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Criminology and Policing BA (Hons)

UCAS code: L331

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  • Level of study:
    Undergraduate
  • Typical Clearing offer:
    80 UCAS tariff points
  • Start date:
    September 2026
  • Duration:
    Three years full-time
  • Attendance:
    Full-time
  • Course delivery:
    On-campus (City Campus)
Image showing a law enforcement officer infront of a board with photos and string connectors indicating a criminal investigation
Information for 2026

About this course

Enter a world of crime, offenders, victims and the criminal justice system. This degree truly combines theory and knowledge with the world of practice as you explore the complex issues of law enforcement and police procedure, alongside ethics and crime analysis.

You'll explore the 'crime experience' from the perspective of the victims and perpetrators; what motivates people to commit crime and how society responds to it; and how crimes are solved through modern policing investigative techniques.

You'll be guided through your journey with us by our teaching team who have a crucial mix of experienced criminologists, and career law-enforcement professionals, who between them have decades of experience on the beat and working to shape the criminal justice system.

  • Combine theory with the real world

    Get the best of both worlds, with key insights into criminology and the cause and effect of crime, alongside how modern policing really works.

  • Customise your course

    In your final year, choose from a range of optional modules to tailor your learning to your own areas of interest.

  • Meet guest speakers

    from authors and analysts to the convicts-turned-criminologists and activists.

  • Get frontline experience

    You'll have the option to work with Notts Police, either through volunteering as a Special Constable, or working in their police control room.

This course provides unique insights into crime and policing by combining the 'academic' with real world policing practice. You'll have the opportunity to learn about the role of digital media investigators (DMIs), and the investigation and impact of digital crime. You'll explore how technology is both utilised by criminals, and is a key weapon for fighting crime for crime fighting agencies.

Within your practical modules, you'll also learn more about crime scene investigators (CSIs), and visit the Crime Scene House at our Clifton Campus to learn more about crime scene analysis and how to forensically recover evidence.

All of our modules will contribute to your overall experience that means you'll be well-prepared to enter an exciting and fulfilling career, whether that be shaping the future of policy and the criminal justice sector, patrolling the streets, or working with offenders and victims of crime.

Study abroad opportunities

Get ready to embark on an adventure with our study abroad programs at partner universities or by getting a work placement overseas. Both opportunities will boost your employability, build lifelong friendships, and allow you to experience the world in a whole new way.

Module information

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll be studying throughout the course:

Core modules

Core modules

Optional modules - choose one from:

In your third year, you have the option to undertake a year-long work placement. If you decide that you wish to do this, you can arrange this via your course team once you are studying with us. You would then return to complete your final year of studies in Year Four.

For you optional modules please choose one from each set.

Core modules

Optional modules - set 1:

Optional modules - set 2:

Optional modules - set 3:

We regularly review our course content based on student and employer feedback to ensure they remain current and relevant. This may result in changes to module content or availability in future years. Optional modules will only run where there is sufficient demand. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis to protect the academic and student experience.

How you're taught

You’ll learn from a teaching team with almost a century’s experience in the field — former consultants and courtroom professionals, police and probation officers, and senior civil servants. These experts have come from all around the world to explain the applied practice of criminology in countries like Brazil, Trinidad, Australia, Egypt, Denmark, and Greece — and of course, the UK.

You’ll be learning through a mix of:

  • lectures
  • small-group seminars and workshops, designed to improve your debating, teamworking, and problem-solving skills
  • one-on-one meetings with your friendly personal tutor
  • independent study, as you build up your research skills
  • authentic work-like experiences, including a real-world prison placement (if your application is successful)

How you're assessed

  • Year One — coursework and written
  • Year Two — coursework, written and practical
  • Year Three — coursework, written and practical

Contact hours

You will ordinarily have around 10-12 hours per week of contact time (such as lectures, seminars and workshops) in the first and second year and around 8-10 hours in your final year. This is around 25%-30% of a full-time week and approximately 90% of our teaching is in-person. The remaining 70%-75% of your time should be devoted to directed learning and independent study.

  • Year One — lectures / seminars / workshops, independent study
  • Year Two — lectures / seminars / workshops, independent study and placement
  • Year Three — lectures / seminars / workshops, independent study

Who will teach you?

  • Jennifer Golding staff profile picture

    Jennifer Golding

    Senior Lecturer

    Jennifer is course leader for NTU's BA (Hons) Criminology and Policing degree, and teaches on the BA (Hons) Professional Policing.

    Visit Jennifer Golding's staff profile

Entry requirements

This course is in Clearing

Looking for a place in Clearing? We are accepting applications and would love to hear from you!

UK students

Clearing requirements

From 80 UCAS tariff points from up to 4 qualifications.

To discuss our entry requirements and see what we can offer you, call us now on +44 (0)115 848 6000. Alternatively, if you already have your qualifications, apply online via our Clearing Application form.

Other requirements: A Disclosure and Barring Service check will be necessary if you wish to become a Special Constable, but it is not required for admission onto the course.

To find out what qualifications have tariff points, please use our tariff calculator.

International students

Clearing requirements

From 80 UCAS tariff points from up to 4 qualifications.

To discuss our entry requirements and see what we can offer you, call us now on +44 (0)115 848 6000. Alternatively, if you already have your qualifications, apply online via our Clearing Application form.

Other requirements: A Disclosure and Barring Service check will be necessary if you wish to become a Special Constable, but it is not required for admission onto the course.

English language requirements: See our English language requirements page for requirements for your subject and information on alternative tests and Pre-sessional English.

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.

Fees and funding

UK students

- see the fees for this course, as well as information about funding and support.

£9,790 per year

If you choose to do a placement year, you'll pay a reduced fee for that year of £1,905.

Find out about the extra support we may be able to provide to help pay for uni, including NTU bursaries and scholarships.

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees, including the placement year and study abroad options are subject to government policy and may change in future years of study.

Preparing for the financial side of student life is important, but we don’t want you to feel anxious or confused about it. Visit our fees and funding pages if you have any concerns.

International students

- see the fees for this course, as well as payment advice and scholarships.
  • £17,950 per year
  • If you choose to do a placement year, you'll pay a reduced fee for that year of £1,905

You will need to pay tuition fees for each year that you are at university. The tuition fees might increase from the second year of your undergraduate course, in line with inflation and as specified by the UK government.

Scholarships

We offer international scholarships of up to 50% of your tuition fee. You can apply for a scholarship when you have an offer to study at NTU.

Living costs

See our advice on managing your money and the cost of living as an international student in Nottingham.

Paying fees

As an international student, you'll need to make an advance payment as part of your offer conditions. You'll then need to pay your tuition fees in full, or have an agreement to pay in two further instalments, in order to enrol on the course.

Find out how and when to pay your fees, including information about your advance payment, instalment dates and how to make payments securely to the University.

Enquiries

If you have any queries relating to advance payments or arrangements to pay, please contact our friendly and experienced international enquiries team.

Additional costs

Your course fees cover the cost of studies and include loads of great benefits, such as the use of our library, support from our expert Employability team and free use of the IT equipment across our campuses. There are just a few additional things you may need to budget for:

Textbooks and library books

Your modules will point you to key textbooks and recommended reading. Many are available online, and in our libraries, but some students choose to buy their own copies. You’ll receive resource lists showing where to access eBooks, digital resources and physical copies. Our friendly Library team is always on hand to help you find what you need.

Printing and photocopying costs

The University allocates an annual printing and copying allowance of £20 depending on the course you are studying. For more details about costs for additional print and copying required over and above the annual allowance please see the printing and photocopying information on the Library website.

Field trips

All essential field trip costs will be included in your course fees. There may be the opportunity to take part in optional field trips, which do incur additional costs.

Placements

If you're undertaking a placement year, you'll need to budget for accommodation and any travel costs you may incur whilst on placement. Many of our placement students do earn a salary whilst on placement which can help to cover these living costs.

Fees and funding advice

For more advice and guidance, phone the Student Money Team on +44 (0)115 848 2494.

Cost of living information and support

Managing your money can help you make the most of life at NTU. Here's how we can support you, and now you can make your funding go further.

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Cost of living in Nottingham
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Our student benefits and free services
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Money advice for international students

Careers and employability

This course is all about preparing you for an exciting future career, and by combining elements of the traditional criminology and professional policing degrees, you'll develop a range of skills that make you attractive to future employers.

You'll develop a comprehensive understanding of the foundations of criminology and the cause and effect of crime, alongside the practical aspects of policing. You'll be able to critically think and analyse with specialist knowledge of police procedure, ethics and crime, and understand how this applies to law enforcement in world today and how it impacts on factors such as the relationship between agencies such as the police and justice agencies and the communities they serve.

Crucially, we want to support you to become adaptable and thoughtful leaders and communicators that are able to solve problems, work effectively as part of diverse teams, and understand what it means to influence the world around you.

Throughout your course, you'll be able to access the support of our in-house Employability team.

  • Employability Promise

    Personalised support, one-on-one coaching and industry-specific advice – it’s all part of our Employability Promise. And it doesn’t end when you leave NTU – you’ll have access to all our careers services for three years after you graduate (conditions apply).

  • Graduate employers

    Graduates from this course have successful careers in organisations such as:

    • Police forces in the UK and abroad
    • His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service
    • Security services
    • Non-policing enforcement agencies

  • Our graduates are…

    Graduates from this course now work in a wide range of roles such as:

    • Police officers
    • Prison and probation officers
    • Civil servants
    • Crime intelligence analysts
    • Firefighters
    • Fraud analysts
    • Domestic violence advocates

  • Assessed work-like experience

    We’ve embedded at least eight weeks of assessed work-like experience into all of our courses. This gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in real-world scenarios, build your confidence, and develop the experience employers are looking for.

  • NTU Enterprise

    If you’re a budding entrepreneur, NTU Student Enterprise can help you to develop your ideas and innovations and turn them into a reality. We also offer training, mentoring, workshops, financial advice and more to develop your business skills.

Campus and facilities

You’ll mainly be studying in the Chaucer and Newton buildings, at the centre of our vibrant City Campus. As well as a range of classrooms and lecture theatres, the facilities including a mock prison cell, banks of open-access PCs, social spaces for either quiet study or busy group work. As part of your studies you'll also have the chance to visit our Crime Scene House at the Clifton Campus.

NTU’s City Campus has everything you’ll need to stay busy between lectures. As well as the Boots Library and its beautiful roof garden, there’s our stylish Students’ Union building and two-storey, 100-station gym; a whole host of cafés, bars, restaurants and food outlets for every taste; our much-loved Global Lounge; performance and rehearsal spaces for musicians; and much, much more!

Take a few steps off campus and you’ll find yourself in the heart of Nottingham — one of Britain’s top 10 student cities, and one of Europe’s top 25. It’s stuffed with history, culture, and well-kept secrets to discover at your leisure. Enjoy lush green spaces, galleries, hidden cinemas and vintage shopping by day, and an acclaimed food, drink and social scene by night.

Applying

UK students

This course has places available through Clearing. Secure your place by calling our Clearing phoneline on +44 (0)115 484 6000 or applying online.

More about Clearing

International students

This course has places available through Clearing. Start your application - call our Clearing phoneline on +44 (0)115 484 6000 or apply online. If you are not applying to any other UK universities, you can apply directly on our applicant portal.

Please read our application guidance before you start your application.

We advise you to prepare and apply as early as you can as Student visa processing time can vary.

We'll send you important emails throughout the application process. Please check your emails regularly, including your junk/spam mail folder.

Clearing info for international students Apply through NTU portal

Personal statement guidance

You’ll submit a personal statement with your UCAS application – here are our tips on what to include and how to structure your personal statement.

Application support

If you have any questions about applying, get in touch through our online form or call us on 44 (0)115 848 4200.

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More from this subject

View more courses on the Criminology and Policing subject page

Further study

View Criminology and Policing postgraduate courses

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