Criminology and Psychology

Please check the Sheffield Hallam University website for the latest information.

This course is moving into one of our new buildings at City campus. Teaching will mainly be delivered at our Collegiate campus until December 2024 while we get our new facilities ready. From January 2025 you will study in brand new facilities at City campus.

Course summary

• Experience award-winning teaching recognised by the British Society of Criminology.

• Work with our Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice to address ethical and social justice issues.

• Gain expertise in topics like policing, prisons and forensic psychology.

• Improve your employability through work placements and international study opportunities.

Gain a criminological and psychological perspective on the causes and consequences of crime, the criminal justice system, and ways of treating and managing offenders. By studying both criminology and psychology, you’ll gain a broad, multi-disciplinary understanding of criminological and psychological theory, and how to apply this knowledge to real-life experiences, human behaviour and workplaces.

How you learn

All our courses are designed around a set of key principles based on engaging you with the world, collaborating with others, challenging you to think in new ways, and providing you with a supportive environment in which you can thrive.

Our staff are actively engaged in criminological and psychological research. Researchers work in fields as diverse as health and wellbeing, language and education, social policy, political theory, social inequalities, the criminal justice system, and many more areas across the scope of psychology, sociology and politics. As a result, we offer up-to-date teaching and course content of the highest standard, covering topics with real-world implications.

Our academics bring a wealth of knowledge and skills from professional practice across the criminal justice and psychological sectors, including the police, prison service, probation, youth organisations, mental health settings and charity sectors.

Key Themes

You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the key theories, debates and perspectives relevant to the study of criminology and psychology. These involve a modern understanding of criminal justice and mental health systems and the current challenges they face – such as policing, probation prison practice, gendered violence, power and harm, trauma, and forensic psychology.

The course approach will involve learning through teaching, working, doing, independent study and learning online. This blend of in-person and online activities creates a collaborative learning environment, allowing you to form communities with your peers and enhancing your overall educational experience.

Our teaching approach is designed to provide a 'real-world' curriculum, emphasising key transferable skills that enhance your prospects for future graduate employment or further study opportunities.

Applied learning

We prepare you to engage in real-life challenges by offering opportunities to apply the knowledge you’ve learned to real-world experiences.

Work Placement

You’ll have the opportunity to arrange a year-long work placement in between your second and third year. This gives you valuable work experience to prepare you for your future career – and allows you to graduate with an Applied Professional Diploma to add to your CV.

To maximise your career prospects, you’ll engage in various curriculum-integrated employability activities. These include student placement modules and interactions with criminal justice and third sector agencies. These experiences encompass project work with external agencies, simulation modules, and voluntary work facilitated through our employability fair.

Previous students have completed placements for companies and organisations such as the Community Rehabilitation Company, Victim Support and Doncaster Prison.

Module and assessment information for future years is displayed as currently validated and may be liable to change. When selecting electives, your choices will be subject to the core requirements of the course. As a result, selections may be limited to a choice between one of two or more specified electives in some instances.

You will be able to complete a placement year as part of this course. See the modules table below for further information.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

Experiences Of Justice
Understanding Crime, Society And Behaviour

Year 2

Compulsory modules

Understanding And Researching Serious Harm

Elective modules

Professional Practice On Placement
Real World Practice

Year 3

Optional modules

Placement Year

Final year

Elective modules

21St Century Security Threats: Crime, Crisis Or Tragedy
Applied Cyberpsychology
Comparative Criminal Justice
Controversies Of Policing
Crime, Harm And Social Justice
Forensic Psychology
Gender, Power And The State
Pathways To Change
Psychology Across The Life Course
Punishment And Practice In Context
Real World Project
Real World Research
Sex, Gender And Violence
The Psychology Of Trauma

Coursework