Criminology: Talking Crime for 15–17 Year Olds
- Level(s) of Study: Short course
- Course Fee:
£580
- Start Date(s): 9 August 2027
- Duration: Monday to Friday 10 am - 4 pm, one week
- Study Mode(s): Full-time
- Campus: City Campus
- Entry Requirements: More information
Introduction:
Why do people commit crime, how do we know what really happened, and what should society do about it? On this course you'll explore crime from multiple perspectives while working on a fictional criminal case that develops throughout the week. Through practical challenges, debates, investigations and group activities, you'll experience how criminologists think about offending, victims, evidence, policing, punishment and crime prevention.
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Experience university-level criminology through practical workshops, debates, investigations and problem-solving activities. -
Work collaboratively with other students to investigate a fictional criminal case, with new evidence and challenges introduced throughout the week. -
Learn from experienced criminology lecturers working across different areas of crime, victimisation and criminal justice. -
On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance.
Doing your Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award?
This course can count as your Gold DofE Residential Award and is an amazing opportunity to make new friends and memories.
DofE participants must book both the course and accommodation on campus for this to count towards your Gold Award.
You must also attend the social events that are planned on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and you must plan and attend your own social activities with other participants on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
What you’ll study
Why do people commit crime? Can eyewitnesses always be trusted? Why are some people more likely than others to be labelled as criminal? How should society respond to offending, and what can be done to prevent crime?
This interactive summer school introduces you to some of the key questions explored by criminologists. No previous study of criminology is required; the course is designed for students who are curious about crime, people, society and the criminal justice system and who would like to experience studying criminology at university.
Throughout the week, you will work as part of a criminology team investigating a fictional criminal case. New evidence will be released as the course progresses, meaning that your interpretation of what happened may need to change as further information becomes available. You will examine witness accounts, CCTV evidence, media reporting and information about the people involved while considering how criminologists understand offending, victimisation and criminal justice.
You will also explore how evidence can be interpreted differently, how stereotypes can shape judgements, and why apparently simple questions about crime rarely have simple answers. Rather than being given one ‘correct’ explanation, you will be encouraged to question evidence, challenge assumptions and justify your conclusions.
By the end of the course, you will bring together your investigation and criminological knowledge to produce a group podcast presenting your interpretation of the case.
During this course, you will:
- explore different explanations for why people commit crime
- consider how crime, deviance and harm are defined
- investigate a developing fictional criminal case
- test the reliability of eyewitness evidence
- examine policing, evidence and criminal investigation
- explore media representations and criminal stereotypes
- consider victims and experiences of victimisation
- make decisions about sentencing and punishment
- explore different approaches to crime prevention
- critically evaluate evidence and develop reasoned conclusions
- create a group criminology podcast based on your investigation
- develop university-level critical thinking, teamwork and communication skills
- experience studying criminology in a university environment.
Social events
We appoint NTU Student Ambassadors who host social events on Monday and Wednesday evening to help you make friends across the whole of our summer school programme for 15 – 17 year olds, which are free to attend.
- Day 1 - Becoming a Criminologist: What Is Crime?
- Day 2 -Why Do People Commit Crime?
- Day 3 - Crime, Evidence and Investigation
- Day 4 - Victims, Criminalisation and Justice
- Day 5 - Preventing Crime and the Criminology Case Podcast
Explore what criminology is and consider how societies decide which behaviours become defined as criminal. Through debates and interactive scenarios, you’ll investigate the boundaries between crime, deviance and harm before receiving the first evidence in your team’s criminal case.
Investigate competing explanations for offending. You’ll explore how individual experiences, relationships, peer groups, inequality and social environments can contribute to crime and use criminological theories to analyse the developing case.
How reliable are witnesses? What can CCTV really tell us? Through eyewitness experiments and investigative challenges, you’ll explore evidence, policing, decision-making and bias before receiving new evidence that may change your interpretation of the case.
Explore who becomes labelled as criminal, whose victimisation is recognised and how crime is represented. You’ll consider media reporting, stereotypes and inequality before taking part in a sentencing challenge and deciding how the criminal justice system should respond to the case.
Consider different approaches to preventing crime and decide where you would invest resources to make communities safer. You’ll then receive the final evidence, complete your team’s analysis and create a criminology podcast presenting your conclusions about the case and the evidence supporting them.
How you’re taught
This course will be delivered in person on Nottingham Trent University’s City Campus.
The course is highly interactive and combines short university-style lectures with practical workshops, group investigations, experiments, debates, problem-solving exercises and case-based activities.
You will work collaboratively throughout the week on an unfolding fictional criminal case, applying ideas from each session to the evidence as it develops. You will also work with your group to produce a podcast episode in which you evaluate the evidence, explain your interpretation of the case and communicate your conclusions.
Contact hours
You will receive 25 contact hours of quality tuition with an experienced tutor.
Careers and employability
The course is designed to give you a real experience of university life, make new friends who share similar interests and develop your portfolio so that ultimately you can make an informed decision about your future.
On successful completion of the course you will receive a certificate of attendance, which will further enhance your CV.
Campus and facilities
You will be based in the Nottingham Institute of Crime, Media, Journalism and Justice on Nottingham Trent University’s City Campus.
You’ll learn in the same university environment used by NTU criminology students, with access to modern teaching rooms, lecture spaces and collaborative learning areas for discussion, group work and practical activities.
As part of the course, you will also visit specialist teaching facilities including NTU’s mock prison cell and courtroom. These spaces will give you the opportunity to see how criminal justice environments can be used in university teaching and to experience more of what studying criminology at university can involve.
Being based on City Campus will give you the opportunity to experience university life while taking part in workshops, investigations and group activities throughout the week.
You will receive an email one week before the course starts with joining instructions and details of where to go on your first day.
You’ll also have access to NTU’s Boots Library outside of your short-course sessions. Whilst you won’t be able to reserve or take books away, you are welcome to use the library as a resource for reading, research and independent study.
Entry requirements
You should have an enthusiasm for crime, criminology and criminal justice, and an interest in developing your critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills.
No previous study of criminology is required.
You must be 15, 16 or 17 years old at the time of the course in order to attend.
For international students
If your parent or carer is not based in the UK, you are required to provide details of a UK-based guardian who can act as a contact in the event of an emergency. The UK-based guardian can be a nominated friend or relative living in the UK, or a guardian appointed through a guardianship organisation that offers such services.
The Association for the Education and Guardianship of International Students (AEGIS) runs a programme for the inspection and accreditation of guardianship organisations in the UK. It is recommended that parents/carers of overseas students consult the AEGIS website for details of their recommended guardianship organisations. Nottingham Trent University provides these details for information purposes only. We are not able to recommend or endorse any guardianship organisations available through AEGIS.
Fees and funding
The fee for this course is £580.
Payment is due at the time of booking.
You can pay for this course in two instalments, allowing you to spread the cost while securing your place early.
An initial payment of £290 is taken at the time of booking, with the second instalment due one month before the course begins.
Read the terms and conditions of booking
Need accommodation?
Accommodation can be booked separately to the course; the rooms are only a few minutes’ walk from our studios and classrooms, and cost £280 per week, which is ideal if you're looking to be based in Nottingham's city centre and want an economical place to stay.
These are single rooms with a private bathroom in shared apartments in Nottingham Trent University’s city campus accommodation.
If you're aged 16 or 17 then you can stay unaccompanied with agreement from a parent/guardian (to support safeguarding, all guests aged 16 and 17 will be accommodated together in the same halls of residence and there is a dedicated Warden available).
If you're aged 15 then you can stay as long as you are accompanied by a parent/guardian (you must book two separate rooms and let us know so we can place you in rooms next to each other).
How to apply
You can book this course via the NTU online store:
9 - 13 August 2027, Monday to Friday 10 am - 4 pm, one week
Browse all our summer courses for 15 – 17 year olds.
Any questions?
Contact the short course team:
- Email: creativeshortcourses@ntu.ac.uk
- Tel: +44 (0)115 848 2813
