Criminal Justice and Criminology BA

Program Overview

Through a combination of theoretical exploration and real-world examples, students gain valuable subject knowledge and research skills. Graduates are prepared for careers in criminal justice or related fields, including research, policy development, or media. The program is ranked among the top 15 in the UK and offers opportunities for international study and work experience.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

This program, the Criminal Justice and Criminology BA, is offered by the University of Leeds and is grounded in the research of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies. It provides a comprehensive understanding of crime and its control, exploring the complex questions surrounding the causes of crime, the appropriate treatment of offenders, and effective crime prevention strategies. The program delves into the individual, social, legal, and political forces that shape both crime and its control. It examines the workings of criminal justice agencies, including the police, courts, prisons, and probation services, as well as the roles of private companies and voluntary groups in offender management and crime prevention. The program aims to equip students with the subject knowledge and research skills necessary to understand and contribute to the broader understanding of crime and criminal justice. It offers a range of optional modules allowing students to focus on topics that align with their interests and career aspirations.

Outline:

Year 1:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Criminal Justice Study and Research Skills (20 credits):
Introduces fundamental study and research skills, including basic study skills, research process in criminal justice and criminology, and methods for understanding and analyzing data.
• Understanding Crime and Criminology (40 credits): Focuses on criminology and the "crime problem," discussing the origins and development of criminology, its connections to other disciplines, major contemporary issues, and the nature of crime in modern society.
• Crime, Inequality and Social Issues (20 credits): Explores the links between crime and inequality, examining theories of inequality, evidence of inequality in the UK, political responses to inequality, and sites of intervention for tackling inequality and reducing crime.
• Introduction to Criminal Law (20 credits): Introduces key criminal law principles, cases, legislation, and the political and cultural contexts of criminal law at national and international levels.
• Introduction to Criminal Justice (20 credits): Examines the main institutions of the criminal justice system and provides an introduction to the use and methods of punishment in modern society.

Year 2:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Crime Prevention and Crime Science (20 credits):
Explores how offender decisions can be influenced by the environment, focusing on choice theory, routine activity theory, crime opportunities, situational techniques, and evidence.
• Criminology: Theories and Concepts (20 credits): Explores traditional and contemporary explanations for crime and offending behavior, including biological, psychological, and sociological perspectives.
• Policing (20 credits): Provides a critical introduction to policing in England and Wales, covering historical and comparative perspectives, contemporary policing practices, powers and discretion of the police, and policing of different types of crime and social groups.
• Researching Crime and Criminal Justice (20 credits): Builds upon knowledge of empirical research methods, engaging in debates on methodologies and providing practical experience in their application.
• Optional Modules:
• Youth Crime and Justice (20 credits):
Explores the nature and extent of youth crime, social and legal constructions of youth, the youth justice system in England and Wales, and contemporary youth justice debates.
• Social Sciences and Emergencies: Contexts, Theories and Approaches (20 credits): Introduces the role of social sciences in public understanding and experience of emergencies, providing conceptual tools and methodological approaches to evaluate responses to emergencies.
• International Human Rights Law (20 credits): Examines the evolution, mechanisms, and grounds of international human rights protection, covering the structure of the international system of human rights protection, enforcement machinery, and specific rights.
• Crime, Race and Ethnicity (20 credits): Analyzes the social, political, and economic processes that define, construct, and respond to crime in a racialized manner, examining the relevance of race and ethnicity in crime studies and the impact of racialization on offending, victimization, and punishment.
• International Law (20 credits): Explores the structures and rules of international law, examining its authority, legitimacy, and values in the context of global problems.
• Gender and Society (20 credits): Introduces major topics and areas of debate in gender and society, examining feminist theory, theories of gender, and empirical material related to gender in contemporary industrial societies.
• Discovery Modules: Up to 20 credits of discovery modules can be chosen depending on the number of optional modules selected.

Year 3:

• Compulsory Modules:
• Transnational and Comparative Criminology (20 credits):
Focuses on contemporary issues of crime and insecurity with transnational dynamics, examining border controls, counterterrorism strategies, organized crime, global mega-events, illicit drug trade, tax fraud/evasion, and trials at the International Criminal Court.
• Penology (20 credits): Examines the use of custodial and community sentences in contemporary society, providing detailed knowledge and understanding of issues relating to imprisonment in England and Wales and various methods of punishment and supervision in the community.
• Final Year Project (40 credits): Students design and undertake an extended independent project in an area or topic relevant to Criminal Justice and Criminology, using knowledge and skills gained in earlier years, creating new knowledge and understanding, and developing research and employability skills.
• Quantitative Pathway (Compulsory Modules):
• Transnational and Comparative Criminology (20 credits):
Same as the standard pathway.
• Penology (20 credits): Same as the standard pathway.
• Quantitative Social Research I (20 credits): Develops fundamental data analytical skills necessary for quantitative social research, introducing basic techniques in exploratory data analysis and modeling.
• Quantitative Social Research II: Advance Statistical Modelling and Crime Data (20 credits): Enhances data analytical skills, introducing a range of statistical models used in social science research and focusing on applied work with datasets on topics of interest to criminology, sociology, and social policy.
• Final Year Quantitative Project (40 credits): Students design and undertake an extended independent project with a component of primary or secondary data analysis, using knowledge and skills gained in earlier years, creating new knowledge and understanding, and developing empirical research and employability skills.
• Optional Modules:
• State Crime and Immorality (20 credits):
Covers topics related to organized crime and terrorism, introducing issues and theories relating to the nature of organized crime, terrorism, state and political violence, and providing detailed coverage through case studies.
• Social Sciences and Emergencies: Case Studies & Critical Analysis (20 credits): Investigates emergencies from the perspectives of the social sciences, utilizing real-world cases to analyze societal implications and providing skills to assess the role of social sciences in shaping knowledge of emergencies.
• Disability Law (20 credits): Adopts a socio-legal approach to examine the role of law in constructing a society where disabled people can live, flourish, and contribute equally, introducing theoretical perspectives and encouraging critical reflection on law's potential to be enabling.
• Disability and Development (20 credits): Explores the creation and position of disabled people in the global south, examining the role of development agents in improving disabled people's situations and critically evaluating rights-based approaches and Community Base Rehabilitation.
• Evidence (20 credits): Introduces key rules of evidence, exploring their rationale, historical development, modern criminal justice policy, and the connection between rules of evidence and the common law adversarial trial.
• Crime, Law and Social Change: Crime and Criminal Justice in Historical Perspective (20 credits): Examines the history of crime and criminal justice, exploring the development of key criminal justice institutions and changing historical patterns in offending.
• Global Terrorism and Violence (20 credits): Provides a sociological analysis of political violence in the 20th and 21st century, introducing theoretical debates and analytical perspectives in the study of political violence and terrorism.
• Gender and the Law (20 credits): Examines how gender, sex, and sexuality are understood in different areas of law, reading cases and statutory materials and exploring the relationship between law and culture.
• Gender, Technologies and the Body (20 credits): Explores the intersections between gender, technology, and the body, examining bodily practices and transformations in relation to technology.
• Discovery Modules: Up to 20 credits of discovery modules can be chosen depending on the number of optional modules selected.

Assessment:

The program utilizes a variety of assessment methods, including written assignments, presentations, and exams. The assessments are designed to align with the course's learning outcomes, providing a comprehensive evaluation of students' skills and knowledge. Students have opportunities to demonstrate their ability to conduct independent research, critically analyze information, and articulate complex ideas. The final year project provides an opportunity to showcase the ability to synthesize information, critically evaluate contemporary debates or real-world problems, and articulate findings and recommendations comprehensively.

Teaching:

The program employs a range of teaching methods, including lectures, seminars, workshops, and online learning resources through the Minerva platform. Students also have opportunities to hear guest speakers from local criminal institutions and visit criminal justice agencies. Independent learning is a key aspect of the program, with students spending significant time reading and researching topics covered in modules. The program is taught by expert academics, including lecturers, professors, industry professionals with years of experience, and trained postgraduate researchers.

Careers:

The Criminal Justice and Criminology BA equips students with valuable subject knowledge and transferable skills, preparing them for careers in criminal justice, such as the police, prison, or probation services, or as researchers in this area. Many graduates pursue postgraduate study in related fields. The program also opens doors to a wide range of careers, including the Civil Service, media, and other sectors. The School of Law provides career support, including criminal justice career and volunteering events, talks by prospective employers, and career mentoring.

Other:

The program is ranked in the top 15 in the UK for Criminology and Criminal Justice according to The Guardian University League Tables 2024. Popular destinations include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Latin America. Students can also apply to take a placement year module with organizations across the public, private, and voluntary sectors in the UK or overseas. The program is offered on campus and has a duration of 3 years full-time. Work placement and study abroad are optional. The typical A-level offer is AAB, with specific subject requirements. The typical Access to Leeds offer is BBB.

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students are set by the UK Government and will be £9,250 for students starting in 2024/25. The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation only, as a consequence of future changes in Government legislation and as permitted by law. Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 have not yet been confirmed by the UK government. When the fee is available we will update individual course pages. Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 and 2025/26 Fees for students starting in 2025/26 will be available from September 2024. Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period.