BA Criminology
About this course
BA (Hons) Criminology is an undergraduate social science degree that explores crime, criminal justice systems, and the societal responses to illegal activity. Core topics include Data Analysis, Research Methods, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Social & Cultural Analysis, and Global & Comparative Perspective. Students can opt to undertake an optional 30-week work placement year as part of their studies. During the first year, students cover foundational concepts through compulsory modules such as Introduction to Criminological Theory, Social Research Skills, Crime & Control in the Digital Age, Media, Power & Social Order, Crime & the Criminal Justice System, and Social Inequality & Exclusion. The second year introduces specific methods and topics with compulsory units like Qualitative Research Skills, Quantitative Skills, Victims of Crime, and Policing & Society, alongside a wide array of optional units covering areas such as migration, youth justice, and ethnographic research. In the final year, students complete a compulsory Dissertation, alongside mandatory studies in organizational crime, illicit drugs, and penal systems, with further optional modules available in fields like terrorism, gender, and decolonial perspectives.
Written by AI from the university's course page and module list. It can get details wrong, so check the official course page before you rely on it.
Entry requirements
For 2027 entry: 112–128 UCAS tariff points (A-level grades BBC–ABB) including a minimum of 2 A-levels or equivalent qualifications. We also accept a wide range of vocational qualifications including BTEC Extended Diploma (grade DMM–DDM) and T Levels (Merit). You’ll find many more listed in the table below.
Admissions (2022 entry, home applicants)
Offer rate 94%: 473 offers from 502 applications, from the university's Freedom of Information return.
What students say
Based on about 32 final-year students who answered
- Teaching on my course: 79%
- Learning opportunities: 79%
- Assessment and feedback: 78%
- Academic support: 79%
- Organisation and management: 79%
- Learning resources: 89%
- Student voice: 61%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 65 students who started
- Continued on course: 83%
- Left higher education: 17%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 50 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- West Midlands: 5%
- East of England: 15%
- London: 25%
- South East: 30%
- South West: 15%
- Wales: 5%
Who gets in
Based on about 35 students who started
- A levels: 95%
- Access course: 5%
- Other HE qualification: 5%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Silver overall, Bronze for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Introduction to Criminological Theory
- Social Research Skills
- Crime & Control in the Digital Age
- Media, Power & Social Order
- Crime & the Criminal Justice System
- Social Inequality & Exclusion
- Qualitative Research Skills
- Quantitative Skills
- Victims of Crime
- Policing & Society
- Borders, Migration & Trafficking
- Globalisation, Justice & Global Instabilities
- Youth, Crime, Gangs & Youth Justice
- Growing Up & Growing Old
- Public Health & Crime
- Doing Ethnographic Research in the Social Sciences
- Contemporary Social Theory
- Culture and Conflict
- Criminological Psychology
- 20-day Placement
- The Sociology of AI
- Dissertation
- Criminology of Organisations
- Drugs, Crime and Society
- Prisons & Punishment
- Crime and Criminal Justice in the 21st Century
- International Interventions and Humanitarianism
- Seekers, Believers and Iconoclasts
- Terrorism, Protection and Society
- Intersectional Criminology
- Politics & Ideology
- ‘Troubling’ Gender
- Capitalism’s crimes, contracts, and crises. Decolonial perspectives in the social sciences
- Sport & Leisure Cultures
- Health, Wellbeing & Society
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Criminology at Bournemouth University earn?
The median salary is £23,500 after 3 years, £30,500 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £23,500 and £39,000. The £30,500 median after five years is £4,000 more than the UK median for Sociology.
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Criminology at Bournemouth University?
79% of final-year students were positive about the teaching in the National Student Survey 2025-26.
What grades do I need for BA Criminology at Bournemouth University?
The typical offer is BBC at A level. The average entrant had 103 UCAS points.
What is the offer rate for BA Criminology at Bournemouth University?
94% of home applicants received an offer for 2022 entry: 473 offers from 502 applications, according to the university's Freedom of Information return.
Does BA Criminology at Bournemouth University include a placement year or year abroad?
The course has an optional placement year.
How many students continue on BA Criminology at Bournemouth University?
83% of students continued into their second year, and 17% left higher education.