Psychology with Criminology BSc (Hons)

Accredited by the British Psychological Society, this programme looks at how crime impacts people and society through detailed study of the criminal justice system alongside psychology and human behaviour.

Entry Criteria
Structure and assessment
Facilities and features
Opportunities and careers
Take your next steps
Contact us

Overview

John Song, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, talks about the benefits of studying Psychology at DMU.

Accredited by the British Psychological Society (BPS), this course helps to give you an understanding of the human mind and how it shapes and influences our behaviour. The programme explores human behaviour using sound scientific methodology – observation, measurement, and testing – to understand how and why people function in the way they do. Alongside studies in psychology, you will also explore the study of crime, how psychological theories can be applied to criminal behaviour, and social reactions to crime.

Gaining a professionally accredited psychology degree by BPS is an essential first step to a career as a psychologist or to progress to postgraduate study. Our programme helps to equip you with transferable skills in critical thinking and communication, as well as more industry specific competencies such as scientific research methods, data analysis and data presentation skills.

Our graduates have gone on to pursue careers where an understanding of societal issues is key – such as in criminal justice, education, social work, research, advertising, human resources and healthcare.

On our programme you’ll study core areas of psychology including biological, cognitive, developmental and social psychology, and you’ll cover personality and intelligence, research methods, and historical perspectives. Through elective modules in the second and third years, you will have the opportunity to tailor your learning to align with your chosen area of specialism within psychology with criminology; be it counselling psychology, work psychology, cyberpsychology plus many more.

Key features

Our course is accredited by the BPS, which ensures our teaching is continually relevant to the latest developments and challenges in the sector.
Benefit from dedicated computer laboratories with the latest analysis software, individual research cubicles, interview rooms, and an observation suite, all supported by our psychology technicians team.
The expertise of our staff spans across four main research clusters, which are Health Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience, Psychology and Technology, and Self and Identity.
Graduates from this course can gain the skills to pursue careers across a variety of sectors, such as healthcare, research, social work, marketing, police services, teaching and human resources.
Enrich your studies with an international experience through our DMU Global programme. Students have previously explored the history of mental health and neuropsychology in Paris and cross-cultural factors within psychology in Kuala Lumpur. Criminology students have also gained a more detailed understanding of state crime at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, explored sub-cultures in Chicago, and visited Bosnia and Herzegovina to explore the experiences of victims of the Bosnian genocide.
Tailor your learning with optional modules that enable you to pursue your individual passions or career aspirations.
You’ll be taught by a team of expert criminologists who are involved in teaching and research, and many have worked within criminal justice or allied fields and have strong links with the British Society of Criminology and the British Sociological Association which ensure teaching is current and relevant.
You will be eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the BPS – the starting point of your career as a chartered psychologist – on successful completion of your degree (subject to achieving a minimum of 2:2).

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.

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UK
EU/International

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: C8L3

Duration: Three years full-time, six years part-time

Start date: September 2021

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding:

2022/23 tuition fees for UK students: £9,250

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

Institution code: D26

UCAS course code: C8L3

Duration: Three years full-time, six years part-time

Start date: September 2021

Location: De Montfort University Leicester UK

Fees and funding:

2022/23 tuition fees for international students: £15,250

Find out more about available funding for international students.

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

Entry criteria

GCSEs

Five GCSEs at grade 4 or above including English and Maths

Plus one of the following:

A levels

A minimum of 120 points from at least two A levels

BTEC

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

International Baccalaureate

30+ points

Access course

Pass in the QAA accredited Access to HE overall 120 UCAS tariff with at least 30 L3 credits at Merit. English GCSE required as separate qualification. Equivalency not accepted within the Access qualification. We will normally require students to have had a break from full-time education before undertaking the Access course.

Interview: No

Work experience: No

Personal statement selection criteria

Clear communication skills, including good grammar and spelling
Information relevant to the course applied for
Interest in the course demonstrated with explanation and evidence

International Students

If English is not your first language, an IELTS score of 6.5 with 6.0 in each band (or equivalent) when you start the course is essential. English language tuition delivered by our British Council-accredited Centre for English Language Learning is available at DMU both before and during the course if required.

Structure and assessment

First Year

Introductory Research Methods in Psychology
Core Areas of Psychology
Historical Perspectives in Psychology
Introduction to Criminology

Second Year

Further Research Methods for Psychologists
Biological Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Personality and Intelligence
Social Psychology
Elective Module: Domestic Abuse or Drugs, Substance Use and Crime

Third Year

Psychology Project
Conceptual Issues and Critical Debates in Psychology
Employability Skills and Psychology
Elective Modules

Click here for more detailed module information

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.

Teaching will be in the form of:

Lectures
Seminars
Workshops
Tutorials

Lectures are primarily presentation-based. Some lectures may have only 10-20 students whereas others may have up to 100-300 students. Seminars and workshops typically involve more interactive or practical exercises and demonstrations and commonly have around 10-20 students. Tutorials may be one-to-one or to small groups. In addition to timetabled teaching you are expected to engage in approximately 20-25 hours of self-directed study, including library research, group work and report or essay writing.

Assessment combines various methods including:

Essays
Written exams
Multiple choice exams
Presentations
Critical Reviews

As well as more innovative methods such as oral presentations, research reports, critical reviews of research papers and portfolio assignments. In your final year you will also complete an 8000-10,000 word dissertation. Modules use different assessment methods, although most employ a combination of examinations and coursework.

Teaching contact hours

Contact hours in a typical week will depend on your year of study and the optional modules chosen. However, typically you will have between 10-15 contact hours of teaching per week. As an example, within the second year of your studies you might typically have:

Personal tutorial/small group teaching: approx. 1-3 hours of tutorials per semester, and as per request

Medium group teaching: approx. 5 hours of practical classes, workshops or seminars each week

Large group teaching: approx. 7 hours of lectures each week

Personal study: approx. 20-25 hours each week

Teaching across the programme is informed by the research interests and expertise of our staff group. Four key research clusters exist within the division: Health Psychology, Cognition and Neuroscience, Self and Identity and Psychology and Technology. Staff members have diverse research interests including areas such as decision making, language, vision, eating behaviours, reproduction, identity processes, cybersecurity and cybercrime.

Accreditation

The course is accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of a second class honours is achieved. This is the first step towards becoming a chartered psychologist.

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 you develop a precise and accurate practical ability in the clinical skills suites.

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 Blackboard, 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

As part of the final-year Employability Skills and Psychology module, you will complete a self-sourced work experience placement, building a bridge between academic theory and its practical application. Students will be encouraged to source opportunities from different schemes and providers that are in line with their own career ambitions.

Graduate careers

Graduates from this course have gone on to work in a variety of roles across a range of well-respected sectors including the police service, criminal justice, education, teaching, social work, human resources, healthcare, research, and advertising. Graduates have also continued their professional development with a range of postgraduate courses and research opportunities at DMU including Health Psychology MSc, Psychological Well-being MSc.

DMU Global

Our innovative international experience programme DMU Global aims to enrich studies, broaden cultural horizons and develop key skills valued by employers.

Through DMU Global, we offer an exciting mix of overseas, on-campus and online international experiences, including the opportunity to study or work abroad for up to a year.

Psychology students have previously had opportunities to explore the history of mental health and neuropsychology in Paris and cross-cultural factors within psychology in Kuala Lumpur. Criminology students have gained a more detailed understanding of state crime at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, explored sub-cultures in Chicago, and visited Bosnia and Herzegovina to explore the experiences of victims of the Bosnian genocide.

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.

Psychology with Criminology BSc (Hons)

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