Criminology & Social Policy
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)
Entry Requirements
Irish leaving certificate requirements
H3H3H3H3H3H3/H2H3H3H3H3
Careers / Further progression
Career Prospects
Employment after the Course
Typical career destinations of graduates include:
• Researcher
• Civil Servant
• Policy Analyst
• Charity Fundraiser
• Market Researcher
• Youth and Community Worker
Social policy students have gone on to work for Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, the civil service, charities such as the Peter McVerry Trust and Age NI. Many go on to further study in social policy at masters and PhD level.
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.
Social Policy students learn how to tackle major policy problems. They do this by applying core concepts from social science to intractable social problems such as gender inequality, eldercare, children's rights and climate change. There is strong crossover between criminology and social policy as many of the people who end up within the criminal justice system have experienced poverty, inequality or discrimination. As an applied and critical social science, you will gain knowledge and understanding of contemporary government policies, their impacts, and consider how we can achieve improvements.
Introduction
Modules often draw on international comparisons with a strong Irish (North and South) emphasis.
All of the optional modules are taught by experts in the area, who have published textbooks and research articles on the topic at hand.
The Optional to Graduate with Quantitative Methods
Students who wish to benefit from specialist training in quantitative research can undertake a series of dedicated social science research modules over the course of their degree studies. Successful completion of 80 CATS credits of advanced quantitative research training (four modules) in level 2 and level 3 will receive the enhancement of BSc “with Quantitative Methods” added to the name of the degree awarded.
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)
• Introducing Social Policy (20 credits)
• Themes and Issues in Social Policy (20 credits)
• Introducing Criminology (20 credits)
Optional Modules
• Digital Society (20 credits)
• The Sociological Imagination (20 credits)
• Rethinking Society (20 credits)
• Visualising the Social World (20 credits)
Year 2
Core Modules
• Qualitative Research Skills (20 credits)
• Quantitative Research Skills (20 credits)
• Criminological Theory (20 credits)
• Welfare in Theory and Practice (20 credits)
Optional Modules
• Policing and Society (20 credits)
• Questions for an Ageing World (20 credits)
• Theory Counts (20 credits)
Year 3
Core Modules
• Punishment, Penal Policy and Prison (20 credits)
• Youth, Crime and Criminal Justice (20 credits)
• Disability and Society (20 credits)
• Policy Briefing Paper (20 credits)
Optional Modules
• Psychological Perspectives on Crime (20 credits)
• Social Identity: Differences and Inequalities (20 credits)
• Criminology Across Borders (20 credits)
• The sociology of protest and revolution (20 credits)
• Gender, Family and Social Policy: Comparative Perspective (20 credits)
• The cultural politics of memory in a global perspective (20 credits)
• Modelling the Social World (0 credits)
Admissions
Tel: 028 9097 3838
Fax: 028 9097 5151
Email address: admissions@qub.ac.uk