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Introduction
Introduction
Why choose this course?
Course structure
You’ll cover a wide range of topics, from petty crime to the crimes of the powerful.
In Year 1, you’ll develop key academic skills that will help you succeed in the course. We’ll also ask some big questions like what is crime? Why do some people commit crime, but not others?
By Year 2, you’ll have a solid understanding of the subject and you can start to look into advanced ideas. For example, Researching Crime explores the ethical and practical applications of the subject, where you’ll learn to conduct interviews or analyse your favourite true crime podcasts. Optional modules help you tailor the course to your own interests, whether that’s learning about environmental justice or getting experience on a work placement. Core modules help you learn to challenge the status quo - how might capitalism encourage crime? Where and why are there inequalities in the criminal justice system?
Year 3 is your chance to specialise further and complete your own research project. Optional modules can include topics like the pleasures of crime, visual criminology, queer criminology, drugs, or policing.
Overview
Can the death penalty be justified? Should we criminalise ‘fast fashion’? Should we legalise street drugs? Study criminology at Oxford Brookes and you’ll try to answer some of society’s biggest questions, exploring who commits crime and why – and what practical and political measures we can take to prevent crime.
While many criminology courses are taught from a criminal justice angle, we’re a bit different at Oxford Brookes. You’ll study the subject from a much broader, interdisciplinary perspective. You’ll look at the social causes of crime. You’ll consider how race, gender and class overlap and define our perceptions. And most importantly, you’ll learn to challenge common misconceptions that can cause inequality in the criminal justice system.
You could work with an NGO on placement helping to support disadvantaged children to make positive decisions and avoid crime. Or maybe you’ll choose our Green Criminology module and work towards a career in environmental justice.
Perhaps you want to join the Police? Whatever path you want to take, we’ll help you get there.
Modules
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Crime and Criminology in Context
What is crime? Who commits crimes, and why? And why are some acts criminal, when others aren’t? In this module, you’ll dig into the key concepts and theories of crime. You’ll challenge your own common-sense understanding of crime, through the theories of celebrated criminologists. And you’ll consider:
 who invents crime and why
 the role of crime in society
 how might we study crime today digitally (online) and visually (through images)
Criminal Justice in Action
In this module, you’ll explore some key concerns around crime. You’ll examine the current problems and policies in:
 criminal justice
 law enforcement
 punishment.
You’ll gain core critical skills, as you dive into debates on the control and management of crime. You’ll examine the relationship between the theory of crime and criminal behaviour. And you’ll explore the practical workings of the criminal justice system.
Criminology Skills
You'll have the support and guidance to build your academic skills. You'll improve your reading of resources and critical thinking abilities. You'll develop the skill of challenging preconceptions - helping you become an independent learner. Which is essential in guiding you to fulfil your potential as a Criminology student.
Creating Criminology 1
Discover contemporary issues in criminological research. Learn and explore the research interests of your tutors.
On this module you'll engage with a range of approaches to criminology. Building your research knowledge of the field of criminology.
You'll gain the skills to explore specialised research areas in your studies. Through specialised study you'll discover areas you may select for your dissertation topic.
Also, through workshops you'll be able to develop your criminological interests and skills. Through debates, planning a student led Criminology Society and creating a newsletter.
Media and Crime
How does the media police our morals as a society, and define our ideas of acceptable behaviour? In this module, you’ll gain the critical skills to analyse popular representations of crime in the media. You’ll examine news reports and other forms of mass-media. And you’ll develop a knowledge of crime as a cultural construct.
Understanding Crime and Society
You'll engage with key concepts in crime, punishment and society. You'll explore:
 the concept of crime
 categories of crime
You’ll assess and investigate:
 what is crime?
 and how do we define and measure it?
What do we know about trends in crime over time and how does this differ from individual perception or ‘fear’ of crime?
Optional modules
Introduction to Ethics
What makes an action good or bad? Are morals absolute, or is morality just a matter of social convention? Can we judge members of a different society through our own moral rules?
In this module, you’ll explore the views of the great thinkers of the past, such as Aristotle, Kant and Mill. You’ll reflect on what their theories mean for questions such as whether we should give to beggars on the streets of Oxford, or if we should do more for refugees.
Understanding Culture
What do we mean when we talk about ‘culture’? How do human ideas, customs and behaviours become a way of life? In this module, we’ll investigate the key theories and concepts of culture. You’ll gain invaluable critical skills as you reflect on different aspects of culture. And you’ll explore the impact of modern culture on individuals and society today.
You’ll explore cultural artefacts and activities. And you’ll look at how culture relates to identity, power and representation.
Bloody Histories: Crime and Violence in the West
How did crime play out in the West, from 1400 to 2000? In this module, you’ll gain a specialist knowledge of criminal justice history. You’ll explore the links between crime and punishment, and the societies of Britain, Europe and America. You’ll develop core critical skills as you dig into pressing debates about the history of crime. And you’ll get to know the key sources used by crime historians, and the challenges in using them.
Creating Criminology 2
On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community. Through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. Helping you take ownership of your criminology studies.
You'll build on the skills and knowledge you gained on Creating Criminology 1. Where you interacted with guest speakers from careers and with recent alumni. You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact with your Criminology degree.
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Crime and Intersectionality
In this module, you’ll get to grips with intersectionality - a way of understanding someone’s identity as made of characteristics such as race, gender and class. Intersectionality offers you a unique way to study crime. You’ll discover how criminal justice institutions, such as the police and criminal courts, respond to and discriminate against different social groups.
Researching Crime: Methods, Approaches and Ethics (compulsory)
In this module, you’ll explore the key research methods of Criminology. You’ll gain invaluable critical skills, as you look at:
 research methods
 design
 processes
 outcomes
You’ll also understand the ethics of research, including:
 the requirements of conducting research with vulnerable populations.
 how your identity can help or hinder research relationships.
Public Criminology
In this module, you’ll dive into real world problems of crime and criminal justice. You’ll apply your criminology knowledge to:
 find solutions to key questions of crime and justice
 find solutions to problems in current practice
 explore how these solutions can inform future research.
You’ll examine case studies from current policy and practice. You’ll apply the insights of:
 practitioners
 policy-makers
 politicians
currently working in criminal justice. You’ll gain a strong understanding of how criminology works in real life. And you’ll explore why there is a disconnect between the classroom, and criminology in practice.
Globalisation and Crime
In this module, you’ll explore and examine areas of crime and crime control across different regions of the world through the lens of 'globalisation', or the increased interconnectedness of social relations across the globe.
You’ll use a combination of theoretical concepts and case studies to interrogate and understand the interconnectedness of crime and responses to crime in the contemporary world.
Optional modules
Criminology Work Based Learning
In this module, you’ll kick-start your career, and gain key work experience in organisations related to crime. You’ll do a placement, or work-based learning activity in:
 a public sector organisation
 a non-governmental organisation (NGO)
 a voluntary organisation
Whether working with the police, prison services, schools or charities, you’ll gain invaluable skills for your future career. You won’t engage directly with clients or service users, but you’ll gain a strong knowledge of how organisations identify and fight crime.
Crime and Punishment through the Ages
What causes people to commit crimes? And how have we punished criminals in the past? In this module, you’ll gain a fascinating insight into crime in the British Isles, as you examine:
 gendered criminality
 property crime
 the history of violence
 attempts to regulate morality.
You’ll explore:
 the birth of the prison
 social crimes and social justice
 moral and anti-social crimes
 theories of punishment.
You’ll also look at the substantial changes in law enforcement that occurred in early modern Britain, giving you the key critical knowledge to study crime history.
Green Criminology
You'll engage with the emerging field of Green Criminology. You'll learn the key theoretical concepts of green criminology and environmental justice.
You'll focus on understanding Green Criminology as a transnational field. Including the social issues impacting individuals on a global scale.
Ethics for the 21st Century
You'll explore recent social and technological developments such as:
 globalisation
 social media and the internet
 medical and scientific advances
 mass migration
Looking at the new ethical challenges they present that are prominent in public debate and a source of conflict and division in society. You'll analyze some of these ethical issues from a philosophical perspective.
You'll consider whether corporations have moral responsibilities and what is the best way to combat racism? Also how are epistemic vices such as close-mindedness, intellectual arrogance and dogmatism fostered by the prevalence of conspiracy theories, fake news, and testimonial injustice?
Are we right to assume that democracy is the only morally-defensible way to govern a country? Can technology and science help us to improve ourselves?
Crimes of the state and resistance
Explore crimes and harms, perpetrated by the state. Including the potential to resist state-perpetrated atrocities.
You will examine historical and contemporary case studies. Along with theoretical concepts from a state crime framework. Building your criminological understanding about the:
 nature
 objectives
 motivations
 and denial of state crime.
You will engage and explore the resistance and challenges within, including:
 social movement activism
 legal challenges
 and armed liberation struggles.
Jack the Ripper and the Victorian Underworld
How did Jack the Ripper - the mass murderer of vulnerable women - shape Victorian culture? And how did Victorian Britain create the Jack the Ripper phenomenon? In this module, you’ll dive into the criminal underworld of the nineteenth century. You’ll investigate a time where public ideas on crime clashed with those of the authorities. You’ll explore:
 attitudes towards the morality and immorality
 the origins of the concept of the criminal class
 the introduction of policing
 the development of punishment.
And you’ll ask who the real Jack the Ripper was, exploring suspects and theories.
Independent Study in Criminology
This module gives you the chance to do independent study on a topic that fascinates you. With support from expert tutors, you’ll submit a proposal for independent study. We’ll agree to a programme of work and assessments, tailored to your interests.
Year 3
Compulsory modules
Dissertation in Criminology
This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. With the support of expert tutors, you’ll choose a dissertation topic based on your interests.
For your dissertation, you may choose to combine the knowledge and skills of two subjects. In this case, you can have one supervisor from each subject.
Optional modules
Advanced Study in the History of Crime
In this module, you’ll gain specialist insight into the history of crime. You’ll choose a topic based on staff research interests, meaning you’ll always be taught by an expert. You’ll gain invaluable critical skills, as you dig into the current research around your topic. And you’ll develop excellent research skills, including how to analyse primary sources.
Border Criminology
In this module, you’ll examine border criminology, which is the study of the intersection of border control and criminal justice. You’ll get to grips with key issues around:
 migration
 punishment
 citizenship and belonging
You’ll investigate core developments of border criminology, including:
 immigration removal centres
 foreign national prisons
 policing of borders
You’ll gain key critical skills, as you explore debates surrounding immigration, punishment and national identity. You’ll examine the institutions concerned with border control, and the increasing use of punishment and force around immigration control in the UK and abroad.
Dealing with Drugs: Control and Intoxication
In this module, you’ll bust some key assumptions around psychoactive drugs. You’ll look at why we use them and how we control them in society. You’ll investigate:
 criminological
 sociological
 historical
and policy insights, to explore the relationship between drug use, individuals and public morality. You’ll gain key critical skills as you debate drug policies, and how we can lessen the harm of substance abuse. You’ll look at alternative ways to regulate drugs than our current ‘war on drugs’ mentality. And you’ll explore the future of synthetic drugs.
Independent Study in Criminology
This module gives you the chance to do independent study on a topic that fascinates you. With support from expert tutors, you’ll submit a proposal for independent study. We’ll agree to a programme of work and assessments, tailored to your interests.
Interdisciplinary Dissertation in Criminology
For your dissertation, you’ll carry out research on a topic that fascinates you. The topic will be interdisciplinary, meaning that it will be relevant both to Criminology and your other subject. This allows you to be creative in your thinking, making original or unusual connections between your different subject areas.
Whatever the topic, you’ll gain in-depth knowledge of it. You’ll develop excellent project management skills as you define your research area, plan your research and manage your own schedule. You’ll also acquire great research skills to take forward into your career.
Picturing the Criminal: From Mugshot to Fine Art
In this module, you’ll study images of crime, including:
 the world’s most troubling mugshots
 early crime-scene photographs
 bloody and brutal paintings
 criminal courtroom artworks.
Seeing and picturing is a key way of understanding crime. You’ll get to grips with the fast-growing field of visual criminology. You’ll discover the importance of images at the birth of criminology, and how they perpetuate stereotypes about race and gender. You’ll also consider why, because of this, criminologists have been sceptical about working with images.
You’ll have the rare chance to go behind the scenes, and visit Western-Europe’s most unique visual arts and social scientific-imaging collections, held in Oxford at:
 the Pitt Rivers Museum
 the Ashmolean Museum
The Carnival and Pleasures of Crime
Why do people enjoy committing crimes? How might crime offer identity and purpose? In this module, you’ll explore the role of:
 pleasures
 performance
 identity
 meaning
in criminal acts. You’ll think about the multiple meanings and actions that crime holds for different people across time. You’ll consider the social benefits of crimes and resistance to the law. And you’ll explore how different interpretations of crime might affect crime control and criminal justice.
Sex That Offends
This module introduces you to case studies, concepts and debates. With a focus on sexual offences and other serious crimes. You will explore themes of consent and harm. Drawing on critical criminology, feminist theory and socio-legal studies.
You will look at how the criminal law and cultural norms have constructed certain behaviours and identities as deviant.
And then from a criminological perspective; you will go beyond the headlines to examine the role of:
 labelling
 moral panics
 and changing social attitudes towards sex.
To develop your critical thinking skills.
The Prison and Imprisonment
Should we punish prisoners, or support them to re-enter society? In this module, you’ll dive into the key issues of prisons. You’ll consider modern prisons, globally and historically. And you’ll examine prisons through:
 prisoners
 prison staff
 wider society.
You'll trace the evolution of the prison - from the rehabilitative ideal of the post-war period, to the greater focus on punishment today. You’ll look at how political parties use prison policies to win votes, rather than reduce crime.
You’ll dive into the inner workings of prisons, from governance to administration. You’ll look at the routines of prison life, and how prisoners cope with, and give meaning to them. You’ll consider sentence progression for different types of prisoners. And you’ll explore how well prisons prepare inmates for life after release.
Policing, Security and Society
This is a key time to study policing in western countries. The response to crime in the west is changing fast as policing moves towards privatisation in the digital age.
You’ll analyse modern policing in the west and its former colonies. You’ll examine the history of policing. You’ll compare policing in other countries to policing in the UK. You’ll also look at the rise of neo-colonial policing today (the use of economic, political and cultural pressures to control other countries).
You’ll explore areas like:
 securitization
 militarization
 transnationalism
 human trafficking
Entry Criteria
Entry requirements
Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.
Standard offer
UCAS Tariff Points: 104
A Level: BCC
IB Points: 29
BTEC: DMM
Contextual offer
UCAS Tariff Points: 88
A Level: CCD
IB Points: 27
BTEC: MMM
ENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Home Office Share Code
For EU students only.
IF no Qualification
Please provide CV with at least 2 years of work experience, and employee reference letter.
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
Our standard entry requirement is three A-levels or equivalent qualifications. In some cases, courses have specific required subjects and additional GCSE requirements. In addition to A-levels, we accept a wide range of other qualifications including:
 the Welsh Baccalaureate
 the Access to Higher Education Diploma
 a BTEC National Certificate, Diploma or Extended Diploma at a good standard and in a relevant subject
 the International Baccalaureate Diploma
 the European Baccalaureate Diploma
 Scottish qualifications – five subjects in SCE with two at Higher level or one at Advanced Higher level, or three subjects in Scottish Highers or two at Advanced Higher level
 a recognised foundation course
 T-levels*.
 * T-levels are a relatively new qualification but are already included in the UCAS tariff. We welcome prospective students who are taking this qualification to apply. For some programmes with specific required subjects, particular subject areas or occupational specialisms may be required.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language then you will need to show that your English language skills are at a high enough level to succeed in your studies.
The entry requirement for your course will be expressed as an IELTS level and refers to the IELTS Academic version of this test. We are now also accepting the IELTS Indicator test, you can find out more about the test on the IELTS Indication site. The University however does accept a wide range of additional English language qualifications, which can be found below.
The university’s English language requirements in IELTS levels are as follows:
Course IELTS level
All other undergraduate courses 6.0 overall with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking
Law, Architecture, Interior Architecture, English Literature (including combined honours), English Literature and Creative Writing 6.5 overall with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking
Health and Social Care courses 6.5 or 7.0 overall with 6.5 or 7.0 in all components (see individual entries for course details)
Nutrition BSc (Hons) 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each component
Built Environment Foundation,
Computing Foundation,
Engineering Foundation 6.0 with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking
International Foundation Business and Technology,
International Foundation Arts, Humanities and Law 5.5 overall with 5.5 in all skills
International Foundation Diploma 5.0 overall with 5.0 in all skills
If you need a student visa you must take an IELTS for UKVI test.
International Foundation Diploma (Extended pathway) 4.5 overall with 4.5 in all skills
If you need a student visa you must take an IELTS for UKVI test.
Assessment
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1. INTERNAL ENGLISH TEST if you don't have an English accredited certificate
2. Academic Interview
Learning and teaching
On this course you’ll explore why crimes occur in our society. You will learn through a variety of teaching and learning methods including seminars, workshops and tutorials.
The programme is flexible enough to encourage you to study your own areas of interest. This may include green criminology. Or you may choose to examine medieval crime and punishment.
You’ll also have the opportunity to gain practical skills through a work placement. This could include a work-based activity withThames Valley Police.
Typical contact time is 24 hours per module. You will be expected to undertake 126 hours of independent study per module.
Assessment
Various assessment methods are used, including:
 exams
 essays
 individual and group presentations
 critical reviews
 portfolios.
This variety gives you the opportunity to show your abilities across a number of different skill sets.
You will have access to:
 essay clinics
 assessment workshops
 preparatory classroom based activities, for example exam workshops.
Career Opportunities
Careers
Criminology graduates often choose to work in law enforcement or the criminal justice system. But those aren’t your only options. Your skills will be ideal for a wide range of career destinations including:
 NGOs
 charities
 local authorities
 crime consultation
 community support
 security firms
 research.
We offer work placement options such as Citizens Advice, Shannon Trust, who work in prisons to promote literacy, Thames Valley Police, charities such as ‘SAFE,’ Support for Young People Affected by Crime, or Children Heard and Seen (CHAS). Or even a local brewery, Tap Social, who sell beer to support social justice movements. So you’ll have a great opportunity to get some experience.
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