BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice

Summary 2012/13

• Join a Law and Criminology department ranked top in the North West for overall student satisfaction (National Student Survey, 2011);
• Explore perspectives on the causes of crime and the role and function of the criminal justice system;
• Study crimes from anti-social behaviour and domestic violence to corporate crime, genocide and state crime;
• Visiting academics and experts allow you to put your studies in context with a different perspective on the reality of crime and the criminal justice system.

The degree explores the background to, and recent developments in, criminology, social justice and human rights. Focusing on the police, imprisonment, youth justice and the courts, you will examine the significance of social class, gender, sexuality and ‘race’ in the provision of justice and rights.

At the end of year 1, you will choose between the following pathways:

• BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice
• BA (Hons) Criminology and Criminal Justice (Youth Justice)

2012 Entry Requirements

280 UCAS tariff points overall.

Details

Who is this course for?

This programme is for anyone with an interest in the causes and contexts of crime, deviance and disorder in society, how the law is constructed, enforced and administered, and the role of the media in public perceptions of 'crime' and 'conflict'.

What will I gain from this programme?

As well as gaining a degree which is highly regarded nationally, you will benefit from the strong links we have forged with criminal and social justice agencies and the criminal justice system. You will also get support to plan and manage your career and receive help finding volunteering placements to increase your knowledge and experience.

What will I study?

In Year 1, depending on whether you are studying Criminology as a single honours or joint honours student, you will study one or more of four core subjects. These are: Understanding Crime and Conflict; Critical Analysis and Criminal Justice; Crime and Punishment in their Historical Contexts; Generating Criminological Knowledge.

At the end of Year 1 single honours students have the option to follow the new Criminology and Criminal Justice (Youth Justice) pathway. This entails selecting a range of specialist modules to study in Years 2 and 3 around children, young people, youth justice and the law relating to children and families, together with conducting research in the area of youth justice. Following this pathway will equip students with specialist knowledge and skills in this area.

In Year 2 you will study a range of core and elective modules. These will introduce you to subjects as diverse as the media, the ‘spectrum’ of violence from domestic violence to war and genocide, children as criminals and victims, and criminal law.

In Year 3, you will again have the chance to study a combination of core and elective modules covering the politics of imprisonment and policing, crimes of the powerful, the relationship between Criminology and other disciplines, human rights and the role of evidence in criminal courts, among others. Single honours students will also complete a 10,000 word dissertation supported by a personal research supervisor.

How will I study?

As well as lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshop groups, you will have the opportunity to carry out research through fieldwork and a dissertation.

Who will be teaching me?

You will be taught by tutors whose research and teaching has a well-established national and international reputation. We are committed to 'focused teaching' where tutors concentrate primarily on areas of specialism. You will benefit from studying in a highly committed and research-active department.

Feedback from criminology students in a recent national survey placed the Department of Law and Criminology best in the North West in terms of overall satisfaction.

Our academics are at the forefront of teaching, research and publication in criminology, human rights and social justice. The department has maintained consistently high standards and has a healthy doctoral completion record. It is committed to the integration of teaching and research and has close associations with other academic institutions in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

How will I be assessed?

Methods of assessment vary with individual modules. Most modules are assessed by a combination of coursework but other methods include presentations, media analysis, case studies and personal research.

What are my career prospects?

The programme provides ideal preparation for possible careers in social work, probation, youth justice, youth and community work, law and research, police, prison service, criminal justice agencies, welfare rights, care and resettlement of offenders, civil liberties and outreach work with vulnerable groups.

You wil also be well placed for postgraduate study or to train for a career in teaching by completing a PGCE.

Related Programmes

BA (Hons) Criminology with Law

A Great Study Environment

Edge Hill University’s stunning £8m Business and Law building provides state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities for students in the Department of Law and Criminology and Business School. The three-storey building offers a dedicated law library, modern seminar and meeting rooms and social learning areas which encourage a more informal and interactive style of learning. A roof garden and atrium are other attractive features along with a 100-seater lecture theatre that doubles as a moot room, a mock-up of a courtroom.

Based in 160 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds, the Ormskirk Campus is a unique and inspirational place to study. Industry standard resources and cutting edge technology combine to make an interactive and highly advanced teaching and learning environment. Everything you could want is on one site with 25 acres of sport and leisure facilities, more than 1,000 rooms in halls of residence and fantastic modern spaces in which you can study and socialise.

The University library gives you access to thousands of books, journals, online resources and extensive PC and media provision. You'll get all the support you need to succeed, reflected in Edge Hill University being ranked in the top two in England for students' personal development, and the top three in the country for assessment and feedback, in the 2011 National Student Survey. The University is also featured in the top four in England for graduate employment.

How do I apply?

Apply online through UCAS at www.ucas.ac.uk.

See our How to Apply pages for more information on the application process and our Admissions criteria.

Fees and Finance

For academic year 2012/13, Edge Hill University will charge £9,000 for full-time BA, BSc and LLB degrees. Eligible students will not have to pay upfront for their tuition. The cost of tuition will be paid by a loan which you will only start to repay once you have finished the course and are earning over £21,000.

Eligible full-time students can also apply for a maintenance grant, subject to household income, and a non-means-tested loan to help with living costs.

Edge Hill University offers a range of scholarships for prospective full-time students. These include £2,000 Entrance Scholarships rewarding determination, commitment and achievement in creative arts, performing arts, sport and volunteering. Eligible entrants with outstanding grades are recognised through the £1,000 High Achievers Scholarship.

The University will also be offering awards, worth £3,000 in cash benefits and fee/accommodation waivers for academic year 2012/13, to eligible prospective full-time students through the National Scholarship Programme.

For more information on scholarships, including eligibility criteria for each award, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/scholarships.

To find out more about fees, grants and loans for academic year 2012/13, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/undergradfees2012.

Please note, the above information is for UK and eligible EU students only. International students should check the fees and finance information at www.edgehill.ac.uk/internationalfees2012.

Not got the entry requirements?

Students returning to education may present their previous experience in work (paid or unpaid) to support their application.

For personalised advice based on your circumstances, please contact us or come to an event.

Where can I find out more?

If you would like to receive a copy of our prospectus or be kept updated about forthcoming events, contact the Course Information, Advice and Guidance Team by emailing study@edgehill.ac.uk or calling 01695 657000.

If you want to attend one of our open events held throughout the year, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/opendays to book your place.

You will also find Edge Hill University staff at many national careers fairs and UCAS events.

Still want more?

If you have any questions you would like to ask about this course, please contact:

• Clare Kinsella, Admissions Tutor
• Tel: 01695 657620
• Email: kinsellc@edgehill.ac.uk

Or

• Alana Barton, Programme Leader
• Tel: 01695 657608
• Email: bartona@edgehill.ac.uk

Overseas students should visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/international or email international@edgehill.ac.uk for further information.

Combinations

Joint

• BA (Hons) Childhood & Youth Studies and Criminology (XM32)
• BA (Hons) Criminology and Sociology (ML93)

Combined

• BA (Hons) Criminology with Law (M9M1)

Modules

Year 1

CRI1001 Understanding Crime and Conflict introduces the key theoretical perspectives relevant to the study of crime and social justice. Using contemporary case studies in crime, deviance and conflict, it will evaluate the main theoretical traditions and recent critiques within criminology.

CRI1102 Critical Analysis and Criminal Justice examines key agencies in the criminal justice system and official responses to 'crime' and deviance whilst evaluating representations of 'crime' and deviance through media and official discourses. Furthermore, the module delivers specific tools incorporating academic practices, research and information retrieval skills, and personal development in order to provide you with a foundational grounding in essential study skills.

CRI1103 Crime and Punishment in Their Historical Contexts is concerned with the historical contexts of crime and criminal justice from the late eighteenth century to the present day. It examines the significance of changing relations of class, gender, ‘race’ and age in underpinning responses to crime, deviance and disorder.

CRI1104 Generating Criminological Knowledge considers the controversies, contradictions and common sense assumptions that underpin the generation of ‘knowledge’ around ‘crime’, harm, punishment, rights and justice. Using biographies and personal testimonies in a variety of forms, the module will demonstrate how the processes of denial, neutralisation and disqualification are used to undermine and/or silence personal, experiential accounts relating to crime, harm, punishment rights and justice.

Year 2

Depending upon whether you are studying the generic or Youth Justice pathway, there will be a combination of compulsory and elective modules from the list below:

CRI2101 Critical Criminology: Theory and Application provides a thorough grounding in critical criminological theory and its application to contemporary debates and issues concerning harm and criminal justice. It considers the development of criminological theory in its historical context and encourages you to apply theory to ‘concrete’ current issues around harm and crime and to social and state responses, within determining contexts of class, gender, neo-colonialism and age.

CRI 2102 Violence explores the concept of violence and the various forms it can take, ranging from intrapersonal violence (e.g. self harm) to interpersonal violence, institutional and state violence, and violence on a global scale. You will be encouraged to look beyond established understandings of what constitutes a violent act to explore more abstract forms of violence such as harm, denial of rights, and poverty.

CRI2103 Doing Criminological Research examines the complexity and diversity of debate and definitions of method, methodology and theory. The skills necessary to evaluate social research, including the political and ethical dilemmas that may arise, will be explored.

CRI2016 Youth Justice provides a thorough grounding in issues of youth justice, considering the history of youth justice in the UK and elsewhere and the development of responses to children and young people in conflict with the law in its social and political context. It explores theoretical approaches to youth justice and considers explanations regarding differences in state responses to this issue.

CRI 2104 Generating Reputations explores the ways in which criminal, deviant and marginalised identities are constructed and reproduced. You will be encouraged to reflect on the role the media plays in the process of developing identities and the relationships between discrimination, criminalisation and victimisation.

CRI2105 Challenging Childhoods examines the theoretical traditions, and their legacies, of what constitutes the ‘child’. The module considers the mechanisms through which children are socialised, placed under surveillance, disciplined and in turn criminalised and victimised. Central to the module is a critical analysis of state intervention into the lives of children together with an exploration of child exploitation and the process through which children become ‘victims’.

LAW2201 Criminal Law deals with substantial criminal law as a framework which defines wrongful human behaviour. The module considers the general criminal law before focusing on specific criminal offences. You have the opportunity to develop your knowledge of a core legal subject, develop research skills and work independently.

Year 3

As with Year 2, you will take a combination of core and elective modules depending upon your chosen pathway.

CRI3001 Dissertation is the culmination of your critical engagement with the subject area of criminology. It offers you the opportunity to study a topic in greater depth than is otherwise possible on the degree and to study subjects which might not be available as options on it. You will undertake independent research but be supported by one-to-one supervision sessions with a tutor.

CRI 3101 The Politics of Policing provides the historical and political contexts to contemporary policing from a perspective of citizens' civil rights and civil liberties. Drawing on case studies and contemporary examples, it examines the tension between the principle of equality before the law and differential police strategies, and between lawful discretion and institutionalised discrimination.

CRI3102 The Politics of Punishment provides you with a critical knowledge and understanding of the nature, functions and justifications for the use of punishment in modern society. It considers the philosophical and sociological theories of punishment and the legitimacy of the state’s use of punishment, specifically imprisonment but also other methods such as capital punishment.

CRI3103 Research Report enables you to focus on a particular area of policy, practice, legislation or management strategy in the field of youth justice. You may choose to undertake a small-scale piece of research on a particular project or work-based practice, the culmination of which will lead to the production of a research report / evaluation. You will be encouraged to produce a report that summarises the results in the form of an executive summary whilst making appropriate recommendations.

CRI3104 Rights, Justice and the State. Taking a national and international approach, the module considers the development of new discourses of rights in which you will evaluate statutory policies and responses to the issue of rights and justice. You will consider how States respond to issues of justice and rights, including where States themselves uphold or violate citizens’ rights.

CRI3105 Expanding the Criminological Imagination is designed to critically reflect on and analyse the discipline of criminology, its political, practical and theoretical strengths and limitations, and the production and commodification of criminological knowledge. Exploring the concept of the ‘criminological imagination’ as an alternative way of envisaging the discipline and its utility, it considers the way in which criminology has to connect with other disciplines in order to expand the range of issues it deals with.

CRI3106 Crimes of the Powerful considers key forms and determinants of serious social harms originating in the actions or omissions of powerful institutions and individuals. It critically examines the origins of such harms, the ways in which they are framed within dominant and alternative discourses, and critiques the responses to them, within and without the criminal justice system, at local, national and international levels.

LAW3206 Human Rights introduces the nature of human rights claims and their translation into law and legal institutions. It charts the emergence of human rights arguments, discourses and their influence within national and international law, looking specifically at rights in relation to corporations, children and women, states and war crimes.

LAW 3207 Family Law examines the main areas of substantive law and social policy pertaining to the family. The focus is on the 'family' and the rights and obligations of the adults within it. Family Law introduces the concept and nature of marriage as the central nucleus from which the laws governing the family have traditionally emanated. It considers the extent to which marriage remains an instrument of social, moral and economic regulation in society.

LAW3209 Law of Evidence focuses upon the main roles of evidence which govern the conduct of a criminal trial. The module explores the wider rationale of these rules within the criminal justice process, emphasising the significance of the relationship between the interests of the state and the rights of the individual.

LAW3212 Child Law examines the law governing the relationship between the State, parents and children in England and Wales. This includes exploring the law regulating conception, adoption, child abuse, juvenile crime, child rights, sterilisation, residence and the legal relationship between parents and children.