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Are you interested in a rewarding career in policing, criminal investigation, or wider law enforcement? Then our BSc (Hons) Policing and Criminal Investigation might be the perfect fit for you. The course will fully immerse you in the investigative process using cutting-edge technology, giving you valuable practical insight into real-life investigations.
The course starts by taking you on an immersive journey through the entire investigative process, illustrating the natural progress of criminal investigations and the interlinked areas of policing and forensics. Through this, you will gain knowledge of how the various personnel involved in an investigation work together to achieve a common goal. Not only is the course delivered by skilled academic staff with years of experience in the field, but the additional use of guest lectures and webinars will provide you with a solid grounding of real practises in modern policing and criminal investigations.
Just one of the ways this course stands out is our immersive virtual crime world, which allows you to place yourself in real-world scenarios. To supplement your learning, this environment will be integrated seamlessly with your modules so that you can put the theory you learn during your lessons, seminars, and workshops into practice. You’ll have the opportunity to take on a range of investigative roles as you navigate different environments such as crime scenes, the police custody suite, the major incident room, police cells, the courtroom, and the forensics lab. Through this, you’ll gain insight into important processes and roles within civilian and operational policing and criminal investigations as a whole, preparing you for future work in the field.
This course shares the same level 4 modules as our BSc (Hons) Forensic and Criminal Investigation. After completing the first year of your course, you’ll have the option to switch over to this pathway if it better suits your interests. You can find out more about this course here.
Your course modules begin by taking you through the entire criminal investigative process, from the scene of the crime to the courtroom. Each module will link offences, offenders, law enforcement, forensic personnel, laws, and legislation, helping bring evidence to life. Using our unique virtual environment, you’ll also have the opportunity to assume the role of a crime scene investigator and detective, helping you translate theoretical principles to the real-world scenarios you might face in your future role.
Later in the course you’ll study the academic components of policing and how these can be applied to practice, including leadership, communication, and investigative interviewing skills, as well as gain knowledge of a range of specialised areas within the field. Through level 5 elective modules, you’ll also be able to adapt your curriculum to your individual areas of interest.
Arden is for winners. Nobody will beg you to sit down and start working on your career, if you don’t do it yourself! At Arden, if you have an honest interest for what you learn and you want to reach out for more, you will be welcomed, helped, and advised. But to do that, you must be determined.
Unlike on more traditional degree programmes, you won’t be sitting any exams on this BSc (Hons) Policing and Criminal Investigation. Instead, the course utilises authentic, real-world assessments that replicate the observations, interviews, and reports that would be conducted in the field as part of a real policing and criminal investigation.
I chose online learning because it suited my lifestyle and work schedule. Being able to access the online portal and libraries 24/7 has been extremely helpful for me to be able to keep up with my studies. Studying while working isn’t the easiest thing to do, but Arden gives you the support you need.
Studying this course online gives you the ultimate in convenience. As one of our online students, you’ll study your degree through ilearn, Arden’s university campus in the cloud, which provides everything you need to study at university.
This ground-breaking course uses a custom-built immersive virtual environment to put you at the heart of the crime scene. You’ll be able to place yourself into the scenario that is being presented, providing a seamless integration between your course content and our supplementary virtual crime world. Each of the modules studied in each year are linked by offences, offenders, law enforcement and forensic personnel. You will be assuming these different roles as you navigate through the crime world, investigating various offences that have been presented to you.
As well as receiving regular feedback and guidance from your course tutor, you’ll also be studying with like-minded students who you can meet with through our Unitu community, and you’ll have access to community message boards to discuss your course and the topics being raised within it. You’ll also have access to our Library Portal. The portal includes an extensive digital library including thousands of journal titles, eBooks, and academic and industry databases which you can use to research your assignments and projects. All of these materials are provided to you free of charge, and contain all the research information you’ll need to complete your degree with us.
Online learning students resident in the UK can apply for a Maintenance Loan if they cannot attend their course in person because of a disability. Please find more information on our fees and funding page. If you're a student from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland you can find information on Living Cost Loans from your student finance body.
Learn more about online learning
At Arden University we consider applications on a case by case basis. If you have significant work experience, have qualifications you have gained elsewhere, or a degree or qualification that isn't a clear pathway to this degree - we are more than happy to discuss your application.
Our aim is to make learning as accessible as possible by ensuring that you can study your degree in a flexible and convenient way. That's why we keep our requirements simple. All you need is a laptop or desktop PC (we recommend one running the latest version of Windows), and a good internet connection. Through ilearn, our online university campus in the cloud, you'll be able to access your course calendar, support services, learning materials, and our online library containing almost half a million texts, as well as creating assignments, keeping notes, and collaborating with other students on your course.
To be eligible for our BSc (Hons) Policing and Criminal Investigation, you should normally have:
We’re also happy to consider your application if you can demonstrate your ability to study the course via previous work experience, references, and a personal statement.
Whilst you can read your study materials on your smart phone or tablet, to make the most of your learning experience, you will need access to a laptop or computer (we recommend one running the latest version of Windows), and a good stable internet connection.
Rach Strzelecki started her career as a crime and intelligence analyst for Cleveland Police working on several major investigations including human trafficking, vulnerable missing persons, drugs, and suspicious deaths. In 2006, she started guest lecturing for Teesside University in crime analytics, intelligence, and forensic investigation before securing a permanent role as a lecturer in policing. Rach has also worked at University of Wolverhampton, Interactive Pro, and more recently Buckinghamshire College Group as an advanced practitioner leading on protective services and forensic and criminal investigation programmes. Her research has predominantly related to sexual offences and paedophilia; however, her publications have been within the field of terrorism, police and forensic investigations and online teaching and learning.
Our BSc (Hons) Policing and Criminal Investigation will provide you with the foundations you need to continue on with further study and for future work in the field of policing and criminal investigation.
You’ll graduate from this course with real practical insight into policing and criminal investigation, including an in-depth understanding of:
This course is for anyone interested in learning more about policing and criminal investigation and pursuing a career within wider law enforcement. It is also an opportunity to take a fascinating deep dive into how criminal investigations work to provide you with universal skills for your future.
Additional benefits of the course include:
Once you’ve enrolled with Arden, our careers centre is easily accessible directly from inside our online platform, ilearn. The careers centre is here to help you discover the areas of your academic and professional life that you find most meaningful and rewarding, and then apply this to your career pathway.
Just a few of the career tools you’ll find in the careers centre include:
