime
- Mental Health and Crime
- Families, Crime and Justice
- Restorative Justice and Rehabilitation
- Drugs and Substance Misuse
- Crime, Deviance and Subcultures
- Domestic Abuse
- Media and Crime
Block 2: Research and Practice (II) (30 credits)
Block 3: Critical Incident Management & Leadership (I) (30 credits)
Block 4: Leadership and Management of Contemporary Issues in Policing (I) (30 credits)

Third Year

Block 1: Multi-Agency
Block 2: Critical Incident Management & Leadership (II)
Block 3: Leadership and Management of Contemporary Issues in Policing (II)
Block 4: Dissertation

Note: All modules are indicative and based on the current academic session. Course information is correct at the time of publication and is subject to review. Exact modules may, therefore, vary for your intake in order to keep content current. If there are changes to your course we will, where reasonable, take steps to inform you as appropriate.

A variety of teaching methods, include:

Lectures
Case studies
Seminars
Desk-top exercises
Workshops
E-learning
Specialist guest lectures from practitioners
Visits to practitioners in action

Assessment methods include:

Essays
Examinations
Journals
Phase Tests
Presentations
Posters
Case-study critiques
Desk-top, simulated exercises
Policy books
Research Proposal
Dissertation

All of which will be developed as you progress through the course.

Your precise timetable will depend on your modules; however, typical teaching time is approximately 15 hours each week. In addition, you will also be expected to achieve approximately 20 hours of self-directed study.

Teaching contact hours

Contact hours in a typical week will depend to some extent on the optional modules you choose to study. However, typically you will have up to 15 contact hours of teaching and this will break down as:

Medium group teaching: approx. 1 hour of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week

Large group teaching: approx. 14 hours of lectures each week

Personal study: approx. 20 hours studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study using hand-outs, online activities, etc.

This programme is licensed by the College of Policing and reflects the set down curriculum for the Professional Policing BA (Hons) degree qualification, which allows successful candidates to apply to join the Police Service in England and Wales as a constable.

The teaching staff have many years of policing experience, which is used to contextualise the curriculum teaching. A number of the programme teaching staff are also currently research active.

Facilities and features

Health and Life Sciences facilities

Substantial investment has developed our teaching and learning facilities to help you expand your practical experience and theoretical knowledge beyond the classroom.

The 19th century Hawthorn Building has facilities designed to replicate current practice in health and life sciences, including contemporary analytical chemistry and formulation laboratories, audiology booths and nursing and midwifery clinical skills suites.

Purpose-built clinical skills areas allow you to practice in a safe environment. You will receive guidance and support from staff to ensure that your practical ability in the clinical skills suites is accurate.

Library and learning zones

On campus, the main Kimberlin Library offers a space where you can work, study and access a vast range of print materials, with computer stations, laptops, plasma screens and assistive technology also available.

As well as providing a physical space in which to work, we offer online tools to support your studies, and our extensive online collection of resources accessible from our Library website, e-books, specialised databases and electronic journals and films which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.

We will support you to confidently use a huge range of learning technologies, including the Virtual Learning Environment, Collaborate Ultra, DMU Replay, MS Teams, Turnitin and more. Alongside this, you can access LinkedIn Learning and learn how to use Microsoft 365, and study support software such as mind mapping and note-taking through our new Digital Student Skills Hub.

The library staff offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching, reference management and assistive technology. There is also a ‘Just Ask’ service for help and advice, live LibChat, online workshops, tutorials and drop-ins available from our Learning Services, and weekly library live chat sessions that give you the chance to ask the library teams for help.

More flexible ways to learn

We offer an equitable and inclusive approach to learning and teaching for all our students. Known as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL), our teaching approach has been recognised as sector leading. UDL means we offer a wide variety of support, facilities and technology to all students, including those with disabilities and specific learning differences.

Just one of the ways we do this is by using ‘DMU Replay’ – a technology providing all students with anytime access to audio and/or visual material of lectures. This means students can revise taught material in a way that suits them best, whether it's replaying a recording of a class or adapting written material shared in class using specialist software.

Opportunities and careers

Placements

Students are encouraged to volunteer as a special constable todevelop their real-world understanding and experience of their learning, helping to prepare you for a range of employment opportunities within the police service. Please note, this is subject to meeting the requirements of Leicestershire Police and those set out by the Home Office.

These learning experiences will enhance your real-world insight and the knowledge you can gain from these opportunities will help to inform and inspire your work as part of the dissertation project in your final year.

Graduate Careers

Our Policing Studies programme will help equip you with the knowledge, skills and capabilities sought after within the UK’s skilled police service.

In addition to this, your learnings on this course can help to prepare you for a range of other professional opportunities include roles in the private policing environment. You can also acquire the skills for career opportunities in a number of other related fields, for example:

Youth justice
Community safety and crime prevention
Domestic violence and victim support
Prisons and probation
Drug and alcohol addiction services

Graduates can also choose to continue their academic career by enrolling on one of our postgraduate courses.

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons, helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through DMU Global, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK-based activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.

Take your next steps

Nine halls of residence and around 2,300 rooms, all of which are within easy walking distance of the campus.

Run by students for students, DSU offers more than 150 societies and almost 40 different sports clubs for you to get involved in.

Degree in Professional Policing BA (Hons)

Block teaching designed around you