About this course
The Criminal Justice (Top-up) course is designed for you if you are an FdA Criminal Justice graduate and want to top up your qualification to BA honours degree level.
The BA (Hons) Criminal Justice degree will open up a diverse range of career options in the Criminal Justice sector, allowing you to make a real difference to the lives of others in the community.
Taught at NTU in Mansfield, you’ll cover a range of sociological, political, legal and cultural approaches to the study of criminal justice. With a focus on real-world learning, you’ll explore current issues at a local, national and international level.
Whether you're planning a future in policing, victim advocacy, prison and probation services, rehabilitation or investigative work, with this qualification you’ll gain the knowledge and transferable skills you need to progress.
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Small class sizes mean that you’ll be part of a close-knit community. There’ll be plenty of opportunity for discussion, collaboration and support. -
Benefit from employability events and guest speakers preparing you for further study or employment within the Criminal Justice System. -
On completing this foundation degree you’ll be well-placed to take up a variety of careers within the Criminal Justice industry and can go straight into work. -
NTU in Mansfield is your alternative route into higher education. We've built this qualification with the local job market in mind. Each of our higher education courses is relevant, hands-on and work-focused.
What you’ll study
This course provides a multi-disciplinary approach – drawing on a range of approaches to the study of Criminal Justice – while incorporating a focus on contemporary issues with local, national and international perspectives.
Victimology (30 Credit Points)
Critically analyse the theoretical perspectives of Victimology and assess the procedural efforts made to engage victims with the Criminal Justice process.
Probation, Offending Behaviour and Rehabilitation (30 Credit Points)
Explore the differential impact of crime and consider the structural and cultural factors that impact on life chances and the experiences of individuals
Miscarriages of Justice (20 Credit Points)
Critically analyse the effectiveness of the relevant law and procedures regarding criminal investigation and prosecution
Research Project (40 Credit Points)
Bring together the various skills you have developed during the FdA Criminal Justice course, along with elements of the level 6 top up as well as your research method skills.
- Identify a Criminal Justice related topic of focus and then design, research and present a substantive independent research project on this issue.
- Draw selectively and critically upon a body of knowledge and information and develop new insights, ideas and perspectives on contemporary Criminal Justice practice.
- Offer a critical insight into a range of appropriate literature in order to present new insights and conclusions on a chosen Criminal Justice issue
- Critically evaluate ethical principles and values regarding the collection and analysis of crime-related research.
We regularly review and update our course content based on student and employer feedback, ensuring that all of our courses remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or module availability in future years.
How you're taught
Teaching learning and assessment will be varied, appealing to a diverse range of learners, in the form of collaborative learning during seminars, workshops, debates, mentoring and small group tutoring.
You will develop essential transferable skills such as effective communication skills; analysing information; problem solving, critical thinking and decision making. You will have the opportunity to apply acquired knowledge through a variety of activities including classroom based, workshops and independent research.
Assessments throughout the year will comprise presentations and summative written assignments including essays, a poster and an independent research project.
The course will be delivered one full day each week to support learning with responsibilities outside of university.
Contact hours
Throughout your studies, your teaching will be a mixture of in-person teaching and independent study. You will have around 8 hours per week of contact time with our teaching staff, consisting of lectures, seminars, workshops and one-to-one supervision meetings. 100% of this teaching is in-person. Overall, contact time makes up around 30% of a full-time week, while the remaining 70% of your time will be devoted to independent study.
Careers and employability
Your future career
After completing your FdA in Criminal Justice, study this course for an extra year and you’ll get your BA (Hons) Criminal Justice at NTU.
Graduates from this course are well-placed to take up a variety of careers within the Criminal Justice System and students can go straight into work after completion their degree.
With a BA in Criminal Justice, you can start your career path towards roles such as:
- Youth Justice Worker
- Youth Support Services
- Probation work
- Prison work
- Private Security work
- Police roles.
Criminal Justice related employability events
During the year, structured employability events and guest speakers (in accordance with the level 6 modules) will engage with you to prepare you for either further study or wider employment within the Criminal Justice System.
Employability Team
At NTU in Mansfield, our award-winning Employability team is here to inspire and enhance your career planning, whichever path you choose. Whether you wish to go on to further study or to look for job opportunities, we can guide you to be a successful candidate.
Campus and facilities
As an NTU Mansfield student, you’ll benefit from the latest facilities and modern technology to support your studies and help you get the most out of student life.
We are continually investing in our facilities and enhancing our learning and teaching environment to make it an inspiring place for students.
Facilities and services include:
- University Centre
- Teaching and Learning Centre
- Library
- Dedicated study zones, including PC suites
- On-site café
- Social spaces
- Sports facilities
- Student Support Services
- Nottingham Trent Students Union (NTSU) drop-in events.
Entry requirements
UK students
Academic entry requirements: Completion of the FdA Criminal Justice degree at NTU or similar course in Criminal Justice.
To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.
Additional requirements for UK students
There are no additional requirements for this course.
Contextual offers
If you don’t quite meet our entry requirements, we might be able to make you a lower offer based on a range of factors, including your background (such as where you live and the school or college you attended), your experiences and your individual circumstances (you may have been in care, for example). This is called a contextual offer, and we get data from UCAS to help make these decisions. We do this because we believe everyone with the potential to succeed at NTU should have the opportunity to do so, no matter what barriers you may face.
Other qualifications and experience
NTU welcomes applications from students with non-standard qualifications and learning backgrounds, either for year one entry or for advanced standing beyond the start of a course into year 2 or beyond.
We consider study and/or credit achieved from a similar course at another institution (otherwise known as credit transfer), vocational and professional qualifications, and broader work or life experience.
Our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy outlines the process and options available for this route. If you wish to apply via Recognition of Prior Learning, please contact the central Admissions and Enquiries Team who will be able to support you through the process.
Getting in touch
If you need more help or information, get in touch through our enquiry form.
International students
This course is not suitable for tier 4 visa applicants.
We accept qualifications from schools, colleges and universities all over the world for entry onto our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. If you’re not sure how your international qualification matches our course requirements please visit our international qualifications page.
Additional requirements for international students
There are no additional requirements for this course.
English language requirements
View our English language requirements for all courses, including alternative English language tests and country qualifications accepted by the University.
If you need help achieving the language requirements, we offer a Pre-Sessional English for Academic Purposes course on our City campus which is an intensive preparation course for academic study at NTU.
Other qualifications and experience
If you have the right level of qualifications, you may be able to start your Bachelors degree at NTU in year 2 or year 3. This is called ‘advanced standing’ entry and is decided on a case-by case basis after our assessment of your qualifications and experience.
You can view our Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer Policy which outlines the process and options available, such as recognising experiential learning and credit transfer.
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Getting in touch
If you need advice about studying at NTU as an international student or how to apply, our international webpages are a great place to start. If you have any questions about your study options, your international qualifications, experience, grades or other results, please get in touch through our enquiry form. Our international teams are highly experienced in answering queries from students all over the world.
Policies
We strive to make our admissions procedures as fair and clear as possible. To find out more about how we make offers, visit our admissions policies page.
