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Psychology with Criminology

Entry requirements


112 - 128 points from a minimum of three A Levels. Any subjects are considered.

Pass a named Access to HE Diploma with 33 Level 3 credits at Merit and/or Distinction. Any subjects are considered.

Considered in combination with other qualifications.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

28-32

English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent.

112 to 128 UCAS Tariff points. English and Maths accepted within as GCSE equivalent.

Considered in combination with other qualifications.

Considered in combination with other qualifications.

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

DMM-DDM

Any subjects are considered.

Considered in combination with other qualifications.

112 to 128 UCAS Tariff points including 2 Advanced Highers.

Considered in combination with Advanced Highers.

T Level

M

Any subject considered.

UCAS Tariff

112-128

Considered in combination with other qualifications

About this course


This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2024

4 years | Full-time with year in industry | 2024

Subjects

Criminology

Psychology

Some people commit crime while others lead law abiding lives. Why? On this course you’ll examine the nature of crime, investigating the impact it has on society – and what we can do about it. Choose to study at Plymouth and you’ll get the extra benefit of a course that covers the same topics we’ve developed for community justice professionals – providing you with a perfect start to your future career in a wide range of areas, from psychology to community justice.

- **Gain insight into life as a community justice professional** – you’ll study the same topics as professionals working in probation, policing, youth justice, community safety and victim services.

- **Kick start your career** – as a successful graduate, you’ll be eligible for Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership with the British Psychological Society, putting you on track to a career in professional psychology.

- **Expand your horizons and experience** with opportunities for international exchange and a year studying abroad (in Year 2).

- **Enhance your employability** and grow your professional network by applying for an optional placement year.

- **Develop your skills as a scientist** working alongside leading researchers with the Research Apprentice Scheme.

- ** Draw on cutting edge research** across the social sciences to examine the nature of crime and explore the workings of the criminal justice system.

- **Shape your own study path** with an exciting range of topics available through lectures, optional courses and project supervision.

- **Benefit from studying on a course that the Research Assessment Exercise rates as excellent for research** and the Quality Assurance Agency praises for its quality of education.

- **Make the most of our specialist facilities** – we’ve got 22 labs to choose from, including a virtual reality laboratory with 3D modelling software, sound-proof cubicles with a range of stimulus equipment and computer laboratories. You'll be able to get your hands on everything you need for your own research.

- **Complement your formal learning** with regular Peer Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS) sessions that provide the opportunity for you to learn with and from your peers. Share knowledge, discuss ideas, and ask questions in a relaxed and friendly environment.

Modules

In your first year, you’ll study the basic theories of psychology, covering learning, social, developmental, clinical, cognitive and physiological psychology. From methods of psychological research, to information technology, communication and critical thinking, you’ll begin developing important skills for the workplace. And you’ll investigate criminology, learning about the criminal justice sentencing process in England and Wales.

In your second year, with a focus on developing research and practical skills, your psychology modules will give you additional hands-on experience in designing and testing your own experiments to explore a range of topics. You also continue to build upon your knowledge of the core areas of psychology, getting to grips with key concepts from across cognitive, developmental, social and clinical psychology. In criminology you’ll explore theories of crime and culture, and learn about different perspectives on crime policy.

If you choose, you can take an optional work placement after your second year, expanding your knowledge of psychology in a real world context across the UK. Apply to spend a year honing your skills on a psychological professional/work placement. Gain invaluable experience, make professional contacts and receive a Certificate of Professional/Industrial Placement. Please note some placements may require Occupation Health and/or Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

You will have complete freedom of choice about the topics you specialise in for your final year. In psychology you'll study four current topics from a list of sixteen options, taught by world experts in their fields. A typical year’s list includes options in forensic, developmental, health, clinical, occupational, cognitive, social, and neuropsychology. You'll also choose to work on your own research project, supervised by one of our staff. All of our staff are active researchers, and all of our staff teach, unlike other universities. As a large school, you can be confident that we can cover almost every area. In addition you’ll choose from a diverse range of modules to enhance your expertise in criminology and criminal justice.

The modules shown for this course or programme are those being studied by current students, or expected new modules. Modules are subject to change depending on year of entry and up to date information can be found on our website.

Assessment methods

For up to date details, please refer to our website or contact the institution directly.

The Uni


Course location:

University of Plymouth

Department:

School of Psychology

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.

82%
Criminology
85%
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

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
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

71%
Library resources
86%
IT resources
75%
Course specific equipment and facilities
77%
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?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
85%
2:1 or above
11%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
C

Psychology (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
89%
Staff are good at explaining things
76%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
63%
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
83%
IT resources
85%
Course specific equipment and facilities
72%
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?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
23%
Male students
77%
Female students
82%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
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.

£17,000
low
Average annual salary
86%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Other elementary services occupations
11%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
11%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

£17,108
med
Average annual salary
94%
low
Employed or in further education
55%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Caring personal services
9%
Welfare and housing associate professionals
9%
Other elementary services occupations

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

£23k

£23k

£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

£21k

£21k

£25k

£25k

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.

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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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