Criminology University of Portsmouth

Overview

As you become an expert on the criminal justice system in England and Wales, you’ll develop skills for a range of careers – from policing and prisons, to probation and rehabilitation, as well as roles fighting fraud in the private sector or influencing Government policy. And because crime doesn’t respect borders, this Criminology and Criminal Justice degree from University of Portsmouth also gives you a uniquely international perspective.

Course highlights

• Explore the latest national and international debates and research in topics as varied as hate crime, state crime, terrorism, gang crime, black criminology, and victimology
• Get career-ready with an emphasis on skills and employability, including volunteering opportunities with organisations such as Hampshire Constabulary and local charities like Aurora New Dawn (supporting victims of crime) and Read and Grow Society (helping ex-offenders learn to read)
• Learn from an international team whose experience spans law and criminal justice, policing, probation and more – including a former private detective doing important research into missing persons and an expert in European responses to domestic violence
• Join lively debates in one of the country’s largest criminology departments and contribute your own ideas on how we should respond to crime as a society
• Build a professional network by meeting practitioners from criminal justice agencies, businesses and charities

• Customise your degree to match your ambitions: some modules reduce the amount to time you’d need to train for a policing career or as a probation officer

Careers and opportunities

Crime is a fact of life, which means there will always be career opportunities around preventing it and dealing with the fallout. As our graduates’ career paths show, you’ll complete this course with a range of different professional routes open to you in the public, private and charitable sectors.

There is good demand for jobs in the criminal justice and penal sector. For example, Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has developed a Probation Workforce Strategy to recruit skilled people to probation officer roles and invest in ongoing professional development.

You'll graduate with the skills and knowledge you need to work in the police, probation and prison services in areas such as:

• community safety
• crime prevention
• fraud investigation
• youth offending teams

You'll also have relevant skills or knowledge to progress into other areas such as:

• counter fraud roles in banking, the NHS or the DWP
• economic crime investigation
• policy analysis and formulation for councils or the Government
• community rehabilitation
• postgraduate study and research