Criminology and Sociology  BSc (Hons)

Overview

Crime and criminal justice are central concerns in contemporary societies, attracting political and media attention.

This popular, innovative Criminology and Sociology degree is designed and delivered by staff who are internationally acknowledged as leading researchers in their field.

Criminology at City is a stimulating study programme with specialist teaching directly informed by the research activities of academic staff.

Key areas of criminological interest include: media, crime and cultural practices; policing, security and human rights; and victims, crime control and security.


Entry Requirements:

340 UCAS tariff points, typically AAB at A-level or equivalent (or ABB at A-level plus extra AS-level at C or above). A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Studies are not accepted. More...

Course Fees:

  • Full-time EU: £9,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £11,000

Start Date:

24 September 2012

UCAS code:

L390

How to Apply

Entry Requirements

Tariff Points

UK

A-Level

  • Minimum 340 UCAS tariff points, typically AAB at A-level or equivalent (or ABB at A-level plus extra AS-level at C or above).
  • A-Level General Studies and A-level Critical Studies are not accepted.

GCSE pre-requisites

Grade C or equivalent in English Language and Maths or Statistics

Access to Higher Education

We welcome Access course applicants from 'mature' students. These applicants will be considered on the basis of their own merits.

A typical offer for an Access applicant would be: Pass 60 credits, 45 of which at Level 3. These Level 3 credits must include at least 27 at distinction and 18 at merit.

It is essential the Access course qualification is supplemented by at least a grade B in Maths and English Language at GCSE.

Please be aware that Access students are often asked for further information to supplement their application, this is normally in the form of a questionnaire.

Other UK qualifications accepted include:

  • BTEC National Diploma (DDD required)
  • Cambridge Pre-U Principal Subjects
  • Advanced Diploma (plus appropriate A-levels)
  • Scottish Advanced Highers
  • Welsh Diploma (plus appropriate A-levels)

Second-year transfer applicants

If you wish to apply for second-year entry please be aware that you must:

  • have achieved grades equal to the entry requirements for first-year entry (A Levels, foundation years, access courses, etc.)
  • have covered sufficiently similar content to that covered by our first-year students
  • be gaining or have gained at least a 2:1 in every module in your current first year. You must provide official documentation of this as evidence (e.g. university transcript).

If you feel you meet these requirements then please apply through UCAS as early as possible (transfer students normally apply when their first semester exam results are published) and we can then assess your eligibility. Please be aware you will need to select your 'point of entry' as year two.

Please note: For direct second-year entrants the overall degree classification will be based on the marks obtained at City University London only, with the weighting of 33/67 between the second and third year. Marks previously obtained will not be used in the degree classification.

On your application please include:

  • the exact name of the degree you are studying towards
  • the institution at which you are studying
  • the modules you have taken
  • any scores you have achieved

This information will enable us to make a more informed decision as to whether the content that you have studied is to an appropriate level for level-two entry.

Please be aware that you must meet all of the above requirements, otherwise your application is unlikely to be successful.

International

International Baccalaureate (IB)

35 points (no specific subjects required)

European Baccalaureate

75-80%

International Foundation Programme

The entry requirements for applicants applying having completed such programmes varies in relation to the specific programme completed. Typically, we would ask for applicants to have achieved at least 65% in a programme verified by the university, for an applicant to be made an offer.

International Qualifications

Please be aware you can apply for a course here before you sit your school leaving qualifications. Any offer we decide to make you will be conditional on you achieving the appropriate score in your school leaving qualifications, in conjunction with your English language qualification. This can be done from September the year before the programme to which you are applying.

Accepted qualifications include:

  • Australian school leaving certificates. (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 80-85%)
  • Bulgarian Diploma za Sredno Obrazovanie (Offer typically made on the basis of a score of at least 5.8)
  • Canadian school leaving certificates. (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 80-90%)
  • Cypriot Apolytirion (Require a score of at least 17. Combined with two relevant A-levels)
  • French Baccalauréat (Offer typically around 12.5-14/20)
  • German Abitur (Offer typically around 1.8 - 2.2)
  • Greek Apolytirion (Require a score of at least 17. Combined with two relevant A-levels)
  • Hong Kong Advanced Level
  • Indian HSC/ISC/ SSC grade XII (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 80-90%)
  • Italian Esame di Stato (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 80-90%)
  • Israeli Bagrut (Offer typically made on the basis of a score between 80-90%)
  • Lithuanian Brandos Atestatas (Offer typically made on the basis of an average score of 9/10 from all A and B subjects)
  • Malaysian Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan (STPM)
  • Norwegian Vitnemål  (Offer typically made on the basis of a score of at least 5.0)
  • Polish Matura (Offer typically made on the basis of an applicant achieving at least 80% from three extended level subjects)
  • Singapore/Cambridge GCE Advanced Level Higher 1 and 2
  • Spanish Título de Bachillerato (Offer typically made on the basis of the applicant achieving between 7.5-9/10)
  • USA Advanced Placement (Offer typically made on the basis of an applicant achieving at least 14 (5,4,4) from three approved subjects). Please contact the department for further guidance, if required.

All qualifications where the education is not in English will be required to achieve the appropriate IELTS/TOEFL score.

If the qualification you are due to complete is not shown below, please feel free to contact our UG admissions team for advice.  

Other Suitable Qualifications

Kaplan International College (KIC) London

Additionally, the University works in partnership with KIC London to provide preparatory courses for international students.  Foundation and Pre Masters courses at KIC London offer comprehensive support to students including regular one-to-one tuition. Progression to the University is guaranteed if you complete the KIC London course at the required level.

English Requirements

  • Grade B in GCSE (or International GCSE)
  • Cambridge ESOL CPE grade C or above
  • IELTS 6.5
  • TOEFL (internet based): 100 - 105
  • TOEFL (computer based): 250
  • TOEFL (paper based): 600

Visa Requirements

The way that you apply may vary depending on the length of your course at City, there are different rules for:

  • Students on courses of more than 6 months
  • Students on courses of less than 6 months
  • Students on a pre-sessional English Language course

For more information see our main Visa page.

When and Where

Start Date:
24 September 2012
Duration:
Full time - three years

Course Content

We emphasise the importance of you actively engaging with crucial policy issues and debates.

A particular strength of Criminology at City is that you develop your 'criminological imagination' through combining your studies with a range of modules that focus on media, contemporary culture, risk society and the metropolis, gender and sexuality, race and new ethnicities, globalisation processes and human rights.

Our central London location and proximity to key criminal justice agencies facilitates our distinctive criminology study programme.

High quality teaching in seminars and policy workshops ensures that you graduate with the key skills necessary to gain employment in many different careers in government departments and the core professions allied to the criminal justice system and related fields or for postgraduate studies.

Course Structure

Year 1

In the first year you are introduced to the different theoretical and applied approaches to understanding crime, criminal justice and social control. You take three core modules, and select up to two electives from a wide variety. 

Core modules

•    Introduction to criminology
•    Introduction to sociology
•    Understanding the modern world

Elective modules include

Year 2

During the second year the degree begins to concentrate on key issues in criminology, including: criminal justice institutions, policy and practice; media representations of crime and justice; violence and risk; and crime and social divisions. In this year you take three core modules, and up to four electives. 

Core modules

Elective modules include

  • Crime, news and criminal justice
  • The circuit of change
  • Gender, crime and justice
  • Identities and personal relationships
  • Interpreting news and documentary
  • New media challenges
  • New media: pleasures, promises and anxieties
  • Political sociology
  • Race and ethnicity in Britain
  • Sociology of punishment
  • Sociological theory and analysis
  • Understanding social change

Year 3

In the third year you take at least 3 core elective modules in criminology and up to 3 further elective modules from criminology, sociology and media studies. You will also undertake a supervised research project on a criminological topic of your choice. 

Core elective modules include

•    Criminal behaviour
•    Youth, crime and society
•    Policing and crime control
•    Victimology
•    Environmental criminology
•    Popular culture, crime and control 

Elective modules include

•    Sociology of human rights
•    Media, war and terrorism
•    Approaches to film
•    Forced migration
•    Gender and transnationalism
•    Globalisation and human rights
•    Media and politics: strategies, scandal and spin
•    Nature, environmentalism and globality
•    The information society
•    The global media system
•    Welfare and society

Note: our courses are revised from time to time, and these lists may be subject to change. Please contact the department for further details

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching

We teach Sociology through lectures, interactive sessions, practical workshops and small group seminars, supported by a personal tutorial system. Lectures provide commentary and explanation of key content areas. Small group seminars develop your understanding by inviting you to raise questions and participate in the debate and by providing guidance for further study.

You are encouraged to undertake extensive reading and independent study in order to understand the topics covered in lectures and classes and to broaden and deepen your knowledge of the subject.

For the third year project, you will receive supervision and the Project Workshop module provides you with the opportunity to develop research methods and writing skills.

Assessment

Assessment is primarily in the form of coursework (assessed essays and assignments) unseen examinations and a final year project.

Fees

  • Full-time EU: £9,000
  • Full-time Non EU: £11,000

Please note:

UK/EU students - The fees for UK/EU students rise each year by the rate of the cost of living in the UK and are set by the UK Government.

Non-EU international students - There is a small percentage increase, usually between 3% and 5%, each year on these fees.

Funding

For up-to-date information about tuition fees, living costs and financial support, visit Undergraduate Fees and Finance or Postgraduate Fees and Finance.

Scholarships

New for 2012 entrants: Up to £2,000 cash each year for at least three years for students on this course. Read more here to see if you might qualify.

Career Prospects

Because we develop skills and abilities valued by employers, City is consistently ranked as one of the top UK universities for career opportunities and professional development.

This high profile, professionally oriented degree programme is an excellent basis for a wide variety of graduate-level careers in the civil service, the criminal justice system, policing, the protective agencies, youth justice system, social services, community safety, crime prevention, think tanks, and civil liberties pressure groups.

It also prepares you for a broader set of career choices and further postgraduate study and research in criminology, criminal law, criminal justice studies, and related fields.

Criminology and Sociology

UCAS code: L390

Application Deadline

15 January


Applications to our undergraduate courses open on 1st September and close on 15th January (30th June for international students). Late applications will still be considered at our discretion.

All applications to our undergraduate degree courses, including those from mature students, must be made through UCAS.

You can apply through your school or college using the UCAS online service 'Apply' which enables you to apply directly through the UCAS website (www.ucas.com).

Independent applicants such as mature and international students can also use ucasapply. The institution code for City University is C60.

If you are still at school or college when you make an application, staff there should be able to assist with this process offering you help and advice. If you are outside the UK when you make an application your local British Council Office should be able to provide assistance.

We accept a large number of international students to our undergraduate courses every year, so if your international qualifications do not reflect the grade requirements, then please feel free to contact us.