Dissertation (Criminology)
You’ve made it through two years of studying other people’s research. Now it’s your time to create your own! In this 40 credit module, you can choose any topic from criminology and sociology to explore in more detail. With support from your dissertation supervisor and using the research competencies you have developed throughout your programme, you will develop a research question and find a way to answer that question. Interview police officers, survey students, search historical archives – the questions and methods are endless.
Compulsory•40 credits
Terrorism and Cybersecurity
Terrorism and cyber security have become prominent and challenging public policy problems since 2000, that involve the whole of government and a large number of civic society organisations. This module helps you to understand the drivers to these forms of criminality and provides tools to help you identify those at risk and to suggest ways to contain and roll back these threats in future.
Modern-Day Slavery in the UK
Slavery in the UK has risen exponentially over the past 20 years - now reaching some 136,000 victims. You'll consider definitions of slavery and how its scale is measured. You will adopt a social harm perspective, maintaining a victim/survivor focus whilst formulating proactive strategies for more effective preventative approaches to modern slavery.
Sex Work, Policy and Crime
Critically examine the historical, legal, social and cultural dimensions of the sex industry by using the major theories of crime and deviance. You'll explore why there is a market for sex in the first place, and the economic, cultural and social factors which impact upon the realities of the work. You will look beyond media stereotypes at what working in the industry can be like.
Drug Use Today
This module introduces the study of ‘the drug problem’, in Western society. You'll explore the sociological and psychological perspectives used to explain drug-using behaviour.
Mental Health, Illness and Society
What constitutes mental health, mental illness, treatment, justice & human rights is a contested topic with various ideological tensions. You'll take a multidisciplinary approach to the study of mental illness and persons with mental disability. You will consider the implications of the professional power of institutional psychiatry, the historical shifts in mental health care policy, the role of the criminal justice system, and the disability rights advocacy and human rights perspectives.
Restorative Justice and Peacemaking Criminology
Restorative justice aims to repair the harm caused by offending behaviour by including people with a direct stake in the offence in finding a solution to benefit all. You'll examine the development of restorative justice and peacemaking criminology, analysing their key concepts, values, principles and practices - as well as the controversies surrounding them.
Histories of Punishment
Study the history of punishment and penal policy between the mid-eighteenth and the early twentieth century. You'll examine public punishments, notably execution, transportation overseas, the birth of the prison, the operation of the Victorian penal system and the ways in which different offenders have been punished. You'll explore how these things have changed over time - for example, in the case of female offenders and juvenile offenders.
Criminal Justice and Community Safety Placements
Experience the nature and range of work carried out by the police and other criminal justice agencies on a work placement. You'll learn about their priorities, organisation, work activities, and daily routines from the people who do the job and gain a range of skills to enhance your employability.
What Works Criminology
Everyone has ideas about how to reduce crime, make police more effective or improve victim satisfaction. But how do we know what works? This module introduces you to the methods that explore what works in Criminology and equips you with the necessary critical and methodological skills.
Quantitative Data Analysis
Quantitative data analysis skills are used widely across an ever-increasing range of professions. On this module, you'll learn valuable transferrable skills, highly sought after by many potential employers. You will take part in practical computing workshops, and gain hands-on experience in applying a variety of data analysis tools, including SPSS, Python and R).
Surveillance and Social Control
You'll study a range of theoretical perspectives on the emergence of a surveillance society - and examine the impact this is having on policing, criminal justice and social justice. You will also explore some of the wider social, political, economic, and cultural drivers behind the emergence of ‘new surveillance’ technologies.
Contemporary Imprisonment
Study the contemporary sociology of imprisonment. You'll examine current controversies in the use of prison sentences and consider the effects of incarceration on offenders.
Social Justice, Health and Wellbeing
This module deals with understanding health and wellbeing from a sociological/criminological perspective. You will focus on interactions between society/crime and aspects of health and wellbeing, ranging from public health and the criminal justice system to socio-economic disparities and global health inequalities.
Multi-Agency Working to Manage Risk
Multi-agency working and risk management are central to the working of the criminal justice system in the UK. They impact on sentencing, punishment, treatment, rehabilitation, release, community management and reintegration. This module provides you with insight into the current performance and risk management procedures in the UK and how they impact the management of offenders.
Criminal Investigation
You'll learn specialist investigatory techniques and consider how this produces evidence in the courtroom. Explore topics such as offender profiling and forensic investigation through the medium of miscarriages of justice that focus on key issues around race, gender, religion and other social characteristics. You'll also get practical experience by taking part in crime scene room simulations.
Environmental Crimes and Green Criminology
Explore different types, causes and actors of eco-crimes perpetrated against the environment and non-human species through the critical lens of green criminology. Through practical examples and contemporary issues, you will analyse important topics such as wildlife crimes, food crimes, environmental activism and the involvement of organised and corporate crime.
Radicalisation, Activism and Religion
Why do people become radicalised? Together, we will focus on specific case studies to critically analyse the complex and complicated relationship between radicalisation, gender, religion, power, and activism on an international level.
Criminal Psychology
This module focuses on the contribution of psychology to our understanding of why some people commit crime, how we can improve criminal investigations and trials, and the role of the forensic psychologist within the criminal justice system. Questions explored include: what is a psychopath, what effect does solitary confinement have on a prisoner’s mental health, can offenders be rehabilitated, and what can a crime scene tell us about the criminal.