Overview
Should we legalise street drugs? What should we do when children commit crime? How can we improve rehabilitation and reduce crime? Study Applied Criminology at Canterbury Christ Church University and explore answers to some of society’s biggest questions.
This interdisciplinary degree in criminology and forensics adopts a broad perspective, examining crimes ranging from murder to environmental harm. You’ll study the complex cycles of criminology, forensic science, and violence, as well as the intersections between crime, justice, and society.
What’s more, our Applied Criminology degree is innovative and industry-led, developed by staff with specialist experience as researchers and practitioners. You’ll gain relevant practical experience and learn from external experts. You’ll learn from real-world examples, engage with criminal justice settings, and reflect on the lived experiences of participants in the Criminal Justice System.
Student support is at the heart of how we teach. Throughout the course staff will assist you to build a wide skill set, enabling you to work collaboratively and courageously to apply your knowledge to help solve real-world problems. Our degree in criminology is designed to prepare you for a range of career opportunities in professions associated with crime, criminal justice, and society, helping you to become a reflective practitioner and policy maker who can deliver change.
We know employers are looking for dynamic, open-minded graduates who can adapt, innovate, and collaborate. So we have designed a new way of teaching and learning to ensure that you are work-ready for when you graduate.
My favourite thing about CCCU's Applied Criminology degree is the wide range of topics that are covered within it, both compulsory and optional modules. As the course is an applied course, each of these are extremely relevant to real life situations.
Laura, Applied Criminology student
Entry requirements
Qualification type |
Grades |
|
A Levels |
BBC |
|
BTEC |
DMM |
|
Access |
15 Distinctions and 30 Merits |
|
International Baccalaureate |
29 Points |
|
Combinations |
A combination of qualifications totalling 112 UCAS points |
For more information on the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) requirements for this course, please click here to visit our dedicated web page.
More information about entry requirements.
International students should be aware of their specific entry requirements.
If you have any questions about entry requirements for this course, please contact our Course Enquiry Team.
112
UCAS Points
Module information
We know employers are looking for dynamic, open-minded graduates who can adapt, innovate, and collaborate. So we have designed a new way of teaching and learning to ensure that you are work-ready for when you graduate. Alongside the modules below you will choose from our new curriculum that will help you achieve student success, engage with contemporary topics and work with industry or the community.
As well as the core modules, you will also have the opportunity to study a number of option modules. The availability of specific option modules may vary from year to year. This will be subject to a minimum number of students choosing the module and staff availability. It means we cannot guarantee the availability of a particular option module. However, we will ensure you have a choice of option modules.
Core/optional modules
*Modules subject to approval
How you’ll learn
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, workshops and tutorials and you will typically have contact time of around nine hours per week, supported by additional online materials. Your actual contact hours depend on the optional modules you select.
Key knowledge is provided through lectures, guided reading and online materials, and this is supported by class activities and discussion, which help you to apply theory to real life scenarios and problems. Some teaching is also delivered through workshops which blend knowledge delivery with discussions or activities, as well as helping with key skills development. Teaching sessions are interactive, allowing you to engage with material on a deeper level. Tutorials are available to provide one to one support. The team is dedicated to developing the whole person and therefore provide many sessions to help you develop your personal skills, as well as your academic skills.
Where possible, you will have the opportunity to attend visits and trips and we support you in getting work experience.
When not attending lectures, seminars, workshops, or other timetabled sessions you'll have access to a range of resources to help you continue learning through self study. This typically involves reading journal articles and books, undertaking research in the library, working on projects, and preparing for coursework assignments/examinations, workshops and seminars.
Your lecturers will direct you towards specific readings and/or activities where appropriate to complete before / after class and provide tutorials where necessary to support your learning.
We also recommend that you set up student study groups and support each other with your studies as research shows that we learn much better in communities.
A range of additional study skills and employability workshops are available within the University to help you reach your full academic and career potential.
The teaching team have academic expertise across a range of criminological issues, including: policing, mental health, criminal justice and crime, the history of crime and punishment, migration and crime, drug related crime and drug treatment, youth justice and victimology. They are also involved in research activities in these and other areas, and they bring this research expertise into their teaching. Many staff have published in these areas and have practical experience in them too.
The core team is supported by other teams in the University, such as the law, policing and forensic investigation teams, and a range of professionals currently working in the field who provide guest lectures.
Staff use their research expertise to inform teaching, and they provide you with opportunities to be involved with research to help develop you academically and personally. Our criminology staff and students were central to a pilot of the Bystander Initiative, which aims to support students and staff to identify and prevent sexual harassment, assault and coercive behaviour. The pilot was successful, and a modified version of the initiative is now available University-wide.
More information about our teaching team can be found in the Meet the Team section of our School webpage.
We will work closely with you throughout your degree, guiding and enhancing your learning to ensure that you produce the best possible work, as well as making the subject enjoyable. Our interactive sessions will encourage you to work with us and your peers to develop your understanding and knowledge around crime and criminal justice.
Dan BurrowsCourse Director
How you’ll be assessed
Assessments are a core part of the course and each module has 1-3 assessments that contribute to the 4000-word assessment quota. Each assessment is well supported by written guides, study skills sessions, a study toolkit and staff guidance, and is designed to allow you to develop your skills as a criminal justice professional.
We also provide opportunities for you to gain formative feedback informally before you complete the assessments that count towards your final mark by providing opportunities to gain feedback on assessment plans.
There are during each of the modules to test your knowledge and understanding. We use a range of assessment methods including:
- Essays
- Reports
- Portfolios
- oral presentations
- written examinations
- online examinations.
In your final year you can undertake a dissertation in an area of your choice with close supervision from a member of academic staff. This can include conducting your own research project and offers a valuable opportunity to demonstrate that you can manage your work independently, thus helping your employability skills.
The grades from formal assessments count towards your module mark and feedback is provided to ensure that you can improve future assessments.
Feedback
We provide high quality feedback on all assessments to enable you to understand what action you need to take to improve your work / marks. We try to ensure that feedback is student focused and constructive. Tutorials also enable you to discuss your work. We aim to provide you with feedback within 15 working days of hand-in for all assessments and use a range of feedback methods to meet the needs of our students.
Your future career
Through this course, you'll have the opportunity to gain the core knowledge and skills required for many criminal justice careers, and transferable to other related careers.
Graduates of the course typically secure posts within the following areas:
- Police
- The Prison service,
- The Probation service
- Criminal Justice Sector
- Youth work
- Private companies working in security
- Third sector organisations working in crime control and victim support.
Further postgraduate study is also an option and you'll be encouraged to make the most of the volunteering and networking opportunities available throughout your course in order to enhance your employability.
We also host an annual Employability Fair where our students can network with experts from a range of fields and careers and gain top tips for progressing to graduate roles.
Throughout your time studying us you will have access to our Careers and Enterprise team who offer a wide range of services and support to help you kick start your career and meet your goals.
Just thought I'd say thanks! I can distinctly remember being an undergrad criminology student at Christ Church and thinking 'I want to publish something in the British Journal of Criminology someday' and now my first journal article is about to be published. I'll always be grateful for the wonderful teaching and enthusiasm, it really set me on my way.
ThomasGraduate in Applied Criminology with Legal Studies
Fees
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
| UK | Overseas | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | £9,535 | £15,500 |
Tuition fees for all courses are payable on an annual basis, except where stated. The fees represented here are for study with Canterbury Christ Church University. If you are looking to study at a partner institution, please visit their website for fees information.
Please read the 2025/26 Tuition Fee Statement for further information regarding tuition fees and year on year fee increases.
Home (UK) Fees
The Government has announced that it will increase the tuition fee cap by 3.1%, in line with inflation, for the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to parliamentary approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 our undergraduate home tuition fees are expected to be £9,535.
Overseas/International Fees
Undergraduate / PGCE tuition fees for international students are not set by the UK Government.
- Read advice about funding your degree
- See information about the financial support available for undergraduate studies
- If you would like information about paying your fees, please contact accounts.receivable@canterbury.ac.uk
- For specific fee queries, please contact fees@canterbury.ac.uk
Industry links
We have a range of external criminal justice professionals and other experts involved in the delivery of the course. We work with them to aid course development in order to ensure our degree is current, accurate and relevant to criminal justice employers.
We actively consult and collaborate with a range of criminal justice and related organisations and these change on a yearly basis, in response to changing operational commitments of these organisations and trends in criminal justice. Collaborations include police forces, the prison service, charities and academics from other higher education institutions.
We promote volunteering to our students and provide support and advice in identifying and applying for volunteering posts and work experience. We have previously developed projects where students work and volunteer with staff on research related activities, giving valuable experience and enhancing employability skills. We work closely with a number of criminal justice professionals and organisations, as well as our colleagues in policing, forensics and law, to create opportunities for our students to experience criminal justice settings.
As access to criminal justice facilities can be restricted due to security issues, we hire a range of guest lecturers to come to the University and provide sessions on their area of expertise. These lecturers are professionals who are currently working in the field and often go beyond their lecturing remit to support students in accessing information, gaining work experience or giving careers advice.
Professional accreditation
The Applied Criminology course adheres to and is guided by the Criminology Benchmark Statements, which define expectations as part of the UK Quality Code for Higher Education.
Regulated by the Office for Students
The Office for Students (OfS) regulates Canterbury Christ Church University. The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education in England. It aims to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. Further details about its work are available on the OfS website.
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Duration:
3 yearsUCAS code:
M900Location(s):
CanterburyStudent life
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*We are advertising this course as ‘subject to approval.’ When we add new courses or update existing courses, we advertise the course as ‘subject to approval’. We do this to let you know the University still needs to agree to run the course. It is rare for a course not to gain approval, but it is not guaranteed. There may be changes to course and module titles, content and assessment, but we will tell you about these if there is a change. You can still apply to study a course subject to approval. We have prepared some questions and answers to tell you more.