Crime and Criminal Investigation with Placement

Crime and criminal investigation as a subject of study combines the analytical methods of criminology with an understanding of the investigative processes through which crimes are detected, evidence is gathered, and prosecutions are built. It is a discipline that sits at the intersection of social science and applied policing practice, raising questions about how criminal investigations work, what can go wrong, and how justice is served or failed in the process.

At the University of Gloucestershire, this four-year full-time programme includes a placement year that gives you the opportunity to gain professional experience in relevant settings. The university has a distinctive partnership with Gloucestershire Constabulary, and it supports students who wish to apply to become a Special Constable alongside their studies, offering support through the recruitment process and flexibility to meet the constabulary's training requirements. This direct engagement with policing practice gives the programme a genuine applied dimension.

You will study the theoretical foundations of criminology, including theories of crime, deviance, and social control, alongside the practical and legal dimensions of criminal investigation, evidence law, forensic processes, and the investigative cycle. Research methods training equips you to evaluate evidence critically and to understand how claims about crime and criminal investigation are generated and tested.

The typical entry tariff is 104 UCAS points, and the degree is studied full time over four years. Graduates go on to careers in policing, criminal investigation, probation, the court service, intelligence analysis, security, and criminal justice research. Many also progress to postgraduate study in criminology, forensic psychology, law, or intelligence and security studies.