Criminology & Sociology
Criminology focuses on the causes and consequences of crime, as well as how the criminal justice system responds to crime. The subject includes a wide range of social and psychological theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour and the effective operation of the criminal justice system.
| Award Name | Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 |
|---|---|
| NFQ Classification | |
| Awarding Body | Queens University Belfast |
| NFQ Level |
| Award Name | NFQ Classification | Awarding Body | NFQ Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Degree - Honours Bachelor at UK Level 6 | Queens University Belfast |
Duration
3 years (Full Time)
Contact Teaching Times
Personal Study
24 (hours maximum)
22–24 hours studying and revising in your own time each week, including some guided study, using handouts, online activities, etc.
Medium Group Teaching
3 (hours maximum)
Hours of practical classes, tutorials or seminars per week during term time.
Small Group Teaching/Personal Tutorial
10 (hours maximum)
Small group and one-to-one meetings with your personal tutor during the year, as well as meetings with staff to discuss assignments
Large Group Teaching
6 (hours maximum)
Hours of lectures per week during term time.
Entry Requirements
Irish leaving certificate requirements
H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3
Careers / Further progression
Career Prospects
Employment after the Course
Typical career destinations of graduates include:
• Victim Support Worker
• Crime Analyst
• Working with people in conflict with the law (e.g. offender management, rehabilitation, etc.)
• Researcher
• Civil Servant (e.g. Police Officer, Prison Officer, etc.)
• Policy Analyst (e.g. working to shape criminal justice policy and practice)
• Charity Worker (e.g. working with the families of victims and/or offenders)
• Youth and Community Worker
Employment Links
Graduate employers include:
• NIACRO
• Extern
• Victim Support
• Political Parties
• Commission for Victims and Survivors NI
• Police Service of Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland Prison Service
• Community and voluntary sector groups
• Northern Ireland Civil Service
• Northern Ireland Housing Executive
• National Health Service
• Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
• PWC
• Ulster Bank
• Santander
• Belfast City Council
• Ipsos Mori
Further information
Start date: September 2024
Deadlines for on-time applications
2024 entry application deadlines
For courses starting in 2024 (and for deferred applications), your application should be with us at UCAS by one of these dates – depending on what courses you apply for. If your completed application – including all your personal details and your academic reference – is submitted by the deadline, it is guaranteed to be considered.
16 October 2023 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – any course at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, or for most courses in medicine, veterinary medicine/science, and dentistry. You can add choices with a different deadline later, but don’t forget you can only have five choices in total.
31 January 2024 for 2024 entry at 18:00 (UK time) – for the majority of courses.
Some course providers require additional admissions tests to be taken alongside the UCAS application, and these may have a deadline. Find out more about these tests at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/applying-university/admissions-tests
Check course information in the search tool to see which deadline applies to you at the application weblink below.
Apply as soon as possible: Student funding arrangements mean that as offers are made and places fill up, some courses may only have vacancies for students from certain locations. It’s therefore really important that you apply for your chosen courses by the appropriate deadlines mentioned above, as not all courses will have places for all students.
All applications received after 30 June are entered into Clearing - find out more about Clearing at https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/clearing-and-results-day/what-clearing
Criminology focuses on the causes and consequences of crime, as well as how the criminal justice system responds to crime. Criminologists are interested in how activities come to be defined as criminal, and why definitions of crime vary across countries and over time. The subject includes a wide range of social and psychological theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour and the effective operation of the criminal justice system.
Sociology is a scientific discipline concerned with the explanation of social life and human behaviour of all kinds. It equips students with the skills to understand the breadth of social practice, ranging from the global (including power and politics, conflict and peace processes, security, the digital world, climate change, racism and social justice) to individual experiences (such as the body, intimacy, emotions, identity, beliefs and mental health).
Introduction
Courses often draw on international comparisons with a strong Ireland (North and South) emphasis. All of the optional modules are taught by experts in the area, who have published textbooks, research papers and monographs on the topic at hand.
The Option to Graduate with Quantitative Methods
Students who wish to benefit from specialist training in advanced quantitative research skills can undertake a series of dedicated social science research modules over the course of their degree studies. Students who successfully complete four advanced quantitative research skills modules (80 CATS credits)in level 2 and level 3 of their degree will be eligible to graduate with a BSc in Criminology or Sociology with Quantitative Methods.
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2023/24). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
Year 1
Core Modules
• Crime and Society (20 credits)
• Digital Society (20 credits)
• Rethinking Society (20 credits)
• Introducing Criminology (20 credits)
• The Sociological Imagination (20 credits)
Optional Modules
• Visualising the Social World (20 credits)
• Introducing Social Policy (20 credits)
Year 2
Core Modules
• Policing and Society (20 credits)
• Qualitative Research Skills (20 credits)
• Quantitative Research Skills (20 credits)
Optional Modules
• Crime and the Media (20 credits)
• Exploring Harm & Victimisation (20 credits)
• Criminological Theory (20 credits)
• Theory Counts (20 credits)
• Justice and Conflict (20 credits)
• Social Inequalities and Diversity (20 credits)
• The Power of Social Theory (20 credits)
• Sociology of Conflict and Peace Processes (20 credits)
Year 3
Core Modules
• Punishment, Penal Policy and Prison (20 credits)
Optional Modules
• Modern Families: Intimate and Personal Relationships (20 credits)
• Youth, Crime and Criminal Justice (20 credits)
• Norms and Social Change (20 credits)
• Issues in Contemporary Irish Society (20 credits)
• Emotion, Power, and Politics: The Political Sociology of Emotions, Trump, Brexit, and Populism (20 credits)
• Religion: Death or Revival? (20 credits)
• Modelling the Social World (0 credits)
• The cultural politics of memory in a global perspective (20 credits)
• Criminology Across Borders (20 credits)
• Social Identity: Differences and Inequalities (20 credits)
• Psychological Perspectives on Crime (20 credits)
• The sociology of protest and revolution (20 credits)
Details of the assessments associated with this course are outlined below:
The way in which students are assessed will vary according to the learning objectives of each module. Some modules are assessed solely through project work or written assignments. Others are assessed through a combination of coursework and end of semester examinations. Details of how each module is assessed are shown in the module handbooks which are provided to all students once enrolment is complete. Following each element of assessed coursework, students are provided with detailed feedback on the quality of their written work and how they can improve future assignments.
Admissions
Tel: 028 9097 3838
Fax: 028 9097 5151
Email address: admissions@qub.ac.uk