Course overview

• Deepen your knowledge of the academic areas of criminology and criminal justice but over a shorter timescale and without a dissertation component.
• Explore the interactions between politics, criminology and criminal justice and the impact of public policy in these areas.
• Study a high-level course to prepare you for a wide range of career paths.

Course description

The PGDip in Criminology course allows you to develop specialist knowledge of the current themes and historical debates surrounding crime causation, crime control and regulation.

The course equips you with the intellectual, critical and analytical skills needed for understanding and applying criminological theories and concepts in practice. Furthermore, the course provides an in-depth understanding of the interactions between politics, criminology and criminal justice, and the impact of public policy in these areas.

This innovative course is taught by experts from sociological, legal and psychological backgrounds with real-world experience. You will benefit from research-led teaching as well as strong links to wider criminal justice professions and industry.

Choosing the PGDip means you will gain all the specialist knowledge of the full MA, but will not be required to produce a dissertation.

Aims

• Develop your intellectual, critical and analytic skills in the academic areas of criminology and criminal justice.
• Produce graduates who have a thorough understanding of the key theoretical and political positions and concepts within criminology and criminal justice and the ability to use this knowledge in sophisticated ways in the critical assessment and development of public policy and interventions.
• Provide you with the opportunity to explore through a range of optional courses particular areas of study that are either professionally relevant or of academic interest.
• Improve your quantitative and qualitative research method skills in a way that is consistent with the demands of the discipline and the professional market.
• Engender an appreciation for interdisciplinary studies in you, in order to confront the complexity of our object of study, and nurture an interest in the applied dimension of scientific knowledge and the awareness of the ethical implications of the scientific criminological project.
• Enhance your transferable skills including proficiency in oral and written communication; the capacity for independent learning; the ability to reflect on the ethical and ideological components of your work; and the capacity for working co-operatively with others to produce professional outputs in a timely fashion.

Coursework and assessment

Most course units are assessed by 3,500 word essay or by essay and presentation.

Career opportunities

This degree is designed to appeal to recent graduates looking to work for local/central government, the criminal justice agencies (eg as a criminal intelligence analyst within the police), probation, the voluntary sector and NGOs, pressure groups and think-tanks such as The Howard League Reform Trust, as well as for the private sector.