Professional Policing with Foundation Year

Do you want a career in the police force? Are you interested in contemporary policing and law enforcement?

Our Professional Policing degree offers an exciting opportunity to develop the knowledge and understanding of the role that professional police officers undertake in the UK.

Since 2020, all new entrants to UK police forces are expected to hold or gain a degree-level qualification. This pre-join Professional Policing degree is a professional academic knowledge-based degree, based on the national curriculum for the police constable role, licensed by the College of Policing.

This four-year course includes an initial full-time Foundation Year and offers an alternative route into university and gaining a degree.

This route is for you if you do not have the necessary qualifications or don’t yet feel ready to begin degree-level study, or are returning to education and would like some support to get up to speed with learning in a university setting.

The Foundation Year in Criminology, Policing and Sociology will allow you to develop your academic skills and confidence as well as introduce you to key concepts, debates and skills that will support and inform your subsequent years of undergraduate study.

Following successful completion of your Foundation Year, you’ll progress onto Year 1 of our Professional Policing BA (Hons) degree.

Core modules (students are required to take):

Academic Skills and Studying with Confidence
We'll help you develop core academic skills such as using electronic resources, planning and note-taking, communication skills related to essay and report writing and delivering presentations. You'll learn how to manage your time, how to prioritise and how to manage stress, and you’ll become more confident in engaging with collaborative learning, debates, discussions and critical reflection.

Professional Development and Project
You’ll study an area of interest related to your chosen degree. You’ll work individually on your project, whether that's a written report, a presentation and oral examination, a film or a series of blog posts. You’ll undertake problem-solving learning, and formative feedback and support will be provided throughout, helping develop your self-confidence.

Foundations in Sociology and Policing
This module focuses on social inequalities in society and how they can be explained, as well as current trends and issues in modern day policing. You'll explore concepts such as socialisation, crime, victimisation, punishment and non-crime related social trends and consider attempts made to address inequality and criminality in society. We'll encourage you to apply sociological and criminological theories to social and policing problems, and you'll work in groups to understand concepts and academic theories, as well as taking part in debates, discussions and critical reflection.

Foundations in Criminology
You'll study crime and criminology, including patterns of crime, key issues in criminology and key criminological theories and concepts, such as social control, deviance, victimisation, the media and punishment. You will examine crime statistics, self-report studies and social trends and review policies intended to address important social problems, . Throughout this module, you will develop your understanding of criminology and problem-solving skills and use a range of online resources to enhance and support your learning.

For module information on the related three-year honours degree, please visit our website.