Criminology with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

You learn through

• lectures
• seminars
• workshops
• team meetings
• moots
• peer learning
• placement activity
• visits
• guest lectures
• In the foundation year, you build your subject specific and general business knowledge alongside developing academic skills to prepare you for starting your subject specific undergraduate degree.

You will be provided with an overview of the key concepts, ideas, approaches, research and general knowledge to the topic areas and will have the opportunity to question, debate and discuss these within your seminar groups. You will receive feedback regularly from your tutors, peers and through guided self-reflection to help you develop the skills and knowledge needed to undertake the various module assessments.

Applied learning

Work placements

We have excellent links with the local, regional and national legal profession. Local firms provide assessed one-day-a-week placements for many of our students. Local professionals also provide work experience opportunities, give guest lectures, advise on casework and provide career guidance where appropriate.

Live projects

You are given multiple chances to undertake real law and criminology client work. These include opportunities to advise, assist and represent real life clients in a range of different practice areas, providing transformational experiences which enable you to develop transferable skills and enhance your graduate attributes. You are encouraged to engage in professional voluntary work, human rights, civil liberties and social justice.

Competitions

In our Legal Professional Practice areas, you can represent fictitious clients in an appeal before the Court of Appeal and/or the Supreme Court, in our on-campus moot court. Our Mooting and Debating Society members take part in internal and national competitions and we have enjoyed considerable success. We have previously won the prestigious national BPP/Oxford University Press Mooting Competition and in 2017 we were again finalists.

International opportunities

Opportunities exist for study and work experience abroad, including opportunities to spend time in the summer working at law firms across the USA on predominantly criminal law cases. Typical placements involve working in a public defender's office.