Applied Criminal Justice Studies

At a glance

Course Details

Special Features

• The BA (Hons) Applied Criminal Justice Studies includes a compulsory work placement in the third year. This gives students an insight into the practical operation of the criminal justice system
• The placement, alongside the study of modules including drugs and alcohol counselling, youth outreach centres, forensic science, psychological profiling and criminal law, makes this course highly vocational
• Our Joint Psychology degree programmes offer the ability to apply Psychology to popular disciplines, such as Management or Criminology
• Our courses are taught by social scientists and humanities lecturers and synthesise theory and practice to produce research-oriented social science and humanities graduates with strong analytical and practical skills

Aims

This is a three-year programme of study.  The applied nature of the degree provides you with theoretical knowledge and the ability to understand how this knowledge relates to the practice of criminal justice policy in contemporary society.

Year 1 The first year introduces the major relevant social science disciplines (social policy, public policy and sociology) and more vocationally-relevant disciplines from the criminal justice field (forensic science).  A Learning Strategies module offers you support as you undertake university-level study.

Year 2 In the second year, you will explore subjects in more depth with, in some cases, greater focus on specific criminal justice areas.  This applies especially to law and psychology, where the focus is on criminal law and psychological profiling. A module entitled Policing and Penal Services will develop your understanding of the processes of the criminal justice system.  You will also be able to choose options from related fields such as welfare policy or psychology.

Year 3 In your final year, you will spend approximately half of your time writing a research dissertation on a subject of your choice from within the broad field covered by the course.  This will allow you to conduct in-depth study that is largely self-directed, but with the help and guidance of an individual dissertation tutor.  Alongside this, you will also undertake core modules from within the criminal justice field. These will allow you to further develop your understanding of criminal justice policy.  The third year also has a compulsory 33-day placement in a context relevant to the criminal justice field.  Finally, you will also be able to take some options in related subject areas.

Career Outcome

Our graduates have an excellent graduate employment record and many are now working in a range of careers in the criminal justice field.

There are a wide range of opportunities available in local authorities, social service departments, voluntary sector organisations, advice centres, health and housing, the civil and public services, and private organisations. Graduates also go on to further study, teaching and research.

Entrance Requirements

Our typical offers are:

Applied Criminal Justice Studies 240 points

To include two full GCE A levels or equivalent qualification. All candidates must demonstrate an adequate level of English (this would normally be GCSE grade C or equivalent).

Access to Higher Education Diploma – overall pass to include 18 credits at Merit or above, 9 of which must be at distinction.

Enquiries from mature candidates who may not necessarily meet these criteria are encouraged.  Please contact us for further information.

Placements Available?

All Applied Criminal Justice Studies students are required to undertake a compulsory placement during their third year.***  This is a three-day-a-week, eleven-week placement, working in an agency relevant to the criminal justice field.  By this stage of the degree programme, many students are already planning their careers, so the placement provides a unique opportunity to sample the work of specific agencies.  Examples of placement undertaken are: the Police; Victim Support; SOVA (an agency working in prisons concerned with the resettlement of offenders); the Bradford Youth Offending Team; and local Crown and Magistrates courts.

We can also offer placements with many community-based organisations, including drug and alcohol outreach projects, domestic violence support projects, and truancy, bullying and youth support programmes.

Some of our placement providers have offered paid employment to Applied Criminal Justice Studies graduates on the basis of their achievements whilst on placement.

*** Please note that all students going on placement will be subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check.  The University of Bradford will ensure that every effort is made to find a suitable placement for students who will be affected by this.  It may be that they will not have access to the full range of placement opportunities available, but it does not necessarily mean that no placement opportunity will be available.

Full-time Study

All applications, including Foundation Degrees, must be submitted via UCAS's (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) online facility.

Your school or college will be able to advise you about making your application. Alternatively, full instructions can be found at: www.ucas.com

UCAS also provides a comprehensive guide called Applying Online which can be downloaded from the same web address.

If you are not currently at school or college, or have difficulty obtaining relevant literature, UCAS can be contacted directly:

• Tel: 0871 468 0468
• Email: enquiries@ucas.ac.uk
• Website: www.ucas.com