Birmingham City University : Criminology - PgCert / PgDip / MA

• Faculty of Education, Law & Social Sciences

• School
• School of Social Sciences

• Campus
• City North

• Duration
• Full Time: 1 year
  Part Time: 2 years

• Fees
• 2012/13 Full Time: £4,800
  2012/13 Part Time: To be announced.
  2012/13 (International): £10,300 per year

Overview

This course is intended for both recent graduates and practitioners who wish to develop their understanding of the debates surrounding crime and the criminal justice system.

As such, the course offers an exciting opportunity to study both theoretical criminology and the more applied aspects of criminal justice with an experienced teaching team.

The flexible course structure offers substantial opportunities either to concentrate on the more theoretical aspects of criminology or centre your studies on applied or practice-based matters of delivering criminal justice.

There is a choice between full and part-time modes study with the course being delivered on one day and evening a week.
Full-time students can apply for a bursary offered by the Howard League for Penal Reform to cover the full-time fees of this course. Please note: the one successful applicant will be responsible for all other costs including travel. The recipient of this bursary will spend time with staff in the offices of the Howard League for Penal Reform in London. For further details about the bursary and its requirements please visit the Howard League for Penal Reform.  

The course team, itself, has substantial links with the regional criminal justice system and its individual agencies and can sometimes assist in finding research and volunteering opportunities. One of the significant strengths of the programme is that, in most years, many of the students are already working within the criminal justice system. The presence of experienced practitioners contributes significantly to the informed and practice based nature of discussion within sessions.

Course Structure

The course is designed to enable you to:

• Explore key debates from both criminological theory and criminal justice practice.
• Critically assess the contributions of research to understanding crime and criminal justice.
• Reflect upon your experience of crime and the criminal justice system, perhaps, as an existing practitioner or through volunteering.
• Understand the principles and practice of research.
• Form judgements on the relative merits of, and relationships between, different research tools.
• Develop the capability to design, manage and disseminate a research project to a professional standard.
• Develop key skills in computing, researching and communication.

The level of study commitment you need to make to the course is:

• Full-time - 1 full day and some evening attendance (all on a Thursday).
• Part-time - 1 full day of attendance in the first year and a limited amount of evening attendance in the second year.
• You will also be expected to conduct significant private study, reading and preparation in your own time.

Modules

The Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma stages are taught principally in weekly seminars, tutorials and workshops, which encourage and demand attendance and substantial student participation. The University's virtual learning environments (Moodle and Mahara) are also used to deliver some content and facilitate communication remotely.  The Masters stage is delivered and assessed through an extended project supervised through workgroup attendance and through one-to-one tutorial.

The course has three formal stages:

• The Certificate and Diploma stages consists of six taught modules, a proposal module that is delivered through workgroups and, usually, a practice based module involving reflection upon work or volunteering experience. (There is an alternative tutorial based module for applicants who either cannot or do not wish to engage in work or volunteering experience.)
• Those proceeding to the Masters stage will be required to complete an extended project of approximately 15,000 words.
• It is possible to complete your studies at any of the Certificate, Diploma or Masters stages, for example, you can enrol for a Postgraduate Certificate in Criminology, choosing four modules from the eight modules which together constitute the certificate and diploma stages.

Full-time students will complete all stages in one year from September to September. Part-time students would normally complete the diploma and masters stages in two years. The modules and timing of modules, as they were delivered in 2011/12, is shown in the table below:

Part time students will take the Research Proposal, Reflective Practice (or Criminological Issues) and the Extended Project in their second year of study.

Some modules may be taken as stand-alone short courses and if you start accumulating individual modules, you may apply for accreditation towards the award of the Certificate, Diploma or Masters.

Assessments

Assessment will be largely through coursework in various forms including essays, mini research projects, student presentations and group work. There is one examination. The Master’s degree is delivered through workgroup and individual supervision and assessed via an extended project.

Placements

The programme does not offer a formal placement. However, the programme incorporates a Reflective Practice module, which will be based upon work or volunteering experience. The course team can assist students in finding volunteering experience and has substantial experience of doing so at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The proposal and extend project module permits students to undertake research and writing relating to their current work or voluntary experience.

The School of Social Sciences has relationships with a number of criminal justice agencies and non-government organisations, including the local Community Safety Partnership, HMP Grendon and the Howard League.  Previous students have visited the high security HMP Grendon.

Further Studies

Qualified candidates may apply to enrol on research degree programmes leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Details can be found on the postgraduate section of the website.

Several graduates of the course have now advanced to doctoral study either at this University or elsewhere.

Employment Opportunities

It is expected that those enrolling on this course will either want to progress further in the study of criminal justice, or wish to enter the profession. The Master’s teaching team, combined with the expertise of The Centre for Applied Criminology give you excellent access to experienced practitioners and CJS organisations with some of the teaching sessions being led by existing practitioners. In 2011/12, we have had contributions from: investigative journalist, Donal Macintyre; a member of the West Midlands Police specialising in restorative justice; a member of the Birmingham Community Safety Team dealing with Prolific Offenders; a housing specialist dealing with situational crime prevention initiatives and, the Director of Therapeutic Communities at HMP Grendon.

Of especial note, there is the Reflective Practice module centred on Work or Volunteering experience.

The access provided to professionals, the presence of practitioners among fellow students, and the capacity to reflect upon relevant volunteering or work experience within the structure of the course, means that the course provides excellent opportunities for building contacts and networking and, for developing opportunities for employment.

Former students on the course have included prison governors and senior prison officers; police personnel, including officers and civilian analysts; probation personnel; magistrates; media commentators and a television producer; and employees of charities and bodies including NACRO, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) and the New Bridge.

Entry Requirements

You would usually be expected to have a good undergraduate degree but admission will also be made on the basis of experience of a suitable quality and length.

Application Details

Apply online or contact us for an application form.

International enquirers may contact the International Office for further help and advice.

Enquiries

Prospective students from the UK or EU may enquire online by using the Course Enquiry Form or call +44 (0)121 331 5595.

Prospective students from non-EU countries may enquire via the International Enquiry Form or call +44 (0)121 331 6714.

Fees Notes

For more information on fees please contact us using the enquiry details above.