Interested in the psychological aspects of criminology and forensics? Our British Psychological Society (BPS) accredited Criminological and Forensic Psychology degree is a dynamic course that reflects contemporary approaches to offending behaviour. During the final year of this award-winning course you’ll engage with professional settings, providing valuable work experience for your CV.

Key information

Award:

BSc (Hons)

Mode of Study:

Part-time

Duration:

4.5 years

Location:

University of Bolton

UCAS points:

112

Start date:

To be confirmed

Course Details

Studying in our well-respected, vibrant learning and research culture, the University of Bolton’s BSc (Hons) Criminological and Forensic Psychology degree gives you the opportunity to develop an in-depth understanding of offending behaviour from the perspectives of both offender and victim. This course was awarded the 2017 Award for Innovation in Psychology Programmes by the British Psychological Society*, demonstrating our commitment to bringing criminological and forensic psychology to life away from the classroom by offering you an array of innovative and practical learning opportunities.

Our supportive and experienced team will help you gain a strong foundation in the theories and practice of psychology, focusing on forensic theories including aggression, sexual offending, terrorism and delinquent behaviour. We’ll also lead you in an exploration of legal and court psychology, including interviewing techniques used by the police and issues around court testimony.

The course can lead to a range of careers including the prison service, health, police, probation service, victim support and services targeting families of offenders or victims, or on to further study. Accredited by the British Psychological Society, the course enables you, on achievement of the required grade, to progress to further professional qualifications and employment as a registered psychologist.

* https://www.bps.org.uk/news-and-policy/university-bolton-receive-psychology-programme-award accessed on 1 October 2018

Highlights

Our Psychology courses are ranked top 10 in the UK and first in Greater Manchester for student satisfaction for the fourth year running, according to the Complete University Guide 2022.
Also, The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2022 ranks our Criminology courses first in the North West of England for teaching quality and student experience for the second year running.
This course is one of only a few Criminological and Forensic Psychology degrees in the country accredited by the British Psychological Society. Accredited as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC), this degree is the first step towards becoming a Chartered Psychologist.
The University of Bolton has invested in the creation of a learning environment that offers innovative methods of teaching and assessment using top-class facilities, such as our observation and psychophysiology laboratories.
We work hard to ensure the course evolves in response to current issues in psychology. For example, our curriculum includes up-to-date teaching around the themes of honour-based violence and terrorism.
Course content is delivered by our highly-qualified staff who have substantial experience in the field. By offering personal supervision throughout the course we aim to give you the best possible opportunity to achieve your true potential.
We’ll encourage you to complete the British Psychological Society accredited Occupational Testing Level A Certificate, which is highly recommended for a career in this field.

Key Features

You’ll explore the theories and principles of forensic psychology and how these are applied in legal and other offender settings. You’ll also discuss the social and psychological context of offending and examine methods for collating, assessing, and analysing data.
To help you learn how psychological theories are applied to the activities of psychology staff when they’re working with offenders or victims of crime, you’ll have the chance to take part in a variety of workshops where you can practise and receive feedback on core skills.
Your personal tutor will be on hand to support you throughout your degree; one of our team of helpful and approachable psychology staff with a diverse range of research interests and professional experience.
We focus strongly on employability skills and the practical application of your studies as well as academic success. Workshops include leading group therapy and conducting a risk assessment with opportunities for placements in a relevant work setting.
The applied nature of criminological and forensic psychology is stressed throughout the course and you’ll carry out a criminal justice-related work placement in your final year.

Professional recognition

Successful completion of the degree course is approved as conferring eligibility for the Graduate Basis for Chartership (GBC) of the British Psychological Society, provided the minimum standard of qualification of second class honours is achieved.

The British Psychological Society is the professional body for psychologists.

112 UCAS points. Please see our guide to the UCAS Tariff for examples of how to achieve these points.
Any subjects are acceptable at Level 3.
You should also have five GCSEs at grade C or above or grade 4 to 9 (or equivalent) including English Language and Mathematics.
You may be required to attend an interview and/or provide a portfolio of work.
If English isn’t your first language, you’ll also need IELTS 6.0 with no less than 5.5 in any band (or equivalent). We also accept a range of other English language qualifications – please visit our English Language Requirements web page for more details.
Please note that this course is subject to the University of Bolton's Fitness to Practise procedure.

Where changes are made to material information contained in this course description or a decision is taken to suspend a course between the offer of admissions and enrolment, we will inform applicants at the earliest possible opportunity and will outline the various options available to the applicant.

The University of Bolton's BSc (Hons) Criminological and Forensic Psychology degree will support you in developing a deep understanding of how psychology can be applied to explain certain aspects of crime and criminal behaviour.

When you successfully complete the course, you'll be able to demonstrate graduate skills such as analysing complex information and data, investigating problems and formulating plans to solve them. You'll also possess skills in deductive reasoning, conducting research independently, reflection, producing and presenting information accurately, and understanding social and legal issues.

What can I do with this qualification?

By undertaking this qualification, you'll have the opportunity to develop a broad range of skills relevant to careers such as work in prisons and secure units, the police force, specialist hospitals, court systems, forensic services, immigration, education and private practice. This course's scientific and research elements also support roles in research and academia.

Psychology graduates with British Psychological Society (BPS) accreditation can also progress onto professional qualifications in applied psychology. Studying applied criminology and forensic psychology at the postgraduate level will allow you to develop a range of analytical and practical skills benefitting you as a practitioner or researcher.

Our BSc (Hons) Criminological and Forensic Psychology graduates can also progress to graduate schemes. These are long term employment contracts, usually with a large corporate company offering advanced training packages.

Alternative career options

Graduates can use the qualification as a stepping-stone into a range of other careers. For some of these roles, relevant experience and/or postgraduate study may be required. They include:

Youth justice
Mental health
Probation
Child protection
Crime reduction
Social work
Family support and mediation
Counselling
Nursing
Advice work
Training
Market research
Careers advice and guidance
Human resources
Retail management

Course fees

Home students starting this course in the first year will be required to pay a Home fee of £6,000 for the academic year 2022/23.

Important note regarding tuition fees for the 2021-2022 academic year: EU nationals who meet residency requirements (have settled or pre-settled status) may be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status. If you do not meet these residency requirements, overseas fees will apply. Irish citizens living in the UK or Ireland will be eligible for ‘Home’ fee status under the Common Travel Area arrangement. Please read the student finance eligibility 2021-2022 policy on www.gov.uk for information.

The fees for a student’s course of study will be set for the normal duration of that course subject only to inflationary increases – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) recorded in March each year to take effect for subsequent start dates.

For 2021-2022 entry, the maximum government approved undergraduate tuition fee for UK students is £9,250 per year. The University is able to charge this fee subject to an approved Access and Participation Plan for 2021-2022 and its current rating in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Bursaries

Click here for more information about the scholarships and bursaries available to University of Bolton students.

For details of how to apply for this course, please choose your status from the options below:

Call Admissions

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

International applications are not possible for this course

As an international student you are not allowed to study this course because of the restrictions on your visa.

We offer a wide range of full-time courses in lots of different subjects, many of our courses start in September and January. If you would like to see what courses are available please visit our Course Search.

Please contact Admissions by telephone on 01204 903903 or email enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

Admissions
University of Bolton
Deane Road
Bolton, BL3 5AB
United Kingdom

Tel: 01204 903903
Email: enquiries@bolton.ac.uk

The overall teaching and learning strategy for Criminological and Forensic Psychology is student-centred. We use a blended approach meaning you’ll have face-to-face sessions, sometimes one-to-one, and take part in online learning. You can expect a mix of seminars, lectures and tutorials, practical workshop demonstrations, critiques, study visits, self-directed study, IT and library sessions, and guided study. The University’s e-learning portal Moodle will support your online learning and provides a convenient way for you to communicate with fellow students who are studying the same modules. We’ll also encourage you to use the internet for research.

Guest lectures and presentations by a variety of visiting speakers from relevant employment areas offer you the chance to further develop your knowledge and understanding.

Our assessment strategy is designed to help you organise and develop your learning as well as evaluate your achievements. You can expect time-constrained exams, as well as coursework, such as essays, reports, presentations, portfolios, and others. These contribute to your module marks and allow you to demonstrate that you have met the learning outcomes. Much of your assessed work is submitted online via Moodle with feedback also given through this portal.

Modules

The modules listed below may be a mixture of compulsory and optional. You may not have the opportunity to study all the modules shown as part of the course.

Introduction to Research Methods in Psychology
Understanding the Person
Cognitive and Biopsychological Perspectives
Contemporary Issues in Psychology
Application of Psychology
Psychology and Crime
Research Methods in Psychology
Social and Critical Psychology
Personality and Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Biopsychology
Psychology of Law and Justice
The Honours Project
Psychology of Loss and Trauma
Applied Experience
Applications in Forensic Psychology
Abnormal Psychology
Cyber Psychology and New Media
Psychology in the Workplace

Assessment methods

Level	Assesment method
Level one	Coursework 50%, Written exams 50%
Level two	Coursework 50%, Written exams 50%
Level three	Coursework 100%

Learning activities

Level	Learning activity
Level one	Guided independent study 67%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 33%
Level two	Guided independent study 76%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 24%
Level three	Guided independent study 73%, Placement/study abroad 5%, Scheduled learning and teaching activities 22%

Disclaimer

The university will use all reasonable endeavours to deliver your course as described in its published material and the programme specification for the academic year in which you begin your course. The university considers changes to courses very carefully and the university will minimise any changes. Please be aware that our courses are subject to review on an ongoing basis and changes may be necessary due to legitimate staffing, financial, regulatory and academic reasons. The content of course modules and mode of associated assessments may be updated on an annual basis. This is to ensure that all modules are up-to-date and responsive to employment and sector needs. The published course material and the programme specification contain indicative ‘optional modules’ that may be subject to change due to circumstances outside of our control. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to run any specific optional module.