BSc (Hons) — 2025 entry Criminology and Psychology

This module is concerned with understanding the contribution of psychological explanations (connecting to Sociological and Criminological) for understanding criminal behaviour. It introduces students to theories and concepts of criminal behaviour according to Psychology and the context in which these ideas emerge. In particular, the module focuses on specific categories of criminal behaviour – for example, mentally disordered offences, the ‘psychopath’, violent criminals, and serial murderers. In doing so, the module seeks to examine how particular crimes come to be sensationalised and glorified by and through various media platforms. The module also sets out to examine the means for managing and evaluating interventions designed to reduce crime and re-offending, and thus enable students to consider more widely, the role of Psychology within Western criminal justice systems.

This module looks at the role of contemporary technologies within crime and the criminal justice system and critically engages with current thinking around the extent to which technology can be a ‘enabler’ or ‘facilitator’ of crime. The module seeks to develop critical understanding of the increasing role of technology within the criminal justice system – for example, forensic technologies such as fingerprinting and DNA profiles, ‘predictive’ technologies such as polygraph tests and neural scanning and enforcement/punitive technologies such as tasers. The module pays special attention to arguments that ‘technological fetishism’ may be undermining the autonomy of the justice system, with the result that ‘technological justice’ may be replacing due process and the rule of law, engaging with the increasing role of AI and automation within justice.

Within this module students will explore the relationship between drugs and wider society. Students will delve into what constitutes a ‘drug’ and will consider the boundaries between health and illness, licit and illicit drugs.  Students will be equipped to bring a critical lens to topics such as drug markets and recovery; and will develop a sociological understanding of why people take drugs and the ‘effects’ they have.  Throughout the module students will be encouraged to take a global perspective and consider how the relationship between drugs and society is historically and socio-culturally variable. Students will also increase their employability through working in groups to produce a digital deliverable.

This module examines contemporary ways that power and (in)equality intersect with crime victimisation and the operation of the criminal justice system. The module considers how different sections of society are treated and affected by crime, victimisation and criminal justice, with a focus on socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, religion, and gender. It examines the tensions that arise within criminal justice and as affect social (dis)order and control. It aims to delineate how crime, victimisation and criminal justice processes reflect and reinforce wider patterns of discrimination and marginalization and to situate criminal justice within a wider global and local social context.

This module examines the history, role, and function of the police service. We consider the nature of the policing task, the contemporary organisation of the service and a range of issues to do with accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. We will also consider styles of policing, how they have changed over time and the investigation and detection of crime. We look also at some areas which have proved difficult for the service to police which include rape, domestic violence, drugs and organised crime and terrorism.

The module explores the variety of ways that individuals, groups and states have responded to crime problems, looking at the philosophical justifications and the sociological explanations. It will consider the way of punishment has been implemented, what they intended to achieve and their outcomes.

This module will focus specifically on the use of prisons as a form of punishment in society. This will include an examination of the growing prison crisis, the rise of supermax prisons and the privatisation of prisons. It will also consider how particular social groups experience prison, and the harms of imprisonment for individuals.

This module focuses on victims of crime. Recent years have seen increasing awareness of and attention to victims’ experiences of crime and the criminal justice system. This module explores the nature and extent of victimisation, victim policy and practice, and the role of victims within the criminal justice system. The module covers theoretical perspectives on victims and victimisation, national and international policy development, the ”victims’ movement” and the nature and impact of public perceptions/attitudes towards different types of victim. The module critically examines who is and is not recognised as a victim, and how this has changed over time. The module explores new and changing approaches to responding to victimisation, including restorative justice.

This module builds on the abnormal and clinical psychology knowledge acquired in previous years. The course aims are twofold. First, to introduce mental health issues dealt with in contemporary clinical psychology and second, to develop a critical understanding of the theories, methods and applications within contemporary clinical psychology. Its objective is to demonstrate how an understanding of mental health and mental health issues can help understand and change mental health and its treatment within clinical psychology settings.

This module traces the social relations between youth, crime, and changing social, political and policy cultures. The ways young people have been responded to by a variety of controlling agencies, such as the police, prison system, and more social welfare orientated agencies such as social services has been a recurrent theme in criminology. This has encompassed critical questions with respect to; why young people receive more focus than adults? What kinds of young people are subject to greater levels of intervention? Whether this is just or necessary?  And in what ways have particular social control technologies affected the lives of young people? This module will place particular focus on specific digital capacities of control, how and why they have developed, and the significance these have for the practical outcomes of policy agendas such as ‘youth diversion’, ‘anti-social behaviour’ and ‘youth justice’, including whether these interventions work across international contexts from global and cultural capabilities perspectives. Overall, the module will encourage students to actively apply the linkages between historical, theoretical, and everyday policies of social control used against young people, and to demonstrate a critical knowledge of these debates and issues using a range of criminological and sociological approaches. Practice examples are offered throughout the module, to understand ways of working with young people in accordance with employability, as well as ways of utilising resources to support youth from a resourcefulness and resilience perspective.

This module is part of the Developmental Psychology stream of Level 6 Psychology optional modules and may not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Developmental Psychology stream may be offered instead. This module considers the relationship between psychology and education and will give you a comprehensive understanding of how psychological theory and research intersects with education. We will consider how psychological theories and research can be applied to educational practice and issues in education including understanding the process of learning, differences between learners, special educational needs and educational policy. You will learn how to approach education from a scientific perspective and consider how personal experience informs your views. This module builds on theories and research that you will have learnt about in your level 4 and 5 developmental, cognitive and social modules. The content will complement topics covered in other final year modules (e.g. PSY3103) and will develop your ability to apply psychology to an area of practice in a similar way to several other final year modules (e.g. PSY3127 and PSY3073). The summative assessments will enable you to further develop skills you have acquired during the course so far, such as conducting literature searches and reading articles, critical evaluation, essay writing and writing for a lay audience which will be useful for your dissertation and the future.

Please note: This module is part of the Social Psychology stream of Level 6 optional modules and may not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Social Psychology stream will be offered instead. This module will offer an advanced overview of topics connected with the social psychology of language and communication. Students will learn how key phenomena of social psychology such as stereotyping, discrimination, interpersonal and intergroup relations are formed, maintained, transmitted, and changed through communication and language means. Specifically, the module will focus on social issues that are the focus of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., gender inequality). In the process of doing so, students will learn the key theoretical and empirical developments of social psychology of language and communication and will get acquainted with different research approaches. Moreover, they will familiarise themselves with the applications of discussed theories and will use them to identify ways in which language and communication can be used to address social issues. Finally, the module will allow students to be critical of scientific evidence as well as of the strengths and weaknesses of applying theoretical knowledge to social issues.

Please note: This module is part of the Social Psychology stream of Level 6 optional modules and will not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Social Psychology stream will be offered instead. This module focuses on the interplay between the self—people’s cognitions, emotions, and motivations relating to themselves—and interpersonal relationships in adulthood. Self-related constructs and processes permeate the way that we think, feel, and behave in social interactions and ongoing relationships. At the same time, our experiences with other people, especially close others, affect the way we feel about ourselves in the short-term and feed into the way we view ourselves in the long-term. There are also notable individual differences in both effects. These reciprocal processes underlie much of everyday social experience and wellbeing, and can help us to understand our own relationships and feelings, as well as inform applications in therapeutic and organisational settings. However, so far, elements of each process have mostly been studied separately. In this module, we will discuss theory and research addressing different ways that the self and relationships are interdependent and attempt to synthesise the literature to achieve a more holistic understanding of the issues.

Whilst the problem of hate crime has been, until relatively recently, largely neglected as a distinct area of criminological research in the UK and around the world, changes to political, criminal and social justice agendas have given hate crime much greater significance over the past 30 years or so. This module is therefore designed to provide students with a broad historical, theoretical, and contemporary understanding of the key issues relating to hate crime. Particular focus is placed on examining the different forms that hate crime can take and the impact it can have on victims and wider communities, whilst the motivations behind hate crime perpetration are also explored, as are the various legal and wider criminal justice and other relevant responses to it, all within an international context. Students are also encouraged to think critically about issues relating to identity politics, diversity, and the broader social construction of contemporary crime problems. The module relates to the degree programme more broadly by discussing policing, victimisation, legislation, the criminal justice system, offending, social justice, and notions of identity and diversity, within the hate crime context. As such it builds upon previous learning that students will have undertaken in prior modules throughout the first two years of their degree programme.  

The study of cybercrime and cybersecurity not only represents one of the key emerging areas of research within contemporary criminology but is also a crucial problem of national policy and crime control. Recent (2016) data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest that cybercrime may now be the most prevalent form of criminality in the UK and repeated breaches to key infrastructures across most jurisdictions have emphasized why it is has also become one of the main threats to international peace and security.  This module will introduce students to the key themes within the study of cybercrime and cybersecurity – including, offence types and their prevalence; typical victims and perpetrators; policing and control measures; varieties of cybersecurity responses and the ‘human’ problem in making these resilient.

The criminal justice process has often been charged with an over focus upon ‘working class’ crimes such as burglary or street robbery. As a result, it has been argued that many more serious crimes effected by more powerful or collective agents like corporations have been overlooked or policed less effectively. For example, environmental damage, financial misconduct, or illicit trading. In this module the nature of criminality effected by the corporate and business worlds and the kinds of measures intended to make corporations more responsible’ will be examined in detail. We consider how agents like corporations can be constructed as criminal actors, both conceptually and legally, the typical kinds of offences they are implicated in and what kinds of responses from the criminal justice system would be most appropriate in dealing with this. A series of case studies across a representative selection of corporate sectors will be used the structure and direct the module content.

This module builds on the abnormal psychology knowledge acquired in previous years and focuses on the forensic aspects of clinical psychology, that is the assessment and treatment of offenders with psychological disorders including psychosis, personality disorder and neurodevelopmental disorders. The course aims are to introduce mental health issues within secure mental health settings (secure hospitals and prisons) and to develop a critical understanding of the theories, methods and applications within forensic clinical psychology. Its objective is to demonstrate how an applied understanding of abnormal psychology can help understanding, risk management and treatment within secure settings with offenders with psychological disorders.

This module introduces students to the key theories and methods of health psychology and focuses on a number of research areas including health behaviour and behaviour change, help seeking and access to health care and chronic conditions and their management. It draws upon all aspects of psychology covered so far on the degree programme including theories from social, biological, cognitive and developmental psychology and illustrates how they can be applied to aspects of health.  It also utilises qualitative and quantitative research methods covered in all other modules as the basis for understanding health issues, changing health behaviours and managing health conditions.  

This module will examine critical perspectives in moral psychology, discussing critical debates about what moral concepts are. Building on previous topics in social psychology, we will discuss and evaluate whether morals are universal or culturally relative; whether morals are based on intuitions/emotions or reasoning, and what makes a moral judgement. We will also discuss what makes moral emotions unique, evaluating four different kinds of moral emotions (other-condemning, self-conscious, other-praising, other-suffering). We will discuss how moral convictions and moral character impact thoughts and behaviours. The module will cover theoretical and empirical findings that explore implications of moral concepts. We will also critically evaluate how different moral concepts should be defined and assessed, based on empirical research, which will result in the development of a literature review and poster.

This final year course introduces students to theories, methods, and research findings in the area of social and moral development during childhood and adolescence. We begin by looking at development in the context of important relationships, such as peers and friends, families, and schools. We next examine the development of the self and other categories that make up who we are (e.g., ethnicity). This module relies on socio-cultural and eco-cultural perspectives to try to understand development in context to increase your global and cultural capabilities.

This module is concerned with understanding the contribution of psychological explanations (connecting to Sociological and Criminological) for understanding criminal behaviour. It introduces students to theories and concepts of criminal behaviour according to Psychology and the context in which these ideas emerge. In particular, the module focuses on specific categories of criminal behaviour – for example, mentally disordered offences, the ‘psychopath’, violent criminals, and serial murderers. In doing so, the module seeks to examine how particular crimes come to be sensationalised and glorified by and through various media platforms. The module also sets out to examine the means for managing and evaluating interventions designed to reduce crime and re-offending, and thus enable students to consider more widely, the role of Psychology within Western criminal justice systems.

This module looks at the role of contemporary technologies within crime and the criminal justice system and critically engages with current thinking around the extent to which technology can be a ‘enabler’ or ‘facilitator’ of crime. The module seeks to develop critical understanding of the increasing role of technology within the criminal justice system – for example, forensic technologies such as fingerprinting and DNA profiles, ‘predictive’ technologies such as polygraph tests and neural scanning and enforcement/punitive technologies such as tasers. The module pays special attention to arguments that ‘technological fetishism’ may be undermining the autonomy of the justice system, with the result that ‘technological justice’ may be replacing due process and the rule of law, engaging with the increasing role of AI and automation within justice.

Within this module students will explore the relationship between drugs and wider society. Students will delve into what constitutes a ‘drug’ and will consider the boundaries between health and illness, licit and illicit drugs.  Students will be equipped to bring a critical lens to topics such as drug markets and recovery; and will develop a sociological understanding of why people take drugs and the ‘effects’ they have.  Throughout the module students will be encouraged to take a global perspective and consider how the relationship between drugs and society is historically and socio-culturally variable. Students will also increase their employability through working in groups to produce a digital deliverable.

This module examines contemporary ways that power and (in)equality intersect with crime victimisation and the operation of the criminal justice system. The module considers how different sections of society are treated and affected by crime, victimisation and criminal justice, with a focus on socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, religion, and gender. It examines the tensions that arise within criminal justice and as affect social (dis)order and control. It aims to delineate how crime, victimisation and criminal justice processes reflect and reinforce wider patterns of discrimination and marginalization and to situate criminal justice within a wider global and local social context.

This module examines the history, role, and function of the police service. We consider the nature of the policing task, the contemporary organisation of the service and a range of issues to do with accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. We will also consider styles of policing, how they have changed over time and the investigation and detection of crime. We look also at some areas which have proved difficult for the service to police which include rape, domestic violence, drugs and organised crime and terrorism.

The module explores the variety of ways that individuals, groups and states have responded to crime problems, looking at the philosophical justifications and the sociological explanations. It will consider the way of punishment has been implemented, what they intended to achieve and their outcomes.

This module will focus specifically on the use of prisons as a form of punishment in society. This will include an examination of the growing prison crisis, the rise of supermax prisons and the privatisation of prisons. It will also consider how particular social groups experience prison, and the harms of imprisonment for individuals.

This module focuses on victims of crime. Recent years have seen increasing awareness of and attention to victims’ experiences of crime and the criminal justice system. This module explores the nature and extent of victimisation, victim policy and practice, and the role of victims within the criminal justice system. The module covers theoretical perspectives on victims and victimisation, national and international policy development, the ”victims’ movement” and the nature and impact of public perceptions/attitudes towards different types of victim. The module critically examines who is and is not recognised as a victim, and how this has changed over time. The module explores new and changing approaches to responding to victimisation, including restorative justice.

This module builds on the abnormal and clinical psychology knowledge acquired in previous years. The course aims are twofold. First, to introduce mental health issues dealt with in contemporary clinical psychology and second, to develop a critical understanding of the theories, methods and applications within contemporary clinical psychology. Its objective is to demonstrate how an understanding of mental health and mental health issues can help understand and change mental health and its treatment within clinical psychology settings.

This module traces the social relations between youth, crime, and changing social, political and policy cultures. The ways young people have been responded to by a variety of controlling agencies, such as the police, prison system, and more social welfare orientated agencies such as social services has been a recurrent theme in criminology. This has encompassed critical questions with respect to; why young people receive more focus than adults? What kinds of young people are subject to greater levels of intervention? Whether this is just or necessary?  And in what ways have particular social control technologies affected the lives of young people? This module will place particular focus on specific digital capacities of control, how and why they have developed, and the significance these have for the practical outcomes of policy agendas such as ‘youth diversion’, ‘anti-social behaviour’ and ‘youth justice’, including whether these interventions work across international contexts from global and cultural capabilities perspectives. Overall, the module will encourage students to actively apply the linkages between historical, theoretical, and everyday policies of social control used against young people, and to demonstrate a critical knowledge of these debates and issues using a range of criminological and sociological approaches. Practice examples are offered throughout the module, to understand ways of working with young people in accordance with employability, as well as ways of utilising resources to support youth from a resourcefulness and resilience perspective.

This module is part of the Developmental Psychology stream of Level 6 Psychology optional modules and may not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Developmental Psychology stream may be offered instead. This module considers the relationship between psychology and education and will give you a comprehensive understanding of how psychological theory and research intersects with education. We will consider how psychological theories and research can be applied to educational practice and issues in education including understanding the process of learning, differences between learners, special educational needs and educational policy. You will learn how to approach education from a scientific perspective and consider how personal experience informs your views. This module builds on theories and research that you will have learnt about in your level 4 and 5 developmental, cognitive and social modules. The content will complement topics covered in other final year modules (e.g. PSY3103) and will develop your ability to apply psychology to an area of practice in a similar way to several other final year modules (e.g. PSY3127 and PSY3073). The summative assessments will enable you to further develop skills you have acquired during the course so far, such as conducting literature searches and reading articles, critical evaluation, essay writing and writing for a lay audience which will be useful for your dissertation and the future.

Please note: This module is part of the Social Psychology stream of Level 6 optional modules and may not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Social Psychology stream will be offered instead. This module will offer an advanced overview of topics connected with the social psychology of language and communication. Students will learn how key phenomena of social psychology such as stereotyping, discrimination, interpersonal and intergroup relations are formed, maintained, transmitted, and changed through communication and language means. Specifically, the module will focus on social issues that are the focus of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., gender inequality). In the process of doing so, students will learn the key theoretical and empirical developments of social psychology of language and communication and will get acquainted with different research approaches. Moreover, they will familiarise themselves with the applications of discussed theories and will use them to identify ways in which language and communication can be used to address social issues. Finally, the module will allow students to be critical of scientific evidence as well as of the strengths and weaknesses of applying theoretical knowledge to social issues.

Please note: This module is part of the Social Psychology stream of Level 6 optional modules and will not be running every year. In some years an alternative optional module within the Social Psychology stream will be offered instead. This module focuses on the interplay between the self—people’s cognitions, emotions, and motivations relating to themselves—and interpersonal relationships in adulthood. Self-related constructs and processes permeate the way that we think, feel, and behave in social interactions and ongoing relationships. At the same time, our experiences with other people, especially close others, affect the way we feel about ourselves in the short-term and feed into the way we view ourselves in the long-term. There are also notable individual differences in both effects. These reciprocal processes underlie much of everyday social experience and wellbeing, and can help us to understand our own relationships and feelings, as well as inform applications in therapeutic and organisational settings. However, so far, elements of each process have mostly been studied separately. In this module, we will discuss theory and research addressing different ways that the self and relationships are interdependent and attempt to synthesise the literature to achieve a more holistic understanding of the issues.

Whilst the problem of hate crime has been, until relatively recently, largely neglected as a distinct area of criminological research in the UK and around the world, changes to political, criminal and social justice agendas have given hate crime much greater significance over the past 30 years or so. This module is therefore designed to provide students with a broad historical, theoretical, and contemporary understanding of the key issues relating to hate crime. Particular focus is placed on examining the different forms that hate crime can take and the impact it can have on victims and wider communities, whilst the motivations behind hate crime perpetration are also explored, as are the various legal and wider criminal justice and other relevant responses to it, all within an international context. Students are also encouraged to think critically about issues relating to identity politics, diversity, and the broader social construction of contemporary crime problems. The module relates to the degree programme more broadly by discussing policing, victimisation, legislation, the criminal justice system, offending, social justice, and notions of identity and diversity, within the hate crime context. As such it builds upon previous learning that students will have undertaken in prior modules throughout the first two years of their degree programme.  

The study of cybercrime and cybersecurity not only represents one of the key emerging areas of research within contemporary criminology but is also a crucial problem of national policy and crime control. Recent (2016) data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales suggest that cybercrime may now be the most prevalent form of criminality in the UK and repeated breaches to key infrastructures across most jurisdictions have emphasized why it is has also become one of the main threats to international peace and security.  This module will introduce students to the key themes within the study of cybercrime and cybersecurity – including, offence types and their prevalence; typical victims and perpetrators; policing and control measures; varieties of cybersecurity responses and the ‘human’ problem in making these resilient.

The criminal justice process has often been charged with an over focus upon ‘working class’ crimes such as burglary or street robbery. As a result, it has been argued that many more serious crimes effected by more powerful or collective agents like corporations have been overlooked or policed less effectively. For example, environmental damage, financial misconduct, or illicit trading. In this module the nature of criminality effected by the corporate and business worlds and the kinds of measures intended to make corporations more responsible’ will be examined in detail. We consider how agents like corporations can be constructed as criminal actors, both conceptually and legally, the typical kinds of offences they are implicated in and what kinds of responses from the criminal justice system would be most appropriate in dealing with this. A series of case studies across a representative selection of corporate sectors will be used the structure and direct the module content.

This module builds on the abnormal psychology knowledge acquired in previous years and focuses on the forensic aspects of clinical psychology, that is the assessment and treatment of offenders with psychological disorders including psychosis, personality disorder and neurodevelopmental disorders. The course aims are to introduce mental health issues within secure mental health settings (secure hospitals and prisons) and to develop a critical understanding of the theories, methods and applications within forensic clinical psychology. Its objective is to demonstrate how an applied understanding of abnormal psychology can help understanding, risk management and treatment within secure settings with offenders with psychological disorders.

This module introduces students to the key theories and methods of health psychology and focuses on a number of research areas including health behaviour and behaviour change, help seeking and access to health care and chronic conditions and their management. It draws upon all aspects of psychology covered so far on the degree programme including theories from social, biological, cognitive and developmental psychology and illustrates how they can be applied to aspects of health.  It also utilises qualitative and quantitative research methods covered in all other modules as the basis for understanding health issues, changing health behaviours and managing health conditions.  

This module will examine critical perspectives in moral psychology, discussing critical debates about what moral concepts are. Building on previous topics in social psychology, we will discuss and evaluate whether morals are universal or culturally relative; whether morals are based on intuitions/emotions or reasoning, and what makes a moral judgement. We will also discuss what makes moral emotions unique, evaluating four different kinds of moral emotions (other-condemning, self-conscious, other-praising, other-suffering). We will discuss how moral convictions and moral character impact thoughts and behaviours. The module will cover theoretical and empirical findings that explore implications of moral concepts. We will also critically evaluate how different moral concepts should be defined and assessed, based on empirical research, which will result in the development of a literature review and poster.

This final year course introduces students to theories, methods, and research findings in the area of social and moral development during childhood and adolescence. We begin by looking at development in the context of important relationships, such as peers and friends, families, and schools. We next examine the development of the self and other categories that make up who we are (e.g., ethnicity). This module relies on socio-cultural and eco-cultural perspectives to try to understand development in context to increase your global and cultural capabilities.