BA Criminology
About this course
BA (Hons) in Criminology, a criminology degree exploring the social, institutional, and theoretical dimensions of crime, criminal justice, and deviance. Core topics include Data Analysis, Research Methods, Policy Analysis, Human Behaviour. The course includes a compulsory foundation year and offers optional work placement opportunities. The first year covers foundational concepts through Understanding Crime, Understanding Criminal Justice, Policing, Prevention and Punishment, Murder, Death and Destruction, and Becoming a Social Scientist. The second year progresses to advanced investigations via Crime Across Borders, Social Science Methods, and Data Analysis in Social Sciences. Optional modules allow students to explore topics such as media portrayals of criminality, public policy, and the American South. The final year centres on a substantial independent investigation through Dissertation for Criminology - ISP, alongside optional modules covering prisons, hate crime, environmental harm, and state crimes.
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
A level: BBC in three A Levels. IB: 554 in three Higher Levels or 29 points.
What students say
Based on about 38 final-year students who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Teaching on my course: 85%
- Learning opportunities: 86%
- Assessment and feedback: 80%
- Academic support: 87%
- Organisation and management: 69%
- Learning resources: 92%
- Student voice: 77%
Do students stay on the course?
Based on about 10 students who started (a small group: a rough guide only)
- Continued on course: 80%
- Left higher education: 10%
- Moved to a lower qualification: 10%
What graduates do next
Based on about 90 graduates who answered, across similar courses at this university
- Working: 65%
- Working and studying: 15%
- Further study: 7%
- Unemployed: 6%
Most common jobs
- Welfare Professionals: 12%
- Administrative occupations: 9%
- Welfare and housing associate professionals: 9%
- Elementary occupations: 7%
- Sales occupations: 6%
- Find their work meaningful: 85%
- Feel on track for their future plans: 64%
- Use what they learnt on the course: 60%
Where graduates work (5 years on)
Based on about 260 graduates, across similar courses at this university
- North East: 1%
- North West: 19%
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 4%
- East Midlands: 7%
- West Midlands: 33%
- East of England: 9%
- London: 10%
- South East: 11%
- South West: 5%
- Wales: 1%
Who gets in
Based on about 85 students who started, across similar courses at this university
- A levels: 91%
- Access course: 1%
- A degree: 1%
- Other HE qualification: 4%
- No formal qualifications: 2%
Accreditation & quality ratings
TEF 2023 (whole university): Gold overall, Gold for student experience, Silver for student outcomes.
Modules
- Understanding Crime, Understanding Criminal Justice
- Policing, Prevention and Punishment
- Murder, Death and Destruction
- Becoming a Social Scientist
- Imagining Social Order & Deviance
- Crime Across Borders
- Social Science Methods
- Data Analysis in Social Sciences
- The American South: US Summer School (Level 5)
- Crime and Justice in Practice: Voices from the Margins
- Crime, Morality and the Media
- Social Sciences Placement
- Challenges and Issues in Criminal Justice
- Public Policy and How To Make It
- Globalisation and its Discontents
- Social Sciences at Work
- Dissertation for Criminology - ISP
- The American South: US Summer School (Level 6)
- Prisons and Imprisonment
- Rethinking 'Participation' in Crime control, Punishment and Criminology
- Hatred, Justice and the State
- The Extreme Right in Western Europe
- Sex, Death, Desire: Psychoanalysis in Social Context
- Work Placement for Social Sciences Final Year Students
- State crimes and crimes against humanity
- Migration, Crime and (In)Security
- Environmental Harm, Justice and Global Inequalities
- Streets, Skyscrapers, and Slums: The City in Social, Cultural, and Historical Context
- Engaged Social Science
Questions about this course
How much do graduates of BA Criminology at Keele University earn?
The median salary is £27,000 after 15 months, £23,000 after 3 years, £29,000 after 5 years. After five years the middle half of graduates earn between £23,500 and £36,000. The £29,000 median after five years is £2,500 more than the UK median for Sociology.
What do graduates of BA Criminology at Keele University do next?
87% were in work or further study 15 months after finishing (Graduate Outcomes 2023-24).
Are students happy with the teaching on BA Criminology at Keele University?
85% 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 Keele University?
The typical offer is BBC at A level, or 29 points in the IB. The average entrant had 108 UCAS points.
How many students continue on BA Criminology at Keele University?
80% of students continued into their second year, and 10% left higher education.