BA Criminology with Social Psychology

Program Overview

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How do we understand crime? Should crime be punished? Criminologists engage with some of the most pressing issues, decisions and dilemmas facing societies today. On our course you explore the nature of crime, criminal justice and punishment within wider social contexts. Our course provides a thorough training in the foundations of criminology, exploring the nature of crime, criminals, and criminal justice within wider social and psychological contexts. Social psychological approaches are increasingly crucial in understanding the interpersonal dynamics in crime control organisations, as well as exploring questions of criminal motivation. You will explore topics including:

• Crime and its control
• Power
• Identity

You also have the opportunity to complete a supervised dissertation on a topic that inspires you, encouraging you to think differently and connect with live issues and debates, and preparing you for your graduate career. Our BA Criminology is run by the Department of Sociology , which is 2nd in UK for research power in sociology (Times Higher Education research power measure, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Why we're great.

• Top 25 for criminology (The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023)
• We are 59th globally and 10th in the UK for sociology in the QS World University Rankings by Subject (2023)
• We pioneered sociologically informed approaches to criminology.

Study abroad

Your education extends beyond the university campus. We support you in expanding your education through offering the opportunity to spend a year or a term studying abroad at one of our partner universities. The four-year version of our degree allows you to spend the third year abroad or employed on a placement abroad, while otherwise remaining identical to the three-year course. Studying abroad allows you to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. If you spend a full year abroad you'll only pay 15% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year. You won't pay any tuition fees to your host university

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Placement year

You can also undertake a placement year in which you gain relevant work experience within an external business, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. You will be responsible for finding your placement, but with support and guidance provided by both your department and our Employability and Careers Centre.

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Training social scientists of the future

Through our Q-Step Affiliate Status, we offer you the opportunity to follow a specialised pathway that embeds quantitative methods in your degree. Successful completion of specified modules entitles you to receive the qualifier ‘(Applied Quantitative Methods)’ at the end of your degree title, for example BA Sociology (Applied Quantitative Methods) and this will appear on your transcript. You can also receive student bursaries to go on work placements, helping you stand out when applying for jobs. If you complete a placement year you'll only pay 20% of your usual tuition fee to Essex for that year.

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Our expert staff

You are taught by a team of award-winning internationally renowned scholars widely regarded as leading experts in their fields. Criminology at Essex is taught by an outstanding team including: Professor Eamonn Carrabine (editor of the British Journal of Criminology), Professor Pamela Cox (a consultant for the Victims' Commissioner), Professor Pete Fussey (an advisor to the Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner), Dr Kat Hadjimatheou (an advisor to the Home Office on domestic abuse), Prof Anna Sergi (an advisor to Interpol on organised crime) and Dr Sobie Kaker (member of Karachi Urban Lab). All lecturing staff are actively researching at the cutting edge of their respective disciplines and bring the very latest research findings into the classroom. All are prominent writers and the criminology team collectively authored the best-selling criminology textbook, ‘Criminology: A Sociological Introduction’, used on undergraduate courses across the country. Our staff have worked at local, national and international level with bodies like local councils, the Home Office, Amnesty International and the United Nations.

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Specialist facilities

• Our Centre for Criminology hosts expert speakers and practitioners
• A unique Student Study Centre where you can get help with your studies, access examples of previous students’ work, and attend workshops on research skills
• The common room is open all day Monday-Friday, has a hot drinks vending machine, water cooler and microwave as well as a small number of lockers available
• Links with the Institute of Social and Economic Research, which conducts large-scale survey projects and has its own library, and the UK Data Archive, which stores national research data like the British Crime Survey
• Our students’ Sociology Society , a forum for the exchange of ideas, arranging talks by visiting speakers, introducing you to various career pathways, and organising debates

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Your future

As an Essex criminology graduate, you can use the skills and knowledge gained from your degree to pursue a range of fulfilling careers. Careers linked to criminology are varied. Our courses provide an excellent training for work within the criminal justice system, for example, as community safety officers, risk assessors, court managers, researchers, paralegals, police officers, probation officers and youth workers. In recent years our graduates have gone on to work in a range of high-profile organisations including:

• The Institute of Public Finance
• Guardian Professional
• United Synergy Healthcare Research
• National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
• Home Office
• Media Analysts

We also work with the University’s Student Development Team to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities. Enhance your degree and demonstrate your quantitative skills with Q-Step . By following the Q-Step pathway of modules within your existing course, you will graduate from Essex with a qualifier award at the end of your degree, signalling to employers your capability in highly sought after quantitative research skills.

Program Outline

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

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Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose. Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

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Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits. In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available. Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

HR	100	4	FY
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.	The module number.	The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.	The term the module will be taught in. AU : Autumn term SP : Spring term SU : Summer term FY : Full year AP : Autumn and Spring terms PS: Spring and Summer terms AS: Autumn and Summer terms

Year 1 Year 2 Final Year Discover how the discipline of psychology informs and shapes five psychological professions: clinical psychology; educational psychology; forensic psychology; occupational psychology; and sports and exercise psychology. In a mixture of lectures and classes, you will evaluate how psychological theories and knowledge gained from research are used in each of these aspects of human behaviour, and how they can be used to solve some of the problems encountered in different areas of life. View Applied Psychology on our Module Directory What research methods do sociologists use? And what are the methodologies underpinning them? Wish to learn how to critically evaluate social research? And receive training in collecting quantitative and qualitative data? We study the principles of social science investigation and how to carry out original research. View Researching Social Life I on our Module Directory What are different forms of crime? What is the role of criminal justice? And how effective are penal sanctions? We provide a critical introduction to the problem of, and responses to, crime. You examine the history of criminological ideas, Britain’s criminal justice system, and current debates on crime and control. View Introduction to Crime, Law and Society on our Module Directory How can sociology help you understand the world in which you live? What are some of the major features and trends in present-day societies? Using sociological tools, you analyse key features of different societies, such as stratification, poverty, racism, consumption, multinational corporations, religion, and the gender division of labour in low-income countries. View The Sociological Imagination on our Module Directory This is a co-curricular module carrying zero credits but is compulsory. It is different from any other Sociology modules in the sense that there is no exam, and it runs over the whole of the three years of undergraduate studies. Upon the completion of the module, each Sociology student will have developed an understanding of their skills, interests, and goals and how these can be implemented to address the societal challenges of the future. Students will have to complete activities to fulfil the module assignment requirements at the end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 from any point after the final compulsory lecture in their year of study, up to the final submission deadline. View Career Development and Making a Difference on our Module Directory This module provides 2nd year students with the tools to put into practice what they have learned in their first year methods module(s) using computer software to analyse data, both qualitative and quantitative. With these foundational skills, students can then specialise in the spring term by choosing either qualitative (SC203) or quantitative-based (SC208) methods modules. View Analysing Social Life on our Module Directory Want to study Freud’s psychoanalytic theories? Interested in the Marxist social psychology of Vygotsky and Luria? Curious about developmental psychologies by Piaget and Kohlberg? We study theories of sociological social psychology that relate to the self and social interaction, and apply these themes to the understanding of social life. View Social Psychology (Sociology): Self and Interaction on our Module Directory You will examine key theories and trends in criminological thought, including the historical development of criminology and some of the more recent critiques. The themes of causation, criminalisation, correction and control run throughout the theoretical perspectives and are considered alongside some specific examples of criminal activity and organisation. Examples range from the individually-experienced through the structural inequalities relevant to understanding gender, ethnicity and crime and include the global dimensions. View Sociology of Crime and Control on our Module Directory COMPONENT 04: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS SC203-5-SP or SC208-5-SP (15 CREDITS) COMPONENT 05: OPTIOL Sociology, HSC or Psychology option(s) from list (30 CREDITS) This is a co-curricular module carrying zero credits but is compulsory. It is different from any other Sociology modules in the sense that there is no exam, and it runs over the whole of the three years of undergraduate studies. Upon the completion of the module, each Sociology student will have developed an understanding of their skills, interests, and goals and how these can be implemented to address the societal challenges of the future. Students will have to complete activities to fulfil the module assignment requirements at the end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 from any point after the final compulsory lecture in their year of study, up to the final submission deadline. View Career Development and Making a Difference on our Module Directory COMPONENT 01: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS SC326-6-FY or SC387-6-FY (30 CREDITS) What effect does globalisation have on crime and justice? How do we deal with global crime issues, like terrorism or illegal migration? Can we prevent large-scale crime, such as genocide? Study the changing nature of criminology, looking at contemporary developments, alongside the problem of balancing human rights with human security. View Globalisation and Crime on our Module Directory COMPONENT 03: COMPULSORY WITH OPTIONS Capstone option from list (30 CREDITS) COMPONENT 04: OPTIOL Sociology, HSC or Psychology option(s) from list (30 CREDITS) This is a co-curricular module carrying zero credits but is compulsory. It is different from any other Sociology modules in the sense that there is no exam, and it runs over the whole of the three years of undergraduate studies. Upon the completion of the module, each Sociology student will have developed an understanding of their skills, interests, and goals and how these can be implemented to address the societal challenges of the future. Students will have to complete activities to fulfil the module assignment requirements at the end of Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 from any point after the final compulsory lecture in their year of study, up to the final submission deadline. View Career Development and Making a Difference on our Module Directory

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Placement

On a placement year you gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree.

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Year abroad

On your year abroad, you have the opportunity to experience other cultures and languages, to broaden your degree socially and academically, and to demonstrate to employers that you are mature, adaptable, and organised. The rest of your course remains identical to the three-year degree Our Programme Specification gives more detail about modules on your year abroad.

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Teaching

• Teaching is arranged to allow a lot of freedom in how you organise your learning experience, with a focus on discussion and problem-solving
• Lab sessions to improve technical research skills

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Assessment

• Assessed through a combination of written coursework and end-of-year examinations
• Weighting is 50% coursework and 50% examinations
• Complete a supervised dissertation on the topic that most inspires you