Course summary

Criminology is the study of crime, criminal justice and its relationship with society; it dominates national and world news reports and is a constant feature in entertainment media. Crime is a subject with an inherent fascination that grips many of the public. Crime dominates the news, features prominently in political debates and forms the subject matter of many of the films and series we watch in out leisure time. These are things we consider in our Applied Criminology courses, but we also explore so much more! Criminology is a multi-disciplinary subject which approaches its subject matter through different perspectives, including sociology, the law, psychology, philosophy and history. As part of this, we cast a critical and analytic eye over processes of criminalisation – or how and who becomes a criminal – and crime control. Teaching on the course sets these processes within wider historical, social, cultural, economic and political contexts to understand the institutional context of crime and social responses to deviance. In doing this, we explore theoretical debates focused on the individual characteristics of offenders, victims, and crime investigators, alongside the social contexts within which criminal behaviour occurs. We also examine the nature and extent of crime, as well as the social and psychological theories of crime causation, the operation of social control and the workings of the criminal justice system. Professional accreditation The Applied Criminology course adheres to and is guided by the Criminology Benchmark Statements, which define expectations as part of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education. Specialist facilities Our Hydra Suite offers students, staff and other professionals the chance to take part in immersive simulations of real-life natural decision-making. This innovative system is among the most cutting-edge of its kind, and is used to train practitioners working within fields such as criminal justice, government, and the emergency services. Location This course is run at our Canterbury Campus in Kent. Canterbury is just 50 miles south-east of London and less than an hour by high-speed train from St Pancras. Located on a UNESCO World Heritage Site the campus offers state-of-the-art buildings, right in the centre of a vibrant and world-famous cathedral city. You’ll benefit from a campus with excellent learning and teaching resources, music venues, a superb sports centre, a well-stocked bookshop and plenty of coffee bars and places to eat. A short walk away is Augustine House our award-winning library and home to a vast range of learning resources and student support teams.