Develop an integrated and multifaceted understanding of psychological approaches to studying more complex behaviours. You'll explore a range of extreme behaviours and crime types, ranging from predatory crime, sexually motivated crime, and violent crime types to nuanced behavioural manifestations. You'll explore how complex behaviours are dealt with within aspects of the criminal justice system.

Understand how psychological knowledge and methods can be applied in the process of law. This module will explore the contributions psychology can make to advancing our understanding of diverse practices and processes within the criminal justice system and forensic realm.

Prepare for independent research by deepening your knowledge and understanding of a range of research methods. This module also develops key transferable skills essential for your future employment. By the end, you'll be able to identify and evaluate a variety of research methods within criminological contexts. You'll also have the skills to design a research proposal for your own independent project.

Study the idea of intersectionality within criminology and criminal justice. You'll develop a critical understanding of the relationship of aspects of diversity, such as social class, gender, and ethnicity in relation to crime and victimisation. This module will also explore responses to these phenomena.

Gain theoretical and practical understanding of the nature of gender, crime, and criminal justice in both domestic and international contexts.

Explore the crimes that have shaped the 20th and 21st centuries, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Explore how organisations outside of the criminal justice system are used to influence the behaviour of (generally) poorer populations through a combination of sanctions and/or support mechanisms. Political discourse and more localised policy and practice can place blame on poorer populations for the hardships they experience. Organisations such as local authorities, social services, housing providers, immigration services, education providers, and more are used to influence, prevent, and punish behaviours that could otherwise fall under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. This module will provide a critical lens to influencing and responding to behaviour of certain populations through multiple agencies. You'll consider how theories of inequality and disadvantage may call into question the fairness and ethicality of these practices.

This module provides a critical introduction to the concept of punishment, exploring how it’s administered within the contemporary Criminal Justice System of England and Wales. You'll examine key theories and justifications for punishment, alongside its practical application and the lived experiences of those affected. Through critical analysis, you'll assess the impact of different forms of punishment on individuals and wider social groups. By the end of the module, you'll have developed your own informed perspective on penological theories and rehabilitation, demonstrating a deep understanding of the role of punishment in society.

This module provides an in-depth exploration of criminalistics and the application of scientific principles within the criminal justice system. You'll examine the role of forensic science in legal contexts and explore the diverse practices used in the analysis of physical evidence. By the end of the module, you'll be able to demonstrate factual and comprehensive knowledge of key forensic techniques, principles, and professional standards.

Engage with the practice of criminology in a real world context through a period of work-based learning. You'll gain practical experience of a professional work area related to your course.

Enlighten and expand your criminological knowledge by learning how the artificial distinction between crimes depending on the status of the criminal has been deliberately constructed through the historical development of law and its application by the state institutions. You'll understand the debate about the constitution and definition of what is crime, the socio-legal status of crimes and harms, legal, regulatory and enforcement bias, and questions of power in crime.

Study the recent history of youth justice. You'll gain an understanding of the historical developments and origins of youth justice policy and practice, from within the UK and from an international perspective.

Through the analysis of issues and theories relating to social and environmental harms and crimes, this module provides a comprehensive introduction to green criminology. Drawing on global case studies, you'll examine topics such as environmental destruction, resource depletion, zemiology and social harms, agnotology, crimes of the powerful, climate change, pollution, waste, environment ethics, and animal harm and abuse. Subsequently, you'll explore key responses to these harms and crimes, including environmental crime prevention strategies, the shallow and deep ecology movements, the Gaia hypothesis, and developments in environmental forensic science.

Engage with the development of criminal justice policies at a national and global level, drawing on sociological, social policy, and socio-legal perspectives. You'll investigate the complex inter-relationships between theory, policy, and practice in the field of criminal justice. You'll also be encouraged to evaluate different sources of knowledge about crime and criminal justice, and focus on the role of academic research in shaping and evaluating criminal justice policies.

Undertake a research project in psychology, and further enhance and showcase the skills you've developed through your study of research methods. This module has a strong emphasis on self-management and provides the opportunity to demonstrate your skills in project management, problem-solving, and independent thought.

Gain an overview of abnormal and clinical psychology, and the complicated links between mental disorders, personality disorders, and crime.

Explore the complexities of the sex industry and related criminological issues and policy. This considers both the motivations of those who purchase sexual services and the diverse reasons why individuals are involved in the provision of sexual services. You'll identify the cultural factors affecting this global industry and the nature and extent of crime and victimisation in indoor and outdoor sex work. This module also addresses theoretical understandings of sex work/prostitution, their influences, and how they impact on the way the industry is controlled. This will include law and policy in Britain and internationally. Ultimately, you'll understand how these policies impact sex workers and communities.

Conduct a critical, sociological exploration of the prison - more specifically, the experience of imprisonment. You'll deal with concepts such as time and liminality, renegotiations of identity and masculinities, coping, and negotiations of gender to unpack the implications of being in the prison environment on individual prisoners.

This module examines the relationship between sport, crime, and social justice. It explores how behaviours and decisions within the world of sport can sometimes contradict wider social norms or legal standards. You'll investigate the politicisation of sports, considering how it can act as both a tool for social mobility and a site of inequality. The module also explores how race, gender, and class shape sporting experiences – both for participants and spectators.

Explore key concepts, topics, and debates in the study of resistance to state harms across the domains of rights, welfare, and criminal justice. Drawing on contributions from scholars and activists at the forefront of campaigning, you'll examine resistance movements in areas such as welfare reform, policing, gender-based violence, social housing, prison expansion, and asylum and refugee support. By the end of the module, you'll have developed a critical understanding of activism and resistance, along with a set of transferable skills relevant to careers in the third sector. These could include roles in charities, campaigning organisations, research bodies, and welfare services.

By encouraging you to reflect on learning acquired through work placements, this module aims to promote self-awareness of your 'career story'. You'll look at how you evaluate your current skills, explore future possibilities in your career development and navigate pathways through those chosen possibilities. In short, this module enables you to become a 'cartographer' of your own future. You'll embark on at least 80 hours of work placements, supported by reflective exercises. Build expertise and confidence through a range of assessments designed by your course team and our employer partners.

Study the historical and socially constructed nature of freedom, crime, and criminality within the law. You'll look at examples of social movements that illuminate how the law itself is a field of contestation, including piracy, file sharing, and poll tax rebellion.

Look into competing explanations for acts of violent and sexual offending in both domestic and institutional settings, touching on gender, ethnicity, and age issues.

The United States of America is a "Prison Nation" (Richie, 2012): a country marked by punitive and discriminatory justice systems that incarcerate more people than anywhere else in the world. In this module, you'll trace the origins of the mass incarceration we see today as well as the movements and ideologies that have resisted it. From the early penal colonies to the contemporary abolition movement, you'll examine the systems of power and oppression that have shaped and upheld the criminal legal system. The module then considers key policies and practices that have emerged as a result of these systems and movements.

Understand how psychological principles are applied to the investigation of criminal behaviour, the detection of crime and offenders, and people's responses to legal processes.

Explore the key elements of crime narratives as you develop advanced analytical skills and a deep understanding of what drives our cultural fascination with crime. You'll investigate how both true and fictional crime stories reflect and shape societal attitudes towards race, gender, and sexuality. The module addresses key topics of interest to fourth-wave feminism, including #MeToo, rape culture, toxic masculinity, and LGBTQ+ and transgender issues. To conclude your studies, you'll enhance your confidence and communication skills by presenting your work to audiences, including fellow students.

Gain a critical understanding of the lived experiences of individuals who are seeking support to stop offending and recover from substance abuse. You'll explore the connections between theory, policy, and practice in order to support desistance and recovery, reduce reoffending, and improve resettlement.

In this module, you'll explore different explanations for gendered violence, with a particular focus on domestic violence. You'll consider how factors like gender, age, ethnicity, and sexuality shape both people's experiences of violence and the ways it is addressed. Key themes include physical, psychological, and sexual violence; the role of the police and criminal justice system; and domestic homicide. You'll also look at so-called 'honour'-based violence, perpetrator programmes, and how different services work together through multi-agency responses to prevent and respond to abuse.

Look at the cultural and social relationship between tattoos and crime, including the symbolism of tattooing and criminal identity.

Examine various aspects associated with sexual offending and sex offenders as you engage with key academic literature and policy documents. This module will introduce you to current sexual offences legislation in England and Wales. You'll review and reflect on the representations of sexual offending and sex offenders across a variety of media formats. You'll also assess responses to the 'sex offender problem'. Additionally, the module will critique the supervision and management efforts implemented specifically for sex offenders in England and Wales, as well as in other jurisdictions.

In this module, you'll explore the relationship between housing and crime, taking a deep dive into how the individual home can become a site of victimisation and harm. You'll critically examine how housing – or the lack of – can expose individuals, organisations, and larger state actors. Using a critical, intersectional lens, you'll investigate topics such as social housing, homelessness, domestic abuse, housing disasters, and other contemporary issues within the fields of housing and criminology.

Critically examine terrorism, policing, and security from an interdisciplinary perspective. You'll analyse how terrorism, policing, and security have emerged as political and law enforcement priorities and analyse the impact this has had in the respective areas of human rights, civil liberties, and the criminalisation of particular groups in society. You'll be equipped with the ability to think independently and critically about terrorism, policing, and security while at the same time challenging orthodox understandings of the subject matter.

This module offers criminological and criminal psychological insights into violent offences that are unique, grotesque, and shocking in nature. You'll delve into these crimes from multiple perspectives, exploring psychosocial and criminological explanations that seek to uncover their disturbing root causes. Finally, you'll critically evaluate domestic and international criminal justice responses to these extraordinary crimes, scrutinising preventive policies, investigative techniques, sentencing, and rehabilitation strategies.