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Criminology

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,C

To include a literate subject For entry into Year 2 we would look for ABB to include one from Sociology, Politics, History, Psychology plus one other literate subject

HNC (BTEC)

D

Entry into Year 1 with HNC (BTEC) Health & Social Care

HND (BTEC)

D

Entry into Year 2 with HND (BTEC) Health & Social Care

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

28

To include a literate subject at S5 or H4

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3

To include a literate subject

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

MMM

Health & Social Care Public Services Travel & Tourism

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B,B

Entry into Year 2 to include one from Sociology, Politics, History, Psychology, Modern Studies plus one other literate subject

Scottish HNC

Pass

Entry into Year 2 with an HNC in one of the following:- Police Studies - Graded Unit B Social Science - Graded Unit B Next Gen Social Science - Graded Unit M Entry into Year 1 with an HNC in one of the following:- Additional Support Needs - Graded Unit B Childhood Practice - Graded Unit B Counselling - Graded Unit B Legal Services - Graded Unit B Social Care - Graded Unit B Social Services - Graded Unit B Working with Communities - Graded Unit B

Scottish HND

Pass

Entry into Year 2 with an HND in one of the following:- Legal Services - Graded Units BB Social Science - Graded Units BB Entry into Year 1 with an HND in one of the following:- Additional Support Needs - Graded Unit B Counselling - Graded Unit B

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B

To include a literate subject

Accepted/considered on an individual basis

UCAS Tariff

96-152

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

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Criminology

Gain a deeper understanding of how we define, classify and respond to crime, and why people commit crimes on this fascinating Criminology degree.
Criminology is a social science examining the nature of law making and how society is 'policed'. You will study all aspects of crime, learning how it is controlled and regulated in modern societies.

Criminology is a blend of social science, sociology and law, examining the nature of law making and how society is 'policed'. You will study all aspects of crime, learning how it is controlled and regulated in modern societies.

This is a flexible degree. In the first two years you will concentrate on the fundamentals of criminology and sociology. In years three and four you will specialise, working with our academics to explore:

Contemporary criminological theory.
Crime, policing and police work.
Penal institutions.
Race and Human rights.

We place a strong emphasis on developing your research skills, which are highly valued in the workplace. Whether it's collaboration, assessing evidence, writing reports, researching or completing project work, your criminology studies will make you extremely employable.

After the first two years of study, you can choose to specialise in other areas or carry on studying this pathway. See more in the 'How the Course Works' section below.

This course scored nearly 85% for Teaching and Learning Resources in the 2021 National Student Survey. Plus, Abertay is widely regarded as THE place to come for high quality teaching. But don't just take our word for it:

The Times and Sunday Times UK University of the Year 2021 for Teaching Quality.
Guardian University Guide 2020 Top 10 in the UK for Student Satisfaction with Teaching, Course and Feedback.
National Student Survey 2020 Top 10 UK Universities for Student Satisfaction.

Modules

Year 1 core modules (subject to change over time) - CRM101 Crime & Punishment; SOC101 Contemporary Social Issues;
LAW251 Introduction to Law; CRM103 Criminal Justice Processes; SOC102 History & Social Change; Abertay 101 Being Successful at Abertay.

You are also required to select three MySuccess modules of your choosing. For detailed module information please check our website.

Assessment methods

You’ll learn through a blend of lectures, tutorials, seminars, workshops, online discussion forums, video screenings, guest speaker presentations, directed and private study, and student-focussed group work.

Other assessment methods include supervised examinations, essays, reports, portfolios, presentations, project work, class and online tests, and reflective analyses. In your final year, you’ll design and produce a research project under the dedicated supervision of an academic staff member.

Around one third of the course is assessed through examination, although the exact proportion depends on your module choices.

Put simply, we aim to give you all the skills you need to move straight into a job or further study when you graduate.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

England
£9,250
per year
EU
£15,000
per year
International
£15,000
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£1,820
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Abertay Campus

Department:

School of Business, Law and Social Sciences

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

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

73%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
61%
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

90%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
88%
Course specific equipment and facilities
73%
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?

88%
UK students
12%
International students
22%
Male students
78%
Female students
77%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
C
C

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
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
20%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

22%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
11%
Other administrative occupations
11%
Other elementary services 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.

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

£22k

£22k

£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...

Higher entry requirements
Durham University | Durham
Criminology
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 136-160
Same University
Abertay University | Dundee
Criminology and Sociology
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time 2024
UCAS Points: 104-152

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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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):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here