Business and Management and Criminology (Professional Placement Year)

Learn how global forces shape society and relate to the causes and consequences of crime in this combined business management and criminology degree.

• Combine creative problem-solving with scientific analysis to investigate contemporary issues.

• Create a degree tailored to your own interests with a range of optional modules covering topics such as crime fiction and cyber security.

• Learn from industry experts and gain real-world experience – for example in regional businesses, charities and prisons.

Become an innovative and perceptive professional with this Business and Management and Criminology degree. Harnessing your natural curiosity about the world around you, you’ll explore how businesses respond to changes in society. You’ll also analyse how these changes can relate to criminal behaviour.

You’ll learn about the different aspects of business, such as managing people, making data-driven decisions, and planning finances. You'll also delve into the causes, motivations and patterns of criminal conduct. Across both your Business and Criminology modules, you’ll hone your research and analytical skills to identify issues and patterns of behaviour, and be encouraged to think creatively to find innovative ways to solve problems.

Our aim is that when you graduate, you’ll understand the current issues in business and crime. To keep your knowledge current, we’ll encourage you to work on real-life business projects and provide opportunities to meet criminology experts.

Why study criminology and business?
Studying Business and Management and Criminology will give you a new perspective on the issues and challenges – such as gender imbalance and sustainability – facing society in the 21st-century.

You’ll develop valuable, transferable skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking and the ability to apply theory to real-world situations, which will open the doors to a wide variety of careers, from counter-terrorism to consultancy.

Combined Honour Awards
At Bath Spa University many of our undergraduate programmes can be combined, so you don’t have to limit yourself to one subject. If you choose to study a combined award then in Year One you’ll start by studying both subjects in equal depth, then from Year Two you can choose whether to continue with an equally joint course, or a Major/Minor route.

More about the Professional Placement Year
A Professional Placement Year (PPY), traditionally known as a sandwich year, is where you undertake a period of work with an external organisation for between 9-13 months. The placement occurs between your second and final years of undergraduate study. You can engage in up to three placements to make up the total time and are required to source the placement(s) yourself, with support from the Careers team.

In your first year you'll gain a broad understanding of today’s business environments – trends in commercial thinking, audience and consumer research, the importance of data in business, and issues such as gender, diversity and identity.

Discover the key concepts, theories and issues of criminology, criminal law and criminal justice agencies and institutions.

You’ll learn to look at the world through a different lens – one which lays the foundation for you to innovate in your second and final years.

In your second year, you’ll focus on the inner workings of businesses, and use business techniques to solve problems.
You’ll study contemporary debates in criminology and criminal justice, including a specific focus on policing.

You’ll have the opportunity to choose modules based on your particular areas of interest, and start developing the skills that employers look for, such as strong presentational skills, effective group working, self-reflection and strategies for improvement.

At the end of the year, you can choose to embark on a ten-week summer placement, and/or a ten-month business placement – applying what you’ve learned so far in the real world.
Your third year will be your professional placement year.

In your final year you’ll have further opportunities to tailor your studies, with more in-depth research and project-work in the areas that interest you.
You’ll also get the chance to undertake a voluntary placement in an organisation relevant to the criminal justice sector.

During this year, you’ll focus more and more on practical ways to apply your skills, and you’ll be able to confidently demonstrate the abilities you’ve gained during all three years of the course.

We use a mix of traditional and contemporary assessments, including essays, book reviews, exams, portfolios, creative work, projects, group work, computer-based simulations, podcasts and videos.