Psychosocial Analysis of Offending Behaviour BSc (Hons)
UCAS code: C816
Study criminal justice and applied criminology to develop a psychosocial understanding of offending behaviour and offender management on this multi-disciplinary degree. Explore the factors that contribute to crime and offending and examine the punishment and treatment of offenders.
Overview
Course length: | 3 years full-time 5 years part-time |
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Start dates: | September 2023 |
Location: | Edge Hill University |
Example offers: | BCC-BBC (A Level) or DMM (BTEC) View full entry criteria |
Subject(s): | Criminology |
Faculty: | Arts and Sciences |
Department: | Law, Criminology and Policing |

Why do people offend? What is the appropriate punishment or response to this type of behaviour? This degree takes a psychosocial approach to answer these questions and develop your knowledge of offending.
We’ve designed this degree to focus on crime at a national and global level. Analyse low level nuisance crimes through to terror, corporate crime, and crimes against humanity. You’ll also learn about the wider social, economic, and political contexts of offending.
Delve into the impact of offending on individuals and communities. Get to grips with current criminal justice practice and careers in this interesting sector. You could see these roles in a real-world context during work experience in Year 2.
Study concepts such as risk and dangerousness. Unravel the mysteries of complex offending, like working with mentally disordered offenders and those with addictions who offend.
Course features
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International students can apply
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Sandwich year option available
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Work placement opportunity
What you'll study
Study the legal frameworks and impact of offending. We’ll introduce you to the criminal justice process. Explore the wellbeing needs of offenders by focussing on the care, treatment and management of mentally disordered offenders. You’ll consider other complex factors, such as addictions and offending, and the place of criminology in the modern world. And we’ll give an overview of critical thinking and analysis skills that will be essential in your career.
Build on the issues studied in Year 1 and develop your knowledge of specific offenders such as women and young people in trouble with the law. Find out how to help offenders by enhancing your understanding of treatment, rehabilitation and inclusion approaches. Year 2 gives you the opportunity to get hands-on with practical work experience in an area of your choice.
Prepare to reinforce your existing knowledge and critical analysis skills. We’ll dig deeper into the psychological, political and criminological perspectives of crime and imprisonment. You’ll also put your research skills to good use by designing and completing a research dissertation.
Optional modules provide an element of choice within the course curriculum. The availability of optional modules may vary from year to year and will be subject to minimum student numbers being achieved. This means that the availability of specific optional modules cannot be guaranteed. Optional module selection may also be affected by timetabling requirements. Some restrictions on optional module choice or combinations of optional modules may apply.
How you'll study
The course is delivered through lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops and independent study. You will also have the opportunity to carry out research through fieldwork and a dissertation. The practical work experience in Year 2 provides a unique and stimulating opportunity for experiential learning which will enhance your employability and career prospects.
How you'll be assessed
A range of assessment methods will be used throughout the programme including written coursework, presentations, examinations, case studies, reflective assignments and personal research.
Who will be teaching you
You will be taught by tutors whose research and teaching has a well-established national and international reputation, for instance, in areas of youth justice, sex offending and restorative justice.
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.
Entry criteria
Entry requirements
Typical offer 104-112 UCAS Tariff points. No specific subjects are required.
Example offers
Qualification | Requirement |
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A Level | BCC-BBC. |
BTEC Extended Diploma (or combination of BTEC QCF qualifications) | Distinction, Merit, Merit (DMM). |
T Level | Overall grade of Merit. |
International Baccalaureate (IB) | We are happy to accept IB qualifications which achieve the required number of UCAS Tariff points. |
Access to Higher Education Diploma | 45 credits at Level 3, for example 9 credits at Distinction and 36 credits at Merit or 15 credits at Distinction and 30 credits at Merit. The required total can be attained from various credit combinations. |
Please note, the above examples may differ from actual offers made. A combination of A Level and BTEC awards may also be accepted.
If you have a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent), there is no maximum number of qualifications that we will accept UCAS points from. This includes additional qualifications such as Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), AS Levels that haven't been continued to A Level, and General Studies AS or A Level awards.
English language requirements
International students require IELTS 6.0, with a score no lower than 5.5 in each individual component, or an equivalent English language qualification.
If your current level of English is half a band, one band, or one-and-a-half bands lower, either overall or in one or two elements, you may want to consider our Pre-Sessional English course.
How to apply
Apply full-time
Read our guide to applying through UCAS to find out more about the application process.
Apply part-time
Complete our online application form if you want to study this course on a part-time basis.
International
Please see our international student pages for further information about how to apply as a prospective international student.
Should you accept an offer of a place to study with us and formally enrol as a student, you will be subject to the provisions of the regulations, rules, codes, conditions and policies which apply to our students. These are available at www.edgehill.ac.uk/studentterms.
If you join a full time undergraduate degree at Edge Hill University, we will guarantee you the offer of a room in our halls of residence for the first year of your course.
Discover our accommodation
Facilities
TThe £6million Law and Psychology building provides contemporary teaching and learning facilities for students in the School of Law, Criminology and Policing and the Department of Psychology.
The three-storey building includes a 250-seat lecture theatre, seminar and tutorial rooms, and social learning areas which encourage a more informal and interactive style of learning.
Where you'll study
Law and Psychology
Finance
Tuition fees
UK Full-Time
£9,250
a year
UK Part-Time
£77 per credit
for 360 credits
International
£15,500
a year
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, as well as Irish nationals, may be eligible for the UK tuition fee rate.
Financial support
Subject to eligibility, UK students joining this course can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the Government to cover the full cost of tuition fees. UK students enrolling on the course may also be eligible to apply for additional funding to help with living costs.
Please view the relevant Money Matters guide for comprehensive information about the financial support available to eligible UK students.
EU/EEA and Swiss students who have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme may be eligible to apply for financial support. Irish nationals can ordinarily apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). If you are an EU student who does not have settled or pre-settled status, or are an international student from a non-EU country, please see our international student finance pages.
Your future career
You’ll graduate with a comprehensive understanding of criminal justice practice and psychosocial explanations of offending. This degree is ideal for those interested in following a career in criminal justice, including in prisons, youth justice and probation sectors.
Our graduates also have the skills and know-how to transfer to related fields like journalism, criminal policy, security and cyber security.
After completing our BSc Psychosocial Analysis of Offending Behaviour, you’ll be well-placed to apply for meaningful roles such as:
- Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP)
- Modern Slavery Caseworker Assistant
- Community Payback Supervisor
- Residential Childcare Worker
- Youth Offending Service Case Manager
- Query Management and Case Administrator, HM Courts and Tribunal Service
- Prison Officer
We’ve also seen graduates from this programme continue their studies on postgraduate courses. Some also pursue professional qualifications in social work, probation, teacher training or psychology to build the career of their dreams.
Course changes
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information, however our courses are subject to ongoing review and development. Changing circumstances may necessitate alteration to, or the cancellation of, courses.
Changes may be necessary to comply with the requirements of professional bodies, revisions to subject benchmarks statements, to keep courses updated and contemporary, or as a result of student feedback. We reserve the right to make variations if we consider such action to be necessary or in the best interests of students.