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Criminology and Psychology

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

Access to HE Diploma

D:36,M:9

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

35

with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DDD

UCAS Tariff

136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Criminology

Psychology

We have outstanding league table rankings for Criminology and Psychology, and a great track record for graduate prospects. These are just two reasons to take a Criminology and Psychology degree at Lancaster University.

This innovative degree explores the relationship between crime and the human mind. Informed by the latest research and combining theory and practice, the degree offers you the opportunity to study both Criminology and Psychology in equal measure. Due to the flexible structure, you can continue on the joint major pathway or switch to a Psychology major (which includes British Psychological Society accreditation) at the end of your first year.

The degree is led and taught by the world-leading, research-active academics based in our prestigious Law School and Psychology Department. They will introduce you to key themes and topics in Criminology and Psychology, as well as helping you to engage with recent and influential research. The degree draws on the Departments’ expertise in forensic psychology, youth justice, decision-making, policing, prisons and punishment, sex work, hate crime, drugs and substance abuse, gender-based violence, climate change, welfare and media.

Your first year will introduce you to core criminological and psychological concepts and perspectives, including explanations for crime and offending behaviour and social psychology. During your second year you will explore a broad range of criminological theories and perspectives, consider how to ‘do’ criminological and psychological research and be able to choose a range of optional modules which explore various criminological and psychological controversies and issues. By year three, you will have the choice to study specialist subjects in depth from our range of optional modules. You will also be required to research a topic of your choice for a crime-based dissertation.

Masterclasses, expert seminars, volunteering and work placement opportunities will also enhance your knowledge, experience and practical skills. Assessment is varied, including coursework, presentations, exams, reflective accounts and dissertation.

80% of the Law School’s research was rated as internationally excellent or world leading in the most recent Research Excellence Framework (2014), and 75% in the Department of Psychology.

**Employability Skills**
You will benefit from our excellent connections with NGOs, charities, and local Criminal Justice Agencies such as Lancashire Police and HMP Lancashire Farm. You will be able to visit the prison and engage in collaborative learning, and analyse data from Lancashire Police. Our Psychology Employability Programme will help you to develop your skills for a career in Psychology. All of this is designed to enable you to gain experience, make professional connections and get a head start in your career.

The Uni


Course location:

Lancaster University

Department:

Law

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

76%
Criminology
78%
Psychology

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sociology

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
87%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
72%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

76%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
91%
Course specific equipment and facilities
64%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

87%
UK students
13%
International students
20%
Male students
80%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
6%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
B

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
83%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
76%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

80%
Library resources
91%
IT resources
90%
Course specific equipment and facilities
74%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

80%
UK students
20%
International students
19%
Male students
81%
Female students
91%
2:1 or above
4%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
B

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Sociology

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
96%
med
Employed or in further education
46%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

14%
Protective service occupations
14%
Other elementary services occupations
11%
Other administrative occupations

We have quite a lot of sociology graduates, although numbers fell last year. But graduates still do pretty well. Most sociology graduates go straight into work when they complete their degrees, and a lot of graduates go into jobs in social professions such as recruitment, education, community and youth work, and housing. An important option for a sociology graduate is social work - and we're short of people willing to take this challenging but rewarding career. Sociology is a flexible degree and you can find graduates from the subject in pretty much every reasonable job — obviously, you don't find many doctors or engineers, but you do find them in finance, the media, healthcare, marketing and even IT. Sociology graduates taking further study often branch out into other qualifications, like teaching, law, psychology, HR and even maths, so don’t think a sociology degree restricts you to just one set of options.

Psychology (non-specific)

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
49%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Business, research and administrative professionals
13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
11%
Welfare and housing associate professionals

20 years ago, this was a specialist degree for would-be psychologists but now it is the model of a modern, flexible degree subject. One of the UK's fastest-growing subject at degree level, and the second most popular subject overall (it recently overtook business studies), one in 23 of all graduates last year had psychology degrees. As you'd expect with figures like that, jobs in psychology itself are incredibly competitive, so to stand a chance of securing one, you need to get a postgraduate qualification (probably a doctorate in most fields, especially clinical psychology) and some relevant work experience. But even though there are so many psychology graduates — far more than there are jobs in psychology, and over 13,800 in total last year — this degree has a lower unemployment rate than average because its grads are so flexible and well-regarded by business and other industries across the economy. Everywhere there are good jobs in the UK economy, you'll find psychology graduates - and it's hardly surprising as the course helps you gain a mix of good people skills and excellent number and data handling skills. A psychology degree ticks most employers' boxes — but we'd suggest you don't drop your maths modules.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Sociology

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£24k

£24k

£26k

£26k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Psychology (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£18k

£18k

£24k

£24k

£26k

£26k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Lower entry requirements
De Montfort University | Leicester
Criminology with Psychology
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112
Nearby University
Edge Hill University | Ormskirk
Criminology and Psychology
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 112-120
Higher entry requirements
University of Sussex | Brighton and Hove
Criminology with Psychology
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 120-147

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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