Law with Criminology BA (Hons)

Course Content

• Course Details

  With detailed insight into law and criminology, students are able to understand how the law relates and responds to crime and criminal acts in society and conversely how criminal acts and changes in the behaviour, organisation and types of crime have an impact on how the law is enforced and new ones developed.

  The University of Northampton’s Law with Criminology degree programme has been developed over many years to provide a contextualised study of both subjects. Students benefit from a varied and imaginative modular scheme, which is designed to offer students a wide range of options in addition to the foundation subjects identified by legal professional bodies. In addition, as the ‘problem’ of crime has increasingly become a matter of public and political concern, so the prevention of crime has been prioritised as a matter of social policy. The combination of Law and Criminology into one programme addresses each of these issues and many others in a systematic and methodical manner.

  Industry Placements

  If you meet the entry criteria for the Law with Criminology degree, and choose to take a placement year, you will find it an invaluable experience that helps you to apply your learning in your final year and prepares you for your career in finance. We offer support in helping you to find a placement, which can be in the UK or overseas.

  The Faculty of Business and Law have a dedicated Placements team who will support you through the process of taking a placement year. You can follow the Faculty of Business and Law Placements Team to hear more about their services.

  Year 1

  In the first year you will study six compulsory modules. Four of the modules are Law-based (Learning the Law, Current Legal Issues and Jurisprudence, Criminal Law and Ethics, Discrimination and Human Rights), and two are drawn from Criminology (The Science of Crime and Criminal and Crime and Society). This mix of modules will allow you to start exploring both subject areas, and identify areas where they contrast with and complement each other.

  • LAW1020 Learning the Law (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • LAW1023 Criminal Law (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • LAW1024 Ethics, Discrimination, and Human Rights (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • LAW1025 Current Legal Issues and Jurisprudence (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • CRI1002 Crime and Society (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • CRI1007 The Science of Crime and Criminals (20 Credits) (Compulsory)

  Year 2

  In your second year of the Criminology with Law course, you will start to have an element of choice in the modules you study. Three of the modules are compulsory – two from Law (Organised Transnational Crime and Criminal Litigation) and one from Criminology (Crime and Justice). In addition, you will need to pick three modules from the five optional modules. Three of these are modules from Law (Child and Family Law, Human Rights the State and Accountability and Green Crime) one is from Criminology (International Policing) and one is from History (Crime, Punishment and Policing in England).

  We have chosen this spread of modules to give you the opportunity to follow your own path as much as it possible, and to focus more on areas where you have an interest.

  • LAW2033 Criminal Litigation (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • LAW2036 Organised Transnational Crime (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • CRI2001 Crime and Justice (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • LAW2034 Child and Family Law (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • LAW2042 Green Crime (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • LAW2043 Human Rights, the State and Accountability (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • CRI2011 International Policing (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • HIS2010 Crime, Policing and Punishment in England 1700 – 1900 (20 Credits) (Designated)

  Year 3

  Your final year is your opportunity to really tailor your studies to your own particular focus. There are two compulsory modules, one of which is from Criminology (Crime and Punishment) and one is from Law (the Practice Improvement Plan). You must then choose three modules from the remaining seven. As with the second year, these are split between Law (Sentencing and Penal Policy, Global Counterterrorism, Mental Health Law), Criminology (Critiquing Criminalistics and Global International Perspectives) and History (Jack the Ripper’s East End), and we have added a module from Criminal Justice (Cyber Crime).

  The Practice Improvement Plan is what we think is the pinnacle of the degree. In it, you will decide on an area of legal or criminological practice which needs improvement, and design an intervention which will do just that – improve practice.

  • LAW4008 Practice Improvement Plan (40 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • CRI3001 Crime and Punishment (20 Credits) (Compulsory)
  • CJS3012 Cyber Crime (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • CRI3007 Critiquing Criminalistics (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • CRI3011 Global International Perspectives (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • HIS3038 Jack the Ripper’s East End: Crime and Popular Culture in Late-Victorian London (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • LAW3037 Sentencing and Penal Policy (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • LAW3042 Global Counterterrorism (20 Credits) (Designated)
  • LAW3043 Mental Health Law (20 Credits) (Designated)

   

  Please note the modules shown here relate to the academic year 25/26. The modules relating to the academic year 26/27 will be available from June 2026.

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• Student Perks

  At the University of Northampton, everything we do, from funded trips to paid internships, is to give you everything you need to make a difference when you leave.

  If you join our full-time BA Law with Criminology degree at the University of Northampton, you will receive a laptop when your course begins*. The laptops are built to a bespoke custom specification ideal for use in the seminar room, collaborative group work or studying at home.

  Whatever your ambitions, we’re here to help you to achieve them. We’ll support you to identify the skills you’re learning during your course, find your strengths and secure practical experience so that when it comes to applying for jobs or further study you’ll feel confident in standing out from the crowd. We’ve created the Northampton Employment Promise because we are so confident that if you focus on your studies and complete one of our awards you’ll be highly employable by the time you graduate. Putting you in a great position to secure employment or continue your studies.

  To check out the full list of perks, visit our Student Perks page or dedicated International Perks page.

  *UK fee payers only (see Terms and Conditions for further details).

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• Integrated Foundation Year (IFY)

  The Integrated Foundation Year (IFY) offers a new and exciting route into studying for a Law with Criminology degree, attracting ambitious and driven students who are willing to learn and advance.

  If you have non-standard qualifications or do not quite meet the admissions requirements for Law with Criminology we can offer you a fantastic opportunity to study a four year Law with Criminology programme which includes a Integrated Foundation Year. The Integrated Foundation Year will help you develop the theoretical/practical and academic skills you need, in order to successfully progress to the full award.

  Our four-year courses will enable you to successfully follow the degree pathway of your choice while gaining essential study skills. The foundation year of your chosen degree will be studied on a full-time basis and is aimed at supporting the transition to higher education. Years two, three and four are then studied as a standard degree programme.

  Please see our Integrated Foundation Year page for more details.

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• Optional Work Placement Year

  The optional placement year enables you to put into practice what you have learned on your degree and gain practical industry experience. Your Law with Criminology degree is extended to four years and the placement is undertaken at the end of your penultimate year, this is for one year (48 weeks) and paid. If you meet the entry criteria, and choose to take up a placement year, you will find it an invaluable experience that helps you to apply your learning in your final year and prepares you for your career. We offer a lot of support in helping you to find a placement, which can be in the UK or overseas.

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• FAQs

  How will I learn on the Law with Criminology degree?

  Our Law with Criminology degree is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials and research workshops, student-chaired debates and problem-solving exercises as well as directed private study. Students are also expected to work independently and to actively participate in seminar discussion through individual presentations and small group activities.

  How will I be assessed?

  We use a mix of formative (practice) and summative (graded) assignments across the module, and these have been designed to enable you develop key academic and employability skills which will be of use to you in your chosen career. The key element across all the assessment is the importance of balancing assessments between those which allow you to demonstrate their understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the subject, and those in which you will apply your knowledge. The assessments also reflect as far as is possible the types of work to which students will be exposed in employment, and the team is committed to using authentic assessments.

  We will use a range of written work, presentations, time-constrained work and examinations, reflective work and the longer Practice Improvement Plan element.

  Who are the Student Support Team?

  The Student Experience Support Team are a team of previous graduates of the University of Northampton, they are here to support all Faculty of Business and Law students by offering a friendly listening ear and ensuring students are aware of the numerous support systems that the University has to offer. The team provide confidential 1-1 meetings in person and online where they will signpost the students to the relevant support teams to ensure they are aware of the support available for them throughout their studies. You can follow the Student Experience Support Team to see the services they offer.

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