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Criminology and Psychology

BA (Hons) & Foundation Year

Home Courses Undergraduate Psychology degree

Summary

Study level

Undergraduate

Award

Foundation Year Entry Degrees

Full time

3 years

Part time

4 years+

Location

London, Birmingham, Manchester or Online

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Faculty of Social Science

Course Overview

Do you ever find yourself wondering what motivates people to commit crimes? Are you interested in the minds of offenders, victims, and witnesses? If the answer is yes, our BA (Hons) Criminology and Psychology Foundation degree will take you on a fascinating and rewarding journey into the human mind.

Arden University’s psychology and criminology foundation degree is a rigorous and career-enhancing course that provides you with an introduction to the key concepts needed to pursue your academic goals. The course combines a foundation year followed by a full undergraduate degree qualification. Your foundation year will help you develop key study skills such as essay writing, IT know-how, emotional intelligence and research skills that will prepare you to successfully complete a degree programme.

Once you’ve completed your foundation year, you’ll focus on your chosen career path – in this case, criminology and psychology. Bringing together two related subject areas, you’ll gain a multi-disciplinary understanding of the reality of criminology and psychology, while also engaging in employment-related module assessments that are designed to give you the practical edge needed to stand out in today’s competitive job market.

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Career development resources

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Course details and modules

By providing you with knowledge of the fundamentals of criminology and psychology, we’re preparing you to become a well-rounded professional who can take on all manner of challenges in your professional life. Criminology and psychology foundation degrees at Arden can be tailored to your specific interests and career ambitions, with a variety of modules on offer that have been developed by industry professionals who are leaders within their fields.

As a working mum, I needed a course that would fit my busy life. My degree in Psychology complemented my role as a therapeutic counsellor beautifully and although I’ve just finished, it has already impacted my life greatly!

Cath Palmer

BA (Hons) Psychology

Modules

Foundation Year Modules

Using Numeracy, IT & Data
Research Skills and Using Information
Values, Ethics and Working Collaboratively
Developing Academic Skills
Crime and Law in Context
Psychology of Everyday Life

Year 2

Introduction to Social and Developmental Psychology
Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology
Effective Interdisciplinary Study
Crime and Society
Criminal Justice System
Key Studies in Psychology

Year 3

Personality and Intelligence
Research and Ethics in Action
Contemporary Debates in Criminology
Environmental Criminology
Social Psychology
Policing and Police Powers

Year 4

Cross-Cultural Psychology
Contemporary Developmental Psychology
Youth Justice
Cybercrime
Research Planning and Project

*The order of modules within each level vary depending on intake and mode of study

How do we assess you?

At Arden, we provide you with a range of opportunities to demonstrate your academic strengths. These could include:

Portfolios of work
Coursework
Essays
Exams
Reports
Research Project

Study options

This course is available to study through Arden’s blended learning study mode at our study centres in London Ealing, London Tower Hill, London Holborn, Manchester, and Birmingham.

The course is also available to students as a fully online programme, which gives you the convenience of being able to study from anywhere in the UK or worldwide.

I chose online learning because I do not currently have the capacity to attend classes as my days are full with running my household, my elderly parents’ household and tending to the needs of my 3-year-old. Online studying has been extremely helpful because it provides the flexibility I need in order to study at random times during the day or night.

Cynthia Blow

BSc (Hons) Psychology

Blended learning

How does it work?

When you choose our blended learning study mode, you’ll have eight hours of timetabled classes spread over two days at the Arden study centre of your choice. This is combined with around 25 hours of independent study, which takes place through ilearn, our university campus in the cloud. ilearn contains all the resources you need to study successfully. You’ll also have access to our online library, Perlego, which contains almost half a million books, journals, and industry literature which you can make use of throughout your studies, removing the need to buy expensive course books in order to study successfully.

Blended learning is the best option for students who prefer the structure of regular face to face classes with their tutor and fellow classmates, and is particularly suited to students who live within commuting or driving distance of one of our UK study centres.

If you're a student from the UK who is enrolling on a blended learning course with Arden (based in one of our UK study centres) then you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan and Maintenance Loan to help pay for your living expenses. You can find more information on our fees and funding page. If you're a student from Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland you can find information about obtaining a student loan to cover your costs from your student finance body.

Please note: study centre classes are temporarily being conducted online in our virtual classroom due to Covid-19 restrictions. Face-to-face classes will resume once the current restrictions are lifted.

Learn more about blended learning

Online learning

How does it work?

Studying this course online gives you the ultimate in convenience. You can enrol with Arden from anywhere in the world and study your degree from the comfort of home, without the requirement to attend classes in a physical location.

Our online students study their degree through ilearn, Arden’s university campus in the cloud. ilearn provides everything you need to study at University. It offers an integrated virtual learning experience, including your virtual classroom, lecture theatre, and online library (which when used along with our supplementary library, Perlego, gives you access to almost half a million books and journals – yours for free while you study with us).

ilearn is also integrated with Zoom, making it easier to chat with your course tutor during your scheduled seminar sessions. You can even integrate our study materials into your Kindle, making it possible to study wherever you have you Kindle handy.

Studying online doesn’t mean studying alone. As well as receiving regular feedback and guidance from your course tutor, you’ll be studying with likeminded 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. We’ve even set up community boards embedded into each of the course modules so you can have discussions with your tutor and classmates on the topics you’re currently learning.

Online learning students resident in the UK can apply for a Tuition Fee loan to pay for their course. If you cannot attend your course in person because of a disability, you may also be entitled to a Maintenance Loan to cover living expenses. 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 about obtaining a student loan to cover your costs from your student finance body.

Learn more about online learning

Entry requirements

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.

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Eligibility

To be able to study this course, we need to see that you have:

Passes at grade C (grade 4) or above in three subjects at GCSE level OR 45 credits at Level 2 or equivalent – if your qualifications are older than 3 years we would also ask to see a professional CV.
Applicants may be considered based on a minimum of 12 months of professional work experience evidenced with a CV and Reference if they do not meet the qualification requirements.
We also offer this course as a standard bachelor’s degree without foundation year. To view the course details, please click here.

Candidates are required to submit a personal statement (of between 350-550 words) or attend an interview demonstrating an ability to study for the programme. This statement should include:

Your motivation for undertaking the programme
Why you’ve chosen your particular course
Any long-term goals or career aspirations

English Proficiency

IELTS 6.0 (no less than 5.5 in any element); or TOEFL iBT 80; or equivalent

We also offer an internal English test for applicants. More information on this can be found here.

Before you start studying

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.

Course fees and funding

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Meet the faculty

Arden’s psychology and social science degrees are designed to explore human behaviours across diverse areas of psychology and social science such as criminology, sociology, and criminal justice. These courses provide you with a range of transferable skills that are valued by employers from a wide range of industries. Our Psychology online courses are accredited by The British Psychological Society, which means they are internationally recognised. I look forward to welcoming you to the Arden University family.

Gail Steptoe-Warren

Head of School, Psychology and Social Sciences

Career prospects

The specialist skills you’ll have gained after graduating with your foundation degree include analytical and critical thinking, problem-solving, strong interpersonal and communication skills, and an appreciation of organisational behaviour and structures. All of these abilities are highly valued by employers, and will help you go on to build a successful future in your chosen career.

Related courses

What can a criminology and psychology with foundation year course do for me?

Graduating with this degree can open up a world of opportunities, in both psychology and criminology. After studying this psychology and criminology foundation degree, you will:

Have gained the ability to research and present information to various audiences
Feel confident in analysing and evaluating data
Have developed meticulous written communication skills
Be able to present findings in a range of formats including essay, presentation and report

Where can I go after Arden University?

With this degree, the possibilities are endless – and go further afield than you might think! As well as graduating with critical, analytical and communication skills, a criminology and psychology foundation degree could lead to work in any of the following areas:

Counselling
Teaching
Research
Human resources
Police force
Probation and prison systems

Industry skills

Career development resources

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:

CV360, which analyses your CV and provides instant feedback for improvement
Interview360, helping you practise your interview technique in a stress-free environment and tackle some of the most common interview questions - as many times as you need to
Aptitude tests to help your improve your critical thinking, numeric, and logical reasoning skills
100s of interactive courses focused on giving you the skills and confidence you need to excel in your professional life.
My Jobs, where you can search employment vacancies, browse employer profiles by location and, or connect with other employees on LinkedIn.